Students in FCA will be heading to Silver Dollar City tomorrow afternoon to participate in the Young Christians Weekend (YCW) for the third year in a row. The students will leave school at noon tomorrow and return at around 8 p.m. Sunday night.

“It’s a nice way to spend the weekend, down in Silver Dollar City,” senior officer Austin Anderson said. “And second, we just go down to have fun and not really have to worry about school for the weekend.”

The YCW is a retreat led by Susan McFarland’s cousin, Debbie, and includes a Christian concert, a day riding the rides in Silver Dollar City, and other worship activities and sermons.

“The Christian atmosphere really helps us focus on being Christians and God,” Anderson said. “We don’t have anything else distracting us. We are just with each other. No distractions.”

Around 30 students, including all of the officers, will be attending the retreat. Parents drive them down there and drop them off. Because FCA is not a school-sponsored organization, sponsor Heather Box does not have to attend.

Once there, McFarland has condos for the kids the stay in. Girls in one condo, boys in another. The weekend costs $140, which includes a 3-day Silver Dollar City pass, food, lodging, and a t-shirt.

Students from other FCAs also attend the retreat, but for Anderson, the weekend is more for hanging out with North kids.

“I expect to get to know a lot of FCA kids I usually don’t hang out with and obviously have fun,” Anderson said.

According to students, the retreat is very beneficial and a lot of fun. Box notices that every year, students return very pleased with the experience.

“Kids come back and they really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it and had a really fun time,” Box said.