Anchor Days
Anchor Days happen once a week, they are a time for community connection and rest. Anchor Days provide a chance to reset; they are the bookends of our weeks at Camp Nor’wester.
Yesterday (Sunday) was an Anchor Day.
Anchor Days start with a slower morning; breakfast is 30 minutes later. People who wish to sleep in can do so, and others use that time to go for a run, read, or write letters. After breakfast, campers and most staff return to their units to tidy their living spaces and prepare for Chapel. Once unit mates have checked off each other’s spaces as sufficiently tidy, this “Tidy Time” is used for relaxing and spending time with unit mates.
While campers and most staff are tidying, department heads and one unit leader from each unit are busy creating the following week’s schedule at NoFUSS (stands for Nor’wester Flexible Unit Scheduling System).
At 11:20 am, the Chapel bell rings one hundred slow rings as the community begins to make its way toward Chapel Rock. Chapel is a space for community gathering and reflection; it is non-spiritual except for those who wish to make it so within themselves. At Chapel, host units facilitate reflection and conversation around a chosen topic. Yesterday, the Rangers hosted Chapel. Their theme was Community Compassion. Last week, the Navigators hosted a Chapel focusing on human connection in a digital world. Community members can listen quietly, participate in discussions, and share with the rest of the camp. We usually sing at least one song.
The biggest meal of the day follows Chapel. Dinner is served mid-day on Anchor Days, followed by birthday cake to honor everyone who celebrated a birthday that week.
After dinner, we rearrange the lodge into an amphitheater for Musicale. Musicale exists somewhere between a talent show and an open mic. Campers and staff share songs, poems, dances, skits, jokes, and more. Musicale might be the most supportive environment to try performing in front of a crowd. This week’s acts included improv tap dancing while a didgeridoo played, an original song sung acapella, a Taylor Swift cover, two piano pieces, a staff member’s weekly “Joke and a Jig,” and an opera piece accompanied by Sheila on the piano. Some performances were solo, others as duets or small groups, and the Navigators and Pioneers both performed as whole units.
Open Activities occupy the second half of the afternoon; this is one of the few times that campers choose how to spend time independent of their unit’s schedule. A wide variety of activities are offered, knowing that some campers are interested in a relaxing, low-energy afternoon while others can’t wait to run around and get energy out. Yesterday’s open activities included slacklining, sailing in the Lightning sailboats, “nap” time, card games and board games in the Lodge, reading in the garden, and even digging a big hole on the beach.
Once activities are over and units are reunited, they head to Nosebags. Nosebags are picnic meals eaten as a unit in various locations around the island. On any other day, units would have evening activities. On Anchor Days, there’s no rush to move on, and campers can enjoy some unstructured time with their unit mates in one of the many beautiful locations at Camp.
