Stephen fulfills his dream of always wanting to ride a horse!! Go Stephen!

Calling all eager campers and excited parents!!

Camp is HOPPING with busy staff as we prepare further for camper arrival. As you may have heard from yesterday’s post, staff participated in a grand get-together last night as we planned out our classes and received advice from returning counselors who have taught in our different fields. No sneak peaks allowed but…anyone excited to COOK some sweet treats this summer? Anyone excited to DANCE their hearts out? How about pal-around with some furry friends of ours?

Today there were preparations made as more counselors practiced teaching classes and learning how to teach different activities. Between counselors being able to sign up for mock-horse lessons from the horse staff in training (YEEHAW!) and learning how to make glass beads, we are making sure that we are testing out all of the fun activities for you guys…purely for your benefit, of course (I LOVE seeing counselors walking around with a big smile on their face…you are about to come into a VERY happy community)!

Later on counselors will also receive their cabin assignments! That’s right, folks, we are moving into the cabins tonight that you (or your campers) will be living in for the next month. We will then start preparation for camper arrival including making sure the cabin is beautifully decorated and clean enough to eat candy-drop candy off of (did someone say candy drop!?) Also, we will spend time getting to know the other counselors in our cabin so we can start our cabin family off strong and plan some fun activities together!!

Keep your eye out for the next post! Between more lake drills for safety and arts training in the glass departments, we have a very busy day ahead of us. If it means I must hide in the bushes or put on a disguise to go undercover, I will make sure I ALWAYS get you guys the updates on all the exciting things happening here at camp! Until then…

Lots of love,

Miss Melody

Good evening to you all! Humming Bird here with LOTS to report, as we here at camp dance closer to the day when our campers arrive!! Camp is a-hum with excitement as our counselors work hard to prepare for our beautiful campers’ arrival.

We’ve been undergoing some serious training, and getting into the nitty gritty of camp! Our shift heads have begun planning for lazy days and events; our Program Directors have been directing their programs; and Liv and Clara have been hard at work with our Program Director, Charlie, to schedule all our classes.

Speaking of classes… check out these pictures of our counselors working hard on their lesson plans for the first two weeks of camp! Lots of hard work going on at HVC right now!

In preparation for the diversity of our campers, we all met this morning to discuss the different ways that everyone processes information, so we can make this a summer of successful learning! In addition, we are receiving training in mental health, and mental health first aid, so that our counselors will be prepared to accommodate all of our campers’ emotional needs.

In other fun news…. WE HAVE KITTENS!! Five baby kitties found their way into our camp, and our hearts– they’re a-MEOW-zing (Haha! Geddit??) T–one week until the campers get to cuddle them!

Enjoy the pictures, soon they’ll have campers in them! Until then, keep packin’ your crazy creeks and rain boots up! I’m off to find the have a baby kitten and baby bunny party in the animal pen– do you think they’ll like a bird coming to visit? Let’s find out!

Humming Bird

What do we do for fuzzy time here at camp?

Greetings, friends! Humming Bird here to introduce you to the newest member of our Blog Team! Here’s Miss Melody! She’ll be helping me tell you all about our incredible summer coming up! So here she is…

Hello everybody! I am VERY excited to spend the summer telling you all about our fabulous adventures and sweet stories at camp. Camp has been very busy these past few days as everyone here at camp gets ready for camper arrival in, get this, less than two weeks! We all are so excited.

Yesterday we had a nice day of meetings for different area trainings (arts! theater! sports! you name it, we got it!) and staff bonding, including hand-painting our own clay mugs that will be our faithful companions for the summer when we need our coffee or tea fix. Centered around teaching staff how to run certain classes in the various areas of camp, we are well on our way to a fun summer of SO many different classes. We ended the night with a fun evening program called “Booth Night” in which returning counselors all dressed up in silly clothes and explained certain camp traditions through acting or games at their booths. Some of the booths included learning goofy games we play here at camp, hearing about the different camp lingoes through a drum/rap session, and watching a puppet show of evening meeting in which Robin’s impersonation of Meg had the whole group laughing hysterically (there was even a guest appearance of Peter and Meg themselves!! What a night!) Check out the photos posted for a visual of this crazy night.

Upcoming today we have a whole group of staff participating in further preparation as we get ready for camper arrival. Today the Tipi’s go up and I can smell the roasting marshmallows over the campfire already! We have “Big Circle” night tonight, a big staff bonding event, in which we all will be given the opportunity to get to know each other personally. Continuing to create a community of loving individuals so that we can welcome the incoming happy campers with big arms!

We will keep you posted daily on all the happenings here at camp, and in the meantime, check out these ADORABLE pictures of the baby bunnies here at camp that will make you want to run up to camp even sooner. They still need names, so send your campers with some ideas!!

Until next time!!

Lots of love,

Miss Melody and Humming Bird

Every year, kids and adults and people in between come to camp. For the llamas, for the food, for the scenery. Some come in search of things more intangible– friendship, laughter, hopes and dreams. Why do you come to camp?

When something happens in the outside world that devastates communities and fills us all with a sense of loss, anger, and sadness, we are forced into consciousness. We must question the forces around us and our responsibility to do good in the world; or, at least, our responsibility to make things better.

It is times like these when camp values seem clearer and more utopian than ever. At Hidden Valley, we look out for each other, we practice kindness and safety and love. We approach disagreements with compassion and communication rather than opposition and violence. We perform tick checks and douse ourselves in sunscreen and remind each other to drink lots of water so we stay healthy and safe. We pick up litter and take shorter showers because we care about our environment and our bunk mates.

In the musical words of Tom, our favorite dulcimer guy, “Let’s make all the world a camp, everybody in the world will feel just like a champ, no need for rich or poor, yes this will be the cure, ‘cuz when all the world’s a summer camp, world harmony’s assured.”

Being in the Hidden Valley “bubble” is both a privilege and a responsibility. We are privileged to be around such beautiful nature, have access to incredible outdoor and arts facilities, and be in a loving and supportive community of like-minded people. It is our responsibility to harbor this energy, these resources, and this love towards the power of something good. The real world and the camp world do not have to exist in a vacuum; we must try our hardest to bring over our camp songs, values, and goals into our day-to-day lives after the summer ends. Imagine how much more interesting that office meeting would be with a thought-du-jour or maybe a Fake Fact. Maybe your roommate relationships would be easier if you came up with “apartment rules” in the same way we agree on “cabin rules.” Maybe if we came to appreciate the brilliance and value of every individual, the same way we do when we touch candles at Pine Grove, we might find we come together through solidarity and friendship rather than opposition and hate.

After we come out of our feelings of woundedness and confusion, what we can take away from this horrible tragedy is not the hopelessness of this world, but rather the beauty that still remains. There are still pockets of love all over the earth performing beautiful magic. We have our own little slice here at HVC, and we’re working extra hard right now to send out some love and hugs to those in need.

“The world is violent and mercurial– it will have its way with you. We are saved only by love– love for each other and the love that we pour into the art we feel compelled to share: being a parent; being a writer; being a painter; being a friend. We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it, all the time, is love.” — Tennessee Williams

Lots of love from Freedom, to Orlando, to beyond,

Olive Oyl

Howdy, folks! Olive Oyl here with lots more exciting news and photos as we begin to come to the close of a fun and productive week.

We had an awesome evening last night with Trivia, where staff split into teams and racked their brains to answer trivia questions ranging from sports to geography to pop culture to our favorite…HVC trivia!! Do YOU know how many buildings are on camp? What about Forbidden Planet’s former name? The name of Dexter’s female companion who is now gone? Ah, yes, these questions are a mystery to some and known to only a select few. All of our staff are part of this special group. We also had a staff favorite, name that tune, in between each round to get the ol’ dancing juices going and for a chance to earn some candy.

We then headed to the red barn for a lively night featuring a warm fire and a dance party, before getting a good night’s sleep in preparation for another busy day of training in our big areas. Lifeguard and ropes staff are fully immersed in their environments, with lifeguards practicing drills in the pool and ropes staff climbing and belaying one another. Be sure to check out the photos to see our superhero staff in action! Our horse staff is busy at the barn, as are other folks in their various areas– glass has been melting away in the beehive, and they may have even helped a special someone (me!) make a snail this afternoon. I can report that they’re confident, prepared, and excited to teach!

There’s lots of gorgeous pictures for you to see today, plus some extra llamapalooza photos from Thursday night. Enjoy and stay tuned for more updates!

Au revoir,

Olive

TOOOOBIEEEE!!!

Hello friends! Olive Oyl here, bundled up in a fleece and wool socks on another chilly staff training morning. But I’m feeling warm just thinking about all the running around and fun that was had last night during llamapalooza!

Last night after dinner, we gathered in Deer Meadows field for the very first official evening program of staff training, the one and only camp classic, LLAMAPALOOZA!!! Before evening activities started, we found some wild strawberries in the field, which was a marvelous sight. Be sure to check out the photos! It was an especially exciting night because we introduced a brand new original game, Tic-Tac-Tobie. Picture this: tic-tac-toe, frisbee, and a viking named Tobie. Make sense? For those of you that are still confused, this new activity featured a giant tic-tac-toe board where each “x” or “o” was marked by a frisbee toss. There were “x” and “o” teams, with each member getting one frisbee toss as their turn. Now factor in Tobie, a very angry Viking who is deflecting shots. It was hilarious and a great variation on an old camp favorite. We also had old standards like dizzy bat, the wacky obstacle course, rock, tree, bridge, and the water balloon toss. Of course there was blind llama sculpting, in which someone gets a word and must sculpt that thing out of clay without looking while everyone else has to guess. There was also booty box, another newer llamapalooza addition, that involves shaking your stuff till you get all the ping pong balls out of the box. We ended the night with a giant game of Ninja, where we split the staff into two groups and had the four champions battle for the title of Ultimate Ninja. With a fierce final round, booty box extraordinaire Moses came out on top. We can’t wait till llamapalooza part two, which is really llamapalooza part one for the campers. It will be the grand unveiling of tic-tac-tobie and we can’t wait!

Today’s another day of trainings, with lifeguards watching videos this morning and heading down to the pool in the afternoon. Ropes staff are down at the course getting acquainted, as are our horse folks. This evening is another fun night, with Trivia happening the dining hall. It’s always an awesome night, with name that tune, HVC trivia, and lots more categories! Let’s see how much random stuff we know!

That’s all for now folks, be sure to check out the llamapalooza pics!

Forever yours,

Olive

Lifeguard training, not too bad…

Hello friends of HVC! Olive Oyl here with your latest staff training news. It’s been a busy past few days with the start of our “danger area” trainings: waterfront, ropes, and horses and lots of new staff arrivals!

Whole bus-loads of new staff arrived Tuesday and Wednesday, with folks traveling from as nearby as Camden to as far away as New Zealand. We have such a diverse and energetic staff this summer we can’t wait!

Yesterday marked the first day of lifeguard training, and praise be to the sun gods it was warm outside! Now, that doesn’t mean the lake wasn’t quite nippy (oooh boy it was), but at least counselors could warm up in the sun after the big lake swim. Today staff are diving right in (pun intended) learning some skills and getting their proper training.

Our ropes staff got together today to start their training, which featured ropes games this morning and some more solid skill training this afternoon down at the course. Although it’s not quite summer weather yet, it’s not schvitzing and the sun is out, so we can’t complain!

Our new horse staff is getting acquainted with their four-legged friends for the summer, learning about each individual horse and getting to go for a ride.

Our other areas have been getting some attention too, with glass staff hanging out in the Beehive and the International House, working on cups, flowers, beads, trinkets, and whatever else they can dream up. We also set up the Yurt today, the arts building where tie-dye and screen-printing usually happen. Don’t be alarmed by the photo, we promise the counselors were not trapped!

Tonight is the first official evening program of staff training. We’re kicking off with Llamapalooza, a camp classic. There will be a new activity and fun times had by all. More info and photos tomorrow, so stay tuned!

That’s all for now, folks. Don’t forget to check out the photos!

Lots of love,

Olive

Yumm!!

Hello hello hello! Humming Bird here to give you the chirp about everything going on at camp! We’ve enjoyed a quiet few days, as new and old counselors alike have mozied their way on up to Freedom, Maine! Our future lifeguards have filtered into camp– we had 24 new staff members arrive yesterday! And what do you do with 24 new staff members? Why, you make them pizza of course!! We come from different countries around the world, but we all speak the universal language of pizza! Enjoy these pictures of our growing staff enjoying some beautiful pizza pies made in our very own pizza oven!

Speaking of food, the last few weeks we, the early staff, have not had the luxury of Chris and Lillian’s bountiful cooking. We’ve had to make do with our own culinary skills. We were lost with no hope of salvation until Stephen (returning to camp for his third summer) walked down Camp Road like a shining beacon of light! Stephen has cooked every meal for the last three weeks, keeping our bellies happy and our plates full as our staff has grown from 7 measly members to 70 satiated people. He has truly shown himself worthy as a chef, so naturally he deserved a chef’s hat! Check out the picture below. And while you’re at it, take a look at how our staff has grown! This morning we crowded onto the picnic tables as a group for our first meeting with all the lifeguards– and that’s not all! Our ropes and horse staff will be arriving today! Can’t wait to see how our staff grows and evolves in the next week or so!

Stay tuned for more updates as we begin our specialty training!

Today we’re doing everything to get our camp in check

We moved the summer furniture, and cleaned the rec hall deck!

Our staffers are arriving quick– we’re putting them to work!

So all our chores are done– not one would we presume to shirk!

We, Humming Bird and Olive Oyl, are here to share with you

The work that we’ve been doing here, so campers can come, too!

We started out the day by moving tables all around

So we can all eat lunches dry– above the soggy ground

And then we followed Phillie to the lake to take a dip,

We set up all the docks with teamwork– Oh boy! What a trip!

Right now we’ve got our teams of counselors working around camp,

We’re moving beds and nodding heads, and smiling– though it’s damp!

And last night we enjoyed some time of bonding in the barn,

We danced and sang and even made some bracelets out of yarn!

So now you’re all caught up about pre-camp at HVC,

Enjoy these pics while we go now to trim some greenery!

Beautiful bird house at Blodgett

Hello, ladies and gentlemen! Olive Oyl and Hummingbird are reunited and back at beautiful HVC. The sun is shining, the donkeys are donkey-ing, and staff are arriving! We’ve been checking out the scene all over camp, seeing what’s changed, seeing what feels just the same.

Today is an exciting day out on the ropes course, where returning staff are setting up the course and getting all of our new equipment settled in. We have a bunch of new ropes and helmets, but the same old ropes course featuring the beloved spider’s web, saddle, and zip line. In about a week or so, a load of new staff will arrive to begin their speciality trainings, one of which is ropes! We can’t wait to get started.

We also meandered down to the rec hall where we saw the gorgeous new deck out back in addition to some loft space backstage for extra storage for props and costumes.

Meanwhile, counselors have been busy with work crews all over camp, clearing trails and setting up our art studios, just to name a few. Our amazing community team, Heather and Celie, are up at Blodgett getting things ready for our first session community teens. So far, they’ve got the garden started with some swiss chard (complete with seaweed mulch, harvested from nearby Sears Island) and potatoes growing, and new seedlings are on the way. There’s also going to be an herb box, which former Community counselor Sandy made, to store herbs from the garden for cooking. So much action, big and small, to make this program fun and exciting and full of veggies this summer!

Slowly and surely there will be newbies and returners arriving in the next few weeks as we pick up the pace with getting camp camper-ready! Keep checking in to see the latest news. And don’t forget to check out the photos!