Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Wheel of Misfortune!!

Tuesday, August 10th, 2021

Howdy HVC!

It’s Mag-O-Llama here and I’ve got so many updates from yesterday’s amazing evening program.

Last night was the Wheel of Misfortune! The Circus came to town and struck chaos all around HVC! Let me fill you in on how the night went down.

From the start, campers were foretold not to attend the Circus by the Fortune Teller and others who had an inclining that the night would end in shambles. The Fortune Teller also warned not to trust the circus ring leader, and for good reason.

As the night went on, campers decided to test their luck at the Circus and slowly realized that the counselor’s where being hypnotized by the ring leader and her devious circus clowns. With attempts to save them, campers participated in eating dirty diapers, flossing their siblings teeth, searching for eye balls, and getting their toes into some intestines. Not to mention, Wheel prizes of course!

Thankfully, the Fortune Teller saved the day by setting the circus clowns free of the Ring Leader’s trance and summed a team to light the Ring Leaders head on fire.

As you can tell, we had quite the night. Now, I’ve gotta make sure that the ring leader hasn’t escaped HVC!

Peace, Love and Llama Hugs,

Mag-O-Llama

IT’S THE SECOND FIRST DAY OF CLASSES!!

Friday, August 7th, 2015
Fishing!

Fishing!

Hello, hello! Humming Bird here with Cat Nap to update you on all the glorious excitement about the first day of classes!

Yesterday we all signed up for our second round of classes, and after all our suspenseful waiting THE DAY IS HERE!! We gathered for a beautiful egg bar breakfast this morning, provided by the luminescent Chris and Lillian, after which we went to our Morning Meeting! We enjoyed all the old favorite Meeting features, like the Fiddlers Green Farming Fact (ee-aye-ee-aye-oh!), the Spirit Animal of the Day, the Annoying Song of the Day, the Gurus of Uselessness, and Thought du Jour! Check out some wacky pictures below!!

Also included in Meeting today was a little explanation for our wonderful new campers who arrived yesterday, about how classes work around here! After which, we were all released to go enjoy the aforementioned classes!

Cat Nap and I did some journalistic investigation this morning to determine how the campers REALLY feel about this day, and after sending the feedback we received from the campers in to our analysts for their analysis, the statistics are in and they are OVERWHELMINGLY positive!! Our campers are just plain EXCITED to begin their new classes today!! Check out some pictures we snagged of our smiling campers’ faces in their first class of the day!!

Tonight we have a super fun evening program… ELECTIVES!! Counselors will line up on the soccer field to announce what activities they will be leading, like Glass Beads, Capture the Flag, Baking Cookies, and more! Then campers will “walk very slowly and cautiously and respectfully” (just kidding… they’ll book it!) to the counselors leading the activity they ELECT to participate in for the night! It’s a super fun evening program, and Cat Nap and I can’t wait to tell you all about it tomorrow!! It’s the CAT’S MEOW!! (“You’re still not funny, Humming Bird.” – Cat Nap)

Alive went with the main camp Shakespeare class to see a Midsummer Night’s Dream yesterday!! The Shakespeare class is putting the very same show on here at camp this session, so we look forward to watching all their hard work in the near future!

The Apprentices yesterday went to an exhibit in Rockport yesterday called “Geography of Youth.” It’s a photo exhibit that also documents the words and stories of young people in Maine! Then last night they joined their PD contact, Sarah, in making some beautiful glass beads!

Adventures is still on their backpacking trip through the White Mountains. This is a trip that their counselor, Paul, developed an implemented just this year!! Paul is currently studying to become an Outdoor Educator, and he used all his training to plan this trip, so it could be fun, educational, and appropriately challenging for the Adventures campers. Cat Nap and I, and the rest of camp, can’t wait to hear all about their excursion when they come back!!

Well we’re off to rescue the cucumber that went missing from Meg’s Planet yesterday… Who on Earth would steal such a succulent cucumber? And so close to the Pickle Sacrifice!! (More on that in the future… stay tuned!)

Chirp, Hum, Meow,

Humming Bird and Cat Nap

Kim & Reggie, HV Adventures, and BAZZINGA!!!!!!

Tuesday, August 4th, 2015

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Good mooooooorning!! Humming Bird and Cat Nap here! We didn’t get enough of Kim and Reggie last night, so they gave us a special performance this morning during our Meeting as well! LCH helped them sing some fan favorites like I knows it and Follow the Drinking Gourd! Thank you, Kim and Reggie for getting our day started off right!!

 

TONIGHT IS BAZZINGA!!!!!!!!!!!! “Need I bother to ask what that is, Humming Bird??” No! You need not ask! I’ll tell you!! Bazzinga is an evening program of pure madness and shenanigans, where OUR COUNSELORS GET SCRAMBLED AROUND!! Cabins get a new set of counselors, starting at Evening Meeting. These counselors stay with their new cabins for the night, and engage in different activities! For example, some cabins will be playing Quidditch, some will play Cascade in the pool, there will be some Capture the Flag action, some cabins will play ManHunt, and still others will put on a Newspaper Fashion Show! It’s sure to be a super fun night, and Cat Nap and I can’t wait to report back on it!

Until then, enjoy this blurb from the counselors of our Hidden Valley Adventures program!! Our adventurers got back a few days ago from their wild journey, and as we speak they are about to embark on a second one!! Here is what their counselors, Sarah and Paul, sent to the parents of our teen program campers!!

Spednic Lake and St.Croix River

It feels like just yesterday we were loading six eager teenagers into the van to head to Northern Maine for our first real adventure. The setting: Spednic Lake and the St.Croix River. The mode of transportation: loaded down canoes. The level of excitement: off the charts.

First, we met up with our guide Steve before heading to our put in point at Spednic. We spent the first couple days learning to paddle and maneuver our crafts in anticipation of the white water that awaited us on the river. We got to the river on the second afternoon and it wasn’t long before our skills were tested with sleepers (hidden rocks that will grab your boat and not let go) and a tasting of white water. Over the next few days we braved Little Falls, zigged and zagged through mile long white water and jumped in swimming holes to stay cool.The weather held out for six of the seven days with the only weather coming in on our last afternoon out.

The kids are filled with stories of the times they nearly capsized (and whose fault that may or may not have been) the tort raptor and the endless pot of beans that needed to be consumed. Though the stories may seem silly, it shows that they are comfortable enough to be silly and work hard at the same time.

It was absolutely wonderful watching the group learn the skills necessary to function in the wilderness. Everyone learned how to chop wood and build a fire as well as cook tasty food for an entire group. Through the gaining of these new skills the group really came together as a unit to perform all the tasks and had a blast doing it. Adventures aren’t the easiest thing to transition to but the group is really doing great. Everyone is picking up skills quickly and becoming great adventurers. We are all excited to see what our next trip into the White Mountains holds for us.

Until then remember… Adventure is out there!

Well there you have it, folks!! Sounds like a pretty cool program! Stay tuned for more news on their progress and adventures!! Also tune in tomorrow for photos of Bazzinga!!

Cat Nap and I have to go ask Adventures for some survival skills before they head out!! Wish us luck!

Chirp, Hum, Meow,

Humming Bird and Cat Nap

The Dance, Junk Food Day, and Jake Day! Oh My!

Saturday, August 1st, 2015

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HELLO, HELLO, HELLO!! It’s a beautiful day here at camp, and do you know why?? I’ll tell you! IT’S JUNK FOOD DAY!!! Humming Bird and Cat Nap here with pictures and words to update y’all on this SWEET day!! (“Hahaha! That’s a knee slapper…” – Humming Bird, “Stop it, Humming Bird, that was dumb” – Cat Nap)

What on Earth is Junk Food Day? I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you! Junk food day is the beautiful day that comes once a session, when all the healthy food in the dining hall is magically replaced with JUNK FOOD!! For breakfast we enjoyed a gourmet display of donuts, pop tarts and sugary cereals (don’t worry, parents, there were eggs and fruit as well!) For lunch we will be dining on fluffernutter sandwiches (peanut butter and marshmallow fluff) and hot dogs (there will also be salad for campers who wish to opt out of the junk food mayhem) and at dinner we will settle in for a yummy meal of ravioli!

But the food here isn’t all junk!! Last night, for example, our exquisite kitchen staff cooked us a yummy southern-style meal of barbeque chicken, corn bread, collard greens, and salad, with a vegetarian option of barbeque tempeh!

Not only is today Junk Food Day, but it’s also JAKE DAY!! WHAT ON EARTH IS JAKE DAY, HUMMING BIRD?? Well, I will tell you!! Jake day is a magical day when the Video Staff takes– you guessed it!– video of every single cabin performing their cabin cheer! Cabins sit in front of Tipi Hill, shout out their cheers, and then they go down the line and everyone says their name super loud! “And what is all this fabulous footage used for, Humming Bird and Cat Nap?” Well, at the end of the session, a wonderful guy named Jake takes all this footage, and creates a digital yearbook that every camper will receive in the mail in December!! It will include footage of our Meetings, our evening programs, and our Trip/Lazy Days, in addition to every cabin’s cheers and names!! It’s a wonderful reminder of our time at camp, so look out for it in December!!!

Last night was the Super Heroes and Villains Dance!! Cat Nap and I joined our campers and got our faces painted, practiced our evil laughs at the laugh station, went through an obstacle course to keep up our litheness, and did some target practice at the basketball court!! Check out pictures of all the evil antics we got up to!!

Cat Nap and I are off to hunt for more donuts!! Tune back in tomorrow for more Junk Food Day pictures!!

Chirp, Hum, Meow,

Humming Bird and Cat Nap

PS: Check out some pictures below of the apprentices practicing their glass blowing!

Winter Wonderland at HVC!

Monday, February 16th, 2015
Beautiful frozen waterfall at the lake

Beautiful frozen waterfall at the lake

Hi, friends! Long time no blog post! But Olive Oyl is back with lots of wintery news for you!
There’s been a whole bunch of snow in Maine– about 7 feet in the past 3 weeks. This may seem like a ton, but the snow actually compresses over time, so there’s generally a solid 4 feet (or more!) in most places around camp.
Be sure to check out the awesome photos– the swing sets are pretty much un-swingable as the seats are submerged in snow. It seems nearly impossible to enter the Red Barn, as snow is piled  up to the roof. The ropes course is covered in a beautiful snowy blanket and there are icicles lining the Dining Hall. Such a different way to see camp!
A beautiful waterfall has formed at the lake…possibly a sign that it’s probably too chilly for a dip. The lake is still getting plenty of use, though! Under all the snow coating the frozen lake there’s loads of ice– perfect for ice fishing. Check out the photo of the building atop the snowy lake– that’s an ice fishing shack, where there’s a hole drilled in the ice to fish. So cool!
The cold weather has only fueled our excitement for warmer days ahead. The PD team for the summer has been chosen and we can’t wait! We’re just counting down the months…
Well, that’s all for now! Stay in touch for more updates soon!
So long,
Olive

 

Brrrrr!!

Tuesday, November 4th, 2014
A very snowy pool and some sunshine

A very snowy pool and some sunshine

Hi, friends! News correspondent Olive Oyl here with your wintery news!

…but wait! It’s only October!

While Halloween may have just passed, that didn’t stop Maine from getting a head start to winter. Camp got a foot and a half of snow yesterday! It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago we were cooling off in the pool or the lake, relaxing in the sunshine with a Blue Sky in our hands. (These are just a few of the things we’re excited about for next summer).

Before all the snow melts (although I’m sure there will be plenty more snowy days), enjoy the beautiful photos and stay tuned for more news!

Always,
Olive

Staff Training Has Officially Begun!

Wednesday, June 11th, 2014
Meg and the rescued bird!

Meg and the rescued bird!

Hi there, friends! Olive Oyl here with some exciting camp news.

We’ve begun to shift from pre-camp to staff training mode, with everybody moving into new cabins and greeting new faces! It’s been a warm and sunny day here in Maine, and we’ve had some preparatory work projects around camp like cleaning up the red barn and rec hall to get ready for all our new staff and of course our wonderful campers, although those shining faces are still a few weeks away. We’ve already had a handful of staff trickle in last night and this morning, but we’re expecting a whole bunch more later on today. All of our lifeguard, horse, and ropes trainers have arrived, so those areas of camp are beginning to get ready for the summer. The horse staff has been working especially hard getting the new horses ready and taking care of a beautiful stray bird (be sure to check out the pictures!). We’ve also been continuing our hard work at the new snack shack and pizza oven, which currently looks like an igloo as it’s in its final stages of completion.

This afternoon we’ll be holding interest groups with some sing-a-longs, name tag making, and friendship bracelets (just like camper arrival day!) to welcome our new counselor friends. We’ll also be giving inaugural tours and settling into our cabins to get everyone adjusted to this wonderful place that we’ll be calling our home for the next few months. The pace is picking up around camp, and we’re so excited to meet our new community members and get the summer rolling!

Ta ta for now,

Olive

 

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