Good morning, world! Olive Oyl here with some news for you as we continue another day of classes and fun here at HVC!

First off, we had a spectacular evening last night with Valleyfest. We had a whole variety of acts, with lots of music, with the thumb piano, the Cup Song, Rolling on a River by our AWACs, and an epic acoustic guitar rendition of Stairway to Heaven. We also had some comedy skits, like sumo wrestling. There was also some dance, ranging from contemporary to tap. After we finished up with the amazing acts, we got to hang out for a bit longer with a surprise dance!!! We jammed out to some new tunes and some classics, like Don’t Stop Believin’. Overall, it was an excellent way to end a relaxing and fun lazy day.

Our Tipis folks had an exciting day yesterday, with a trip to Acadia National Park. They climbed the Beehive trail and even ran into Peter and Meg, who were enjoying a day off. What a crazy coincidence! The group also harvested foraged food and served it for dinner, in addition to yummy pizza and ice cream. They’ve also been working on some crafts, like acorn necklaces and hallowing out their bowl and carving projects. They had an awesome day inspired by nature and we can’t wait to see what they do next!

HVA has also been off adventuring, and they just got back from their trip where they climbed Mt. Katahdin, the highest point in all of Maine. As one camper recalls, although the hike “was challenging, it was tons of fun and memory that I’ll cherish forever.” They also went to Baxter and Acadia National Park were they biked on carriage trails, which a camper describes as “gorgeous and well worth the exertion.” The same camper recounted, “Nights ’round campfire were prime time for jokes. With our stomachs full of s’mores, we would have been content to camp forever.” Sounds like everyone had an awesome time both being in nature and bonding with one another. For their next trip they’ll be going to Canada, where they’ll spend three days in Quebec, then go rafting and rock climbing. Sounds sweet and we can’t wait to hear all about it when they get back!

Now for our Stayin’ Alive! update…

Yesterday during pool activities, our Alive friends did a performance art piece based around famous villains, like Malificent and The Queen of Hearts. They did a slow-motion choreographed movement piece to epic music. It was amazing! Later on, they watched Mrs. Doubtfire to inspire method acting. For their evening program, they made sugar and chocolate bananas over a fire and played character-based improv games. They’re continuing to plan for their show, which is coming up next week. I’m sure they have some super cool ideas brewing and we can’t wait to see it all come together.

We’re eager to get back into our classes this morning and are super excited for cabin night tonight! Check back in tomorrow for all of the cabin night scoop!

So long,

Olive

Tipis and the Kassens!