River Stacy cautiously stepped forward and attempted to find a ball of tape. The task wasn’t easy with a blindfold inhibiting his vision.

His fingers crawled along walls, floors and backpacks as his father, Larry Smith, among others, shouted how close he was to discovering his prize.

“I found it!” the 9-year-old Harrison resident said Friday, shouting as he threw off his blindfold. “I walked really far to find the little bitty tape ball.”

Stacy was one of about 60 other boys who participated in the 3rd Annual Tall Pine District Boy Scout Lock-in at Central Michigan University’s Student Activity Center.

Smith, who also participated in the game with his son, was determined to win.

“I learned trust because my son was going to run me into a wall,” he said with a smile.

The Alpha Phi Omega national co-ed service fraternity hosted the event, one of several involving the Boy Scouts.

Inside one of the activity rooms, pink balls were flying, wooden hockey sticks clashing and adrenaline rushing as the boys torpedoed from one game to the next.

Alpena senior Elizabeth Gougeon helped with the Lock In and said the event was enjoyable for participants and organizers.

“We invite all the Boy Scouts in the area to come and have a night of fun,” Gougeon said. “We are encouraged to play with them too. We have fun.”

In between games, the scouts had a chance to give back to a national volunteer organization called Project Linus, which offers new, handmade blankets to needy children.

The boys helped color fabric squares that will be sent to Project Linus and stitched into blankets.

Boy Scout Jarod Thaler, 11, drew multiple blue lines on his fabric, then added purple, green, red and brown people under a rainbow to represent the earth.

“I usually express my feelings with drawings,” the Carson City resident said.

Thaler said he likes helping people and it makes him feel like a part of the community.

Holland senior and APO volunteer Nicole Staat said service is a good lesson for the boys to learn.

“It teaches kids one of the essential human values, which is giving back to others,” she said.

Breckenridge Scout Leader Debbie Carman snapped pictures of her son, Garrett Carmen, 11, while he tumbled down an inflatable slide. The two came last year and had a good time, so this year was a chance to experience the night again, Debbie said.

Garrett said sliding down the slides was fun, but hard with his socks on.

“I got all the way to the top and I fell back down because of my socks and with them off it is easier,” he said.

E-mail the author: Sherri Keaton