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Project ASCENT welcomed community members and visitors to its annual cornhole festival last weekend. The Saturday event held at a residence on Eddy Flat between Thompson Falls and Plains drew competitors and spectators from neighboring counties and states.

Each year, Project ASCENT hosts educational outdoor experiences for kids, including week-long camps in the summer. The cornhole festival is their biggest fundraiser. Andrea Christensen with Project ASCENT said that this year, the cornhole festival raised enough money to fund two of their camps.

"Our hope was to get one funded," Christensen stated. "I do believe this was our most successful cornhole festival fundraiser and by far our best silent auction. This means we will be able to fund camps into next year's season." Along with funding camps, Christensen said the organization is also fundraising for an additional enclosed trailer for their equipment.

The tournament had 25 teams this year, including competitors from Plains, Thompson Falls, Kalispell, Bigfork, Great Falls, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. New to the festival this year was the use of Scoreholio, an app that manages the brackets and teams. Btchn Ktchn 406 served barbecue from their food truck throughout the day, and Limberlost Brewing Co. served local brews. Also new this year was new branding, including a new "Cornhole legend" sasquatch mascot and Sassy's Snack Shack. Christensen said they had exclusive Project ASCENT cornhole shirts and stickers for the fundraiser as well.

"It's a blast. It's so much fun and fits with our mission of getting people outside," said Rob Christensen, Andrea's husband and executive director of Project ASCENT. "It's a good time with local music and local beer." He noted that each team was guaranteed eight games during the festival, and the tournament was broken into two divisions: the Backyard Baggers Tournament and the Tournament of Champions. Teams played early in the day for seeding in the two tournaments. "JJ," a team from Bigfork, took first in the tournament of champions, with teams from Spokane taking second and third. Local teams dominated the Backyard Baggers, with the Thompson Falls team "In the Hole" taking first, "Bag O Beans" taking second, and "Hurricane Ollie" finishing third.

The cornhole festival is held on the property of Dave Mahler and Norena Edgecombe. "They are incredible hosts. They are so accommodating and supportive, and we couldn't ask for a better spot," Andrea Christensen said. She was excited about the tournament attracting teams from a larger region. For more information, visit http://www.projectascent.org.