It was wonderful seeing so many parents this past weekend for Visiting Day. After you left, Camp quickly settled back into its normal routine. Minutes after the last parents departed our Kenwood and Evergreen Junior campers were out playing games and having fun. By dinnertime it was as if any challenging goodbyes were simply a distant memory. After a quick dinner all of junior camp gathered in the theater for a movie. Friends and counselors grouped together, and just enjoyed a moment to relax and laugh together. As the movie started our senior campers headed to Funspot, a local hot spot with batting cages, go-carts, and miniature golf. A great time was had by all!
And then we all slept a deep sleep, and woke up to one of the prettiest mornings of the summer. The sky was a deep, rich hue of blue, and the temperature was just right. The weather put everyone in a delightful mood. Throughout the campus everyone seemed thrilled to be back to regular camp life. The Evergreen Inters and Juniors headed out on their final canoeing expeditions of the summer. Evergreen’s two Tri-State Softball teams played four and five games, respectively, against other camps, and one of them went on to win the entire tournament! The following day Evergreen’s Juniper girls left with Jacki and Bob Mitchell for their big trip to Montreal, Canada, while Kenwood’s 2nd Year Seniors left for their 3-day white water canoeing trip, as did the Evergreen Sophomores on their Belle Island canoe trip. Today, Kenwood’s Hut 6 began their 3-day white water rafting adventure in Maine, and Evergreen’s 2nd Year Seniors spent a day at the beach with Phyllis.
At all hours of the day and night throughout camp you can hear bands and individuals practicing their instruments for this weekend’s 11th annual Hollowpallooza Music Festival. On Saturday night, more than 30 solo and group acts will take the stage and get cheered on by their friends and bunkmates. We are so excited! Campers are also starting to put the finishing touches on their movie projects, in preparation for the 3rd annual K&E Film Festival.
As always, there is always a lot going on here!
News From The Camp Office
Written by Jason Sebell
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 02:58
This feels like such a busy, exciting summer. Every day we’ve had incredible events and adventures in and out of Camp. I guess in part it is due to all the great weather. Every trip planned has gone out, which certainly was not the case last summer!
Where to begin since my last posting…
On Friday night, after Services and two fabulous plays by our Sophomore boys and girls, we all settled into the tent for a movie. Just as it was beginning the screen went white, and loud dance music started to play. Behind the screen 12 counselors were backlit, and they began a choreographed dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. The entire audience was on their feet cheering, as they knew that this was the start of our annual Big Weekend event (sort of a mini, coed color war). The theme this year was movie monsters – Mummies, Werewolves, Vampires, Loch Ness and Frankenstein’s Monsters, and Zombies. Each team of coaches came from behind the screen dressed in elaborate, silly costumes. For the next two days everyone in camp was on a team, and seemed to be having a blast.
Throughout the weekend the boys and girls took part in events ranging from swim races and softball games to three-legged soccer matches and hula hooping contests. On Saturday night, all six teams gathered up on our senior ball field for Rope Burning. Each team’s eldest campers took part in a race to burn a rope suspended 12 feet in the air. Lit only by their fires, and by the stars in the sky, the teams clapped and cheered and jumped up and down, doing all that they could to support those building and tending the fires. In the end, every team successfully burned their rope, and amazingly, every team was able to accomplish this feat in under 6 minutes!
Sunday morning we were back to more Big Weekend events, culminating in a final contest called “Songs and Formations”. Each team had spent the weekend learning a silly song that their coaches had written about their team. They also worked on arranging their teams into elaborate shapes and figures that would relate to their team’s theme. It was an incredible showcase for our counselors’ creativity and our campers’ abilities to work together towards a unified goal!
And then it was the start of another great week at Camp. The Kenwood Inters and Juniors spent the day out at a local state park, swimming and palling around in the water. Evergreen gathered in the tent for a hysterical Lip Sync night, with bunks choosing their songs and developing their own choreographed dance routines. Today, the Evergreen Freshmen and Sophomores spent a fun day in the sun at the Whale’s Tale water park, while the Kenwood Inters climbed a mountain and camped out overnight. The Kenwood Freshmen went on their own expedition, climbing Mt. Kearsarge, and camping out this evening, while the Kenwood U12’s played their hearts out in a basketball tournament. And while all of this was going on, we hosted the U15’s Ultimate Frisbee tournament. Kenwood actually had two teams entered in this event, and they played each other in an amazing game in the Semi-Finals. In the end, the team that won went on to win the entire tournament, and tonight our Kenwood Seniors are celebrating a hard-fought victory.
I look forward to the fun and excitement of tomorrow!
News From The Camp Office
Written by Jason Sebell
Friday, 16 July 2010 01:18
We have had some busy days here! Throughout the week, campers of all ages and both genders have been climbing mountains, braving rapids, playing in tournaments, and exploring the world around them. Our Evergreen Juniper girls just returned from an incredible 3-day white water rafting expedition in Maine. Our Evergreen Freshmen were equally adventuresome, having the time of their lives climbing Mt. Kearsarge and camping out over night. The Kenwood Juniors were having so much fun camping out on their canoe trip that they had an impromptu dance party. Apparently, the food on the Kenwood Inters canoe trip was, in the words of one young man “not to be believed”. The Evergreen 14’s played a night game of soccer against Camp Schodack, and afterwards the other camp’s girls spent the night sleeping here. We loved having them over! The Evergreen 12’s took part in a fantastic Soccer tournament, as did Kenwood’s 15s Basketball team.
Today our Kenwood 15’s also had a golf tournament today, and Evergreen campers age 11, 13 and 15 traveled to Camp Robin Hood for a swim meet. The Kenwood Freshmen and Sophomores went exploring through a series of caves, and then everyone was back in Camp in time for our weekly BBQ dinner outside. There was music and laughter and lots of kids playing pickup games of different sports, or just enjoying being together, while the counselors flipped burgers and veggie burgers and grilled hot dogs.
Last night was a big night on Kenwood’s Senior Hill. It was round #1 of our annual cooking competition “Iron Chef”. Each of the 1st Year Seniors huts were involved in a race to cook the best meal that they could cook on a grill. Instructions were given, hands were washed, and then the secret food was announced…pizza! The boys got a quick lesson from me in how to grill pizza, and within the hour each hut had made at least one delicious pie using fresh dough and more toppings than you could imagine. All of the teams did an incredible job, and all of the judges were quite impressed with the cooking talents of our young men. Iron Chef Round #2 will be later this summer, as will be so many other fun and exciting events.
