Hay River (July 21/03) - Last week the Hay River Arena looked like a casting ground for NBC's hit gross-out TV show, Fear Factor.

Instructor Marco Korotash shows Kianis Donovan how to apply papier mache to a balloon. - Andrew Raven/NNSL photo

Legions of kids between the ages of six and 10 lined up to dunk their hands into buckets of porridge, gummy bears, cooking oil, cotton balls and macaroni.

"It was really gross," said Tunchai Redvers. "But a lot of fun."

It was all part of Hay River's revamped summer camp program called Summer Heat, led by instructors Misty Bourdages, Marco Korotash and Nikki Haley.

The three have managed to revitalize Hay River's decades-old summer program with some innovative ideas and hard work.

"The popularity of the camp is really a testament to the effort of the instructors," said Todd Shafer, director of recreation for Hay River.

"They have really gone above and beyond what we expected."

This year, 53 kids are enroled in Summer Heat, more than twice last year's total. Shafer says a big reason for that is the attitude of the instructors.

"They take it very seriously," he said. "They all want careers in education so they're using this as a basis for their professional development."

One of the big changes in the program is an increased emphasis on activities like crafts and sports.

"In the past, the program was kind of like a babysitting service," said Haley, who holds a degree in Physical Education from the University Alberta. "We really wanted to make sure the kids were active so we introduced a bunch of new activities."

One of the ways the program keeps kids active is through specially designed theme weeks based on popular television shows and movies.

"We have a Survivor Week and a Gladiator Week along with things like an Olympics Week," said Bourdages. "It really seems to keep to the kids interested, which is the key to keeping them active."

For Gladiator week, Bourdages said the kids will make shields, take a martial arts lesson and even have chariot races.

"We haven't quite figured out how to make the chariots, but we'll find a way," said Bourdages.

When weather permits, the three instructors take the kids to places like the library and the park, which can be a handful.

"People always ask me 'How do you keep track of 52 kids?'", said Bourdages. "Sometimes it can be tough, but the kids are usually well behaved so it's not too bad."

Outings like that are a big hit with the kids. "I really like the tips we take," said Patrick Smith. "I'm really looking forward to going to see Tae-Kwon do."

"I like going to the library," added Aaron Hunt. "It's really fun."

The Hay River Summer Heat program runs Tuesday to Thursday at the arena. It goes until August 15th and costs $5 a day.