Teen Night

Mackinac Island teenagers don't have a lot of options when it comes to "hanging out." To give the seventh through twelfth graders a hangout space, the Island community created "Teen Night." Each Saturday night during the winter, St. Anne's Catholic Church opens their meeting space for the kids to come together. The church basement has a pool table and an air hockey table, in addition to lots of room to just chill. The kids bring the music, the Mackinac Island Community Foundation provides the pizzas and pop, and parents organize baked goods and activities. It takes a village, right?

Recently I got the kids to participate in an epic Superfight battle. If you are not familiar with the game of Superfight, it's a hoot! Players draw cards to create a character who will battle another player's character. For example The Mario Brothers with the ability to turn all they touch to humus while carrying a magical protective blanket, might battle the Pope with a mustache that can stretch at will armed with holy hand grenades. (One student actually dew those cards!)

To battle the players argue about who would win and why. They argue like their lives depend on it, because the lives of their characters actually do. Once the yelling, I mean debate, dies down, the other players vote to determine the winner. The champion of that fight goes on to battle the next player, and so on, until the ultimate champion is crowned. The funniest moment of the evening was when our high school math teacher hit Darth Vader over the head with a very heavy Algebra II book. Sadly, she was not match for the Force...