This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

An Annual Father/Son Event Returns

Local Cub Scouts hold annual Pinewood Derby.

Bayport Cub Scout Pack 130 participated in a 58-year-old scouting tradition earlier this month when they raced in their annual Pinewood Derby with cars they crafted themselves.

At their December Pack Night, the scouts received a Pinewood Derby car kit as a Christmas gift. For the next two months they built their derby cars and prepared to race them in the gym of .

Ask any man present at the derby about this scouting tradition and he will recall fond memories of creating a race car with his dad. Cub Pack Master Steve Festa, who has built four Pinewood Derby cars with his son over the years, emphasized the joy it brought him and his family. “My son had a blast doing it. What it is supposed to be about is bonding time with your father," Festa said.

Find out what's happening in Sayville-Bayportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Last year’s winner for fastest car in the Tiger Cub division was Ryan Milazzo. This year, Milazzo is a Wolf Cub who worked long and hard on his red Batman car. “My dad and older brother Dan and I worked on it together. I like the Pinewood Derby because you get to race and you might win a trophy," he said.

Before the race, all Pinewood Derby cars were showcased. There were cars that resembled race cars and others that did not look like a car at all; some were creatively crafted into a cartoon character, tank, train, fire truck, shark or hot dog and one even resembled a candy bar.

Find out what's happening in Sayville-Bayportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It was Webelos Christian Henke’s second Pinewood Derby, but he knows he's not an expert yet. “It’s kind of hard because you don’t know if you are going to win and you have to be confident and make your car the best you can," he said.

Scouts and their families and friends crowded both sides of the 32-foot long track as the race began. At the end, cars zoom past a battery powered gate that automatically lights up the winning lane. 

Each boy gets to race three times and the winner of each heat goes on to the final rounds. To keep the competition fair, boys race against each other according to age and there is one winner for each age group. Trophies are awarded for the fastest car, funniest car and most original.

Tom Logan remembers when he was a scout and building his Pinewood Derby car with his dad. This year is his son’s first year in Cub Scouts. “My son loved building the car and we had a lot of fun. I cut the car out on a band saw, he did the sanding and we both painted it and put decals on," Logan said. The car that they spent many hours working on was the fastest car for the Tiger Cubs.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?