Paintball battles set for the 16th

It was over a decade ago that Allan DeVries started hosting a paintball event in Phillips County through Malta Community Church. Now, 11 years later, his son, Aaron, and Aaron's wife, Angel, keep the paintballs flying and will host their next event this Friday.

"We really encourage adults to come out and play with their kids," Angel said. "The kids love to shoot the adults."

Malta Community Church is hosting the event for kids (children ages sixth grade and up) and adults alike on Friday, October 16 starting at 2 p.m. Though the event starts at 2 p.m., Aaron said there is no timetable for how long the fun will last.

"We will play paintball, basically, until everyone is played-out or dark," he said. "In the past, around 5 or 5:30 is when we start to wrap up and then move on to other things."

The day does not end with paintball as the group will then gather for food, a speaker and will continue into the night depending on what those at the event have in mind. Aaron said that at past events the bonfire has lasted well into the night.

"We stay around as long as the kids want to," Angel said.

"It's usually a pretty big bonfire and we stay around until it burns down," Aaron added. "Last year we played football in the dark. Other years we have played Ghost in the Graveyard, Midnight Wolf (in which a person goes and hides and people go looking for them.) So we play various games and we will be there as long as the kids want to stay."

Following paintball, there will be a chili feed, a speaker, the bonfire and the aforementioned games. Alan Skogen, a staff member from InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, MSU-Billings, will be the speaker following the paintball festivities. The DeVries have heard Skogen give a few speeches in the past, including one time that is near and dear to the couple.

"He is actually a good friend of ours and we went to college with him (MSU Bozeman,)" Angel said. "He was also the MC at our wedding, he is that good."

The course will be spread out over two acres and will have hay bales strategically placed around the field. The gentleman in charge of the equipment, Forest Hyatt from Brainerd, Minn., has been coming to Malta for the paintball event since its inception.

"He loves to travel and is always excited to come over here for this event," Angel said. "He has had this business since 1982 and has been coming out here since the event was started."

Over a two-year periods, 90 contestants fired over 50,000 individual paint balls. On an average year, the event draws 25-30 people. The team sizes will depend on how many participants show up on the day and people will be broken into two teams. The teams will play Capture the Flag in which two bases at opposing ends of the field house flags and whichever team captures the opposition's flag is deemed the winner.

"Sometimes everyone gets shot," Aaron said. "Other times someone makes a big run for the flag and a big whoopla follows."

The cost for the event is $25 and that fee covers equipment and 500 paintball. Participants can bring their own equipment, but not your own paintballs. The equipment provided includes paintball guns and masks and people can purchase more paintballs when and if they run out of the first 500 that come with the $25 fee. The event will be held regardless of the weather. Aaron said that people who have never attended the event and don't know where the paintball course is can meet the DeVries at Malta Community Church at 1:30 p.m. and follow them to the course which is in a pasture the couple owns six miles east of Malta.

RSVP for the event is appreciated, but not required.

For more information on the event or directions to the paintball location, contact Aaron at 406-390-3179 or Angel at 406-750-2390.