HELENA — Summer break can be a challenge for families seeking affordable activities, but Sleeping Giant Lanes is working to fill that gap, offering a program that may be right up your alley.
“I knocked down the ones on the sides and the one in the middle,” Nash Hall, a bowler, shared.
(WATCH: Sleeping Giant Lanes hosts free bowling for kids for the fourth summer in a row)
The kids bowl free program allows children ages 2 to 15 to receive 24 minutes of free bowling each day throughout the summer from June to August. This is the fourth year Sleeping Giant has been a part of the nationwide effort.
“We are able to kind of give back and keep our home roots here, and giving back to bowlers is one way we are able to do that,” Sleeping Giant Lanes manager Cole Katen noted.
Katen says the program has become one of their most popular community offerings, bringing thousands of kids through the doors each year.
This year so far, they have given over a couple of hundred hours of bowling, and that’s in just two weeks.
“This place is my Disneyland, so people come to bowling to have a good time, and we get to help them have that good time,” Katen expressed.
For many families, the program provides more than just entertainment; it's an opportunity to spend quality time together, stay active, and create lasting memories.
Katen shared, “It means a lot to us to see a kid get a strike for the first time and light up,” and for Hall, he said, “Bowling is good for exercising.”
The alley is working to make things even more accessible. Kids still have to pay three dollars for the shoes, even if participating in the kids bowl free program. So now families can register kids for a shoe pass for the summer for 15 dollars.
Katen said, “What we did this summer is create a shoe pass that can give them as individual passes or for groups of four.”
Sleeping Giant says the program continues to grow each year, and looks forward to seeing the totals for this summer. You can visit this link to become a part of the program.
