The inaugural Wacky Ripple Games are scheduled for Saturday, May 6, 2023, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at OptiPark, located at 780 E. 66th Street [A3 on map]. North Side Optimists Club member Kent Dicken described their origin.

"The Wacky Ripple Games are meant to be a fun afternoon for Broad Ripple residents and friends, to get more people to visit midtown restaurants and businesses, to raise funds and introduce more people to OptiPark. Our goal is for the Wacky Ripple Games to become an annual event at OptiPark. The games are an assortment of quirky pieces that require teamwork and thinking in order to complete or solve each game. There will be ten stations with multiples of the same game at each station. A few samples of the games can be seen on our event website or on YouTube, www.youtube.com/@optiparkindy," he explained.

"Each team will consist of two to three people, competing in two categories -- Family (with at least one member 12 years or younger, and Open (to all ages). Each team will have a timer, and have 10 minutes at each station. The fastest teams at each station in the two categories will win prizes," Dicken said.

Nearby companies are encouraged to participate. "We aren't looking for a big name title sponsor. We want to keep this local. Ideally, we'll get 10 Broad Ripple/Midtown restaurants and businesses to sponsor a game station with their name and logo on the signage," he noted.

Proceeds will go to a worthy cause. "Team entry fees and sponsorships will be used to improve OptiPark. Not everybody knows that OptiPark is a community park, not a city park, provided and maintained by a non-profit, the North Side Optimist Club of Indianapolis for over 60 years. We have to raise funds and ask for donations and volunteers in order to keep it running. Future improvements to the park include spectator stands for the baseball field, and drinking fountains for people and pets. More info about the club can be found at: www.optiparkindy.com," Dicken added.

"The idea for the Wacky Ripple Games started with North Side Optimists Club member Jerry Lyons, who is friends with someone that has put together these types of games for several decades. Jerry himself is an engineer, with over 20 years of managing events including production and directing 60+ adventure races lasting four to 36 hours, including the 2004 USARA National Championship. Organized and executed team-building events and activities for 10+ organizations in the Indianapolis area," he concluded.

OptiPark is a community park owned by The Optimist Club of North Side Indianapolis, and maintained by volunteers for over 60 years. Any and all donations go directly to the costs of park maintenance and improvements.