Camp has been a very busy place recently! Several special events have taken place over the past few days, making for a full and memorable weekend.
Campers from the Troubadour unit opened our Bighouse Dances program, entering with a special dance as campers from the Mountaineer unit sang an entrance song.
On Friday night, the entire camp witnessed a magical evening of song, dance, and ceremony during Bighouse Dances, the capstone event of our Cultural Community Connections program. The Mountaineers and Troubadours premiered the dances and songs they have been learning all session long, leading off a beautiful program that showcased North Coast dance, music, dress, masks, folklore, and stories.
Current staff members, alumni, and visitors led the program for dances in the Bighouse.
The next morning ushered in our weekly Anchor Day activities, which were enhanced by the presence of many excited visitors! Saturday and Sunday were our First Session Visitors’ Days, and dozens of families traveled to Johns Island to spend time with their campers. Visitors and campers spread across the property on both days, sharing picnics and treats, visiting camper units, and enjoying a beautiful afternoon together. Our campers loved seeing their family and friends, and we were privileged to host so many visitors over the course of the weekend.
Campers performed for friends and family, as well as the whole camp, during our Visitors’ Day Musicale.
After our visitors departed on Saturday evening, it was time for another special event: Opry House! Opry House is an end-of-session showcase of the theatrical (and sometimes musical) talents of our campers and staff. Our drama instructor and young dramatists have worked diligently for the past three weeks preparing skits and monologues for the event. All of our performers drew wild applause from the audience for their comedic and dramatic stylings, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the show!
Staff and campers collaborated on several of the skits showcased at Opry House.
Sunday morning brought another special event of a different kind. Before our visitors arrived for the second Visitors’ Day, groups of campers from the Forester and Voyageur units departed the island on their own adventures. Our Little Big Trips set out early on Sunday, and four wonderful days of biking, sailing, and backpacking await them.
The Mountaineer unit wrote, directed, and acted in their own original Opry House skit – to the acclaim of the rest of the camp!
While these middle units are out of camp, our other campers will stay busy, enjoying special activities including Coffee House, which will be hosted by the Mountaineer unit later this week. Our in-camp campers are also preparing for their final overnight trip of the session – and once they return from those overnights (and our Little Big Trippers come back), all sorts of closing activities are in store for our First Session campers’ last weekend at camp. Art Night, Banquet, and Olympic Games are still to come – there’s so much fun left in store for this last week of the session!