Early this morning, before any camper was awake, our 1AB Seniors quietly dragged blue canoes out into the middle of campus by the flagpole. They laughed as they set out to pull their Senior prank to fake out camp that today was Special Day. To signal the start of Special Day, we always announce that the ‘blue canoe has landed’, so Seniors cleverly thought that bringing actual blue canoes could be a new way to make the rest of camp think the day of fun was here. Around 7:30 am this morning, I could hear cheers and screams as campers opened their bunk to see the blue canoes and jumped up and down with excitement. During breakfast, the staff played it cool and continued to let them know that the canoes meant nothing – Special Day was not happening. It just wasn’t!
Little did the Seniors and the rest of camp know that today was in fact Special Day and had been planned for weeks! At morning assembly, everyone gathered together for our daily meetings at the flagpole, and right before we were about to leave, staff members driving a blue van pulled into campus and jumped out to yell that it was officially Special Day! Campers went wild with excitement, jumping up and down – some questioning, “Wait, is this a fakeout too?” We couldn’t wait to show campers all that we had in store for them today! After announcing, we told them that they would have the first three periods filled with everyday activities. Just like usual, after lunch, we kicked off Special Day by surprising campers with what our Special Day theme was – TLC Toy Box 2021! Counselors were dressed up in costumes themed of arcade classics, rockin’ robots, blockbuster board games, and more! I was beyond impressed with the amount of time our staff spent curating the best-themed costume to truly wow our campers. After our parade of each team’s Toy Box theme, campers went down the hill to see all the inflatable outdoor activities you could imagine – everything from Slip and Slide, obstacle courses, Wack-A-Peg, dunk tanks, and more! Their faces lit up so big as they walked down the hill and started to see all the activities waiting for them at the bottom.
In between games, campers made their way to get popcorn, snow cones, nachos, and the all-camp favorite – cotton candy! Seeing campers run around with their friends, hand in hand, with the biggest smiles swept across their faces was such a joy to see. Some campers yelled out that today was the best day of their life, which was followed quickly by, “Can we do this every day at camp?” It’s hard not to fall in love with a day full of your favorite treats, games, and people. Today was not only a day for the books but also a Special Day for the books. Our staff, specifically our Special Events Coordinator, Chris Hollen, did such an incredible job curating the best list of games and thinking through every detail to make sure today was the best for our girls! With our goal to make this summer full of extra surprises, you never know if a second Special Day is in our future this summer!
Kind Regards,
Leslie
