SEBASTIAN – From foosball and table tennis to Dance Dance Revolution and Rock Band, there was plenty of fun and games going on at Riverview Park Saturday evening.
“We’re having a great time,” said Family Game Night organizer Seth Goldsmith, pastor of Coastal Community Church. His father, Jim Goldsmith, came up with idea of holding a community fun night at the park as a way to bring residents out and meet one another.
While many of those who attended the fun fest are members of Coastal Community Church, several were not.
“It’s been fun,” said Lacy Hulings, while taking a short break from beating her friend, Nick Evans, at a round of Dance Dance Revolution.
Evans said the best part of the event was playing on the Nintendo 64.
“It’s a throwback,” he said of the videogame system.
Casey Mott, a member of Coastal Community Church, came out to Family Game Night with two friends, Joe Lyon and Christian Stumpp.
“We’re not really videogame fans,” Mott said, explaining that she and the guys played Battleship and foosball.
However, they were drawn to the N64.
“Of course, it’s fun,” she said.
Tina Bowen, of Fellsmere, said they couldn’t have asked for better weather.
“We’re having a good time meeting new friends,” Bowen said.
While the Family Game Night was sponsored by Coastal Community Church, Goldsmith said it was an event about building community.
“We love to have fun just like everyone else,” he said.
About 75 to 100 people came out to the game night to play traditional board games like Life, Sorry and Battleship and videogames on systems as old as the original Nintendo, Sega Genesis, N64, Xbox, PlayStation, and Xbox 360.
Scheduling may have been the reason for a lower than hoped for attendance Saturday evening, with Sebastian River High School’s prom and other events the same day, Goldsmith said.
Regardless, he said he was happy with the first Family Game Night.
“We’ll need more TVs next year,” Goldsmith said.
