It’s been a busy third week of Second Session! Our Big Trips returned, and campers from those trips have been full of excitement and stories about the adventures they shared together away from camp. But while our oldest campers were off-property making Big Trip memories, our younger campers made some magic of their own here at camp with a celebration known as Nell Day.
Face painting according to color team is a favorite tradition on Nell Day!
Nell Day began as a commemoration of the woman who previously owned a sheep ranch on the Johns Island property where camp is now located. Nell Robinson was a remarkable woman who shaped the history of Johns Island and left a lasting impression upon all who knew her. Nell Day pays tribute to her and allows us as a camp community to reflect on our connection to the past and to the land. While we celebrate Nell and her legacy, we also acknowledge with gratitude that Johns Island is part of the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish peoples.
Scavenger hunt challenges involved solving riddles, working out clues, and prioritizing teamwork.
Color teams, face painting, kooky skits, watermelons, and a scavenger hunt are all hallmarks of our Nell Day celebration. Campers from the Forester and Voyageur units were selected as color team captains, and they led their orange, pink, green, purple, and yellow teams of younger campers with pride and pageantry. The teams traversed the island searching for clues and solving puzzles in order to complete the afternoon scavenger hunt and uncover the hidden watermelon prizes. Teams also created and performed their own silly color-themed campfire skits in the evening, to the delight and applause of their fellow campers.
Campers dashed under a finish line arm bridge to complete the scavenger hunt and deliver their watermelon prizes for carving.
From “Nell Day Specials” (like interpreting dream drawings and learning about ecology while playing “Life and Death in the Forest”) to watching last year’s camp movie together in the Lodge, the special activities lasted from morning until evening. To top it all off, we enjoyed the traditional Nell Day dessert of brownie sundaes after dinner! Altogether, it was a wonderful, vibrant day made possible by the leadership and imagination of our younger campers, and we couldn’t be more proud of them!