By Craig Nyhus
Lone Star Outdoor News
When Sarah Jane Vandermark recently turned 50, her sister, Gretchen Buckley, and best friend, Ellen Orr, planned an unusual birthday celebration.
Eleven women descended on the Cinnamon Creek Archery Events Center for an archery shoot.
Seven of them had never pulled back a bow. The other four had been to one similar party.
After receiving instructions and shooting tips from one of Cinnamon Creek’s instructors, the 11 ladies took to the range. After several shots each, it was time for some competition.
Breaking up into two teams, the Angel Archers and the Hot Hunger Babes, the ladies fired arrows at the target, improving along the way. Those that started off missing the target completely eventually hit the bull’s eye. Their teammates shared whooping, hollering and high fives.
A shoot-off came to a fitting end, with the birthday girl, Vandermark, emerging as the winner.
Birthday parties have become a regular occurrence since the recent completion of the 24,000-square-foot Archery Events Center.
“We had five of them Saturday and we have three more today,” said Cinnamon Creek Ranch owner Joe Musacchio.
A group of youngster competed in Archery Tag, best described as paintball, dodge ball and archery, all mixed together.
“They had a blast,” Musacchio said. “And the evening adult group have even more fun with it.”
The Archery Events Center includes party rooms, a kid’s room with archery games, and a large shooting area that can accommodate 130 shooters at one time, perfect for large competition shoots such as the National Archery in the Schools Program shoots.
The party rooms are just a few steps away from the indoor/outdoor kitchen and eating area, where Musacchio prepares top-quality food from age-old recipes, similar to those used in preparing the cuts of meat sold by the popular Cinnamon Creek Wild Game Processing.
After their shoot, the 11 ladies enjoyed one of those meals, but not before they shared a champagne toast to their shooting success.
“This was such a blast,” Vandermark said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday party.”
