San Angelo Kids Shoot for Turkeys

Thursday evening, young and up-coming basketball players took to the hoops for a shot at a scrumptious Thanksgiving Day turkey during the 2015 Turkey Shoot. This annual event was held at the Southside Recreation Center, 2750 Ben Ficklin Rd.

About 30 players, age 4 and up, went out on the court to compete against players in their division, said Sandra Serna with the City of San Angelo Recreation Division.

“It’s basically just a free-throw contest between six age divisions, and the winner of each division wins a turkey,” Serna said.

Serna stated all players got five free-throw shots, and they were scored based on the best out of those five shots. If they tied with another player, the players got three more free throws, two and then one if that continued.

Many parents and grandparents watched on as their children made their shots with serious looks of concentration on their faces. Although the players took their shots seriously, Serna said the goal was to have fun.

“It’s just fun for the whole family,” she said.

Serna said the shootout this year witnessed more people. Last year, there were only 20 people who attended the event at the Carl Ray Rec Center.

“This year, we decided to promote it more and just have it here at Southside,” Serna explained.

Last year, the Rec Center gave away 12 turkeys total, and this year more families walked away with a nice free turkey to enjoy on Thanksgiving Day.

Serna said this is the third or fourth year the Rec Center has hosted the Turkey Shoot, and the next event scheduled is on Dec. 12. The City will be hosting Movie in the Park at Kirby Park, 1401 Edmond Blvd. COSA will be showing How the Grinch Stole Christmas on a “huge inflatable screen,” and staff will serve free hot chocolate and coffee.