Hey friends! Lady of the Lake here, with more news than you can imagine! The camper in the photo above said the magic word – read on to find out what in the world we are talking about.
Immediately after evening meeting last night, the Wheel festivities began. The night we had all been waiting for was finally upon us. We had an extremely fitting Thanksgiving feast to start the night off right, complete with turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and of course, pumpkin pie.
I say that the meal was fitting because as we approached the area outside the Rec Hall, where the Wheel took place, we entered a 17th century village. Farm animals trailed villagers carrying eggs and flowers, and a donkey carried more supplies. A preacher stood on the roof of the Pottery Studio, reading out the words of The Bible. Two villagers stood on the roof of the Rec Hall tossing paint filled water balloons down on us. One villager was tied up. Fear and suspense filled the air as we waited to enter the Rec Hall. Finally, the guards let us in, and we entered the Town Hall of Hidden Valley Township, where the mayor and his wife greeted us. Witches were among us, they announced, and they had to be tried. Welcome to the Salem Witch Trials, Hidden Valley Wheel of Misfortune edition.
It was time to Spin the Wheel. Peter let out Gruesome, the monster that chooses participants for Wheel activities. Gruesome selected 7 souls to be the jury for the trials. There were four witches to be tried. The first was tried for having flaming red hair. When the mayor spotted another counselor with hair just as red, he ordered for her execution as well. The two were taken outside with the executioner and brutally murdered outside the Rec Hall window. (I’ll take the time to note now that though this wheel had scary aspects, there were many moments of comic relief intertwined to keep us all laughing and in high spirits. Up was also playing in the Red Barn, for those who decided to forgo the Wheel.)
Naturally, we next had to search the brains of the witches. Gruesome selected more campers to do the searching. The campers looked through the brains (really messy concoctions of spaghetti and other foods) until they found seeds of evil in them. They raced, and the losers all got to have a chance at a Wheel Prize. Each participant had a choice from two oddly titled envelopes (titles included “A Second Candy Drop?” and “Poop,” among other things). Peter opened the chosen envelope, and read the prize if there was one enclosed. Sample prizes included having a counselor serenade a cabin before bed, having a counselor lifeguard during rest period, and having a counselor dye a streak of their hair. Cabins will collect their wheel prizes over the following two weeks of camp. Some campers said the magic word, and they were immediately pied.
A townsman then came to announce the news of the witches death. He had the facts a little wrong (he thought she’d been convicted of having blue hair), so he was immediately pied.
The trials then continued. The next witch was tried for dancing with the spirits up at Pine Grove. Her husband spoke out, and he too was convicted for being disloyal. The two were taken outback and executed. Then, those of us in the HVC Township had to prove our loyalty. Gruesome picked pairs of campers to come up. One camper created a horrid drink, and the other drank it. The first to finish the fluids won. Their pair sat down. The losers, unsurprisingly, had a chance at Wheel prizes.
At around this point in the night, we in the Town Hall witnessed the Mayor’s wife creating her own magical potion. Her husband stormed in, and she announced that the witches had cursed her and forced her to make the potion. The trials, of course, had to go on.
The evening continued, as the final two witches were convicted and executed. Campers had to complete various other tasks, like sibling tooth flossing and eating a hot dog off a string. After each execution, the townsman tried to announce the deaths. Each time, he was pied. The final time, the poor townsman’s head was shaved. The Mayor and his wife ran a tight ship in Salem!
But the magic continued after all the witches were dead. Who was behind this mischief? The Mayor’s wife, of course. The executioner seized her, and deemed that she had to be set on fire. We headed outside to the back of the Rec Hall, where the graves of the previous witches lay. We lit the head of the Mayor’s wife on fire, and watched her burn. (Ok, in reality we lit her witch hat on fire and then dumped water on her to put out the fire.) The reign of terror was over, and with it, so was the Wheel.
We gathered up and then headed off to bed, ready to get a good night’s sleep before today’s Trip / Lazy Day. Not to worry, there are loads of pictures of the Wheel to help you visualize the insane craziness of last night.
We woke up today refreshed and ready to go. The older half headed off to go Glow Bowling, where they got to bowl in a glow in the dark atmosphere, while the Younger Half stayed on camp to have Gross Day. On the trip, campers had a blast getting to show off their unique bowling techniques and having massive sing-a-longs on the bus. Back at Gross Day, campers could paint their face and sculpt their hair with shaving cream, investigate a mystery box, go down a slip-n-slide, experiment with mentos and fizzy drinks, play with slime balloons, have a colored water dunk, take a go at a gross obstacle course, or play paint twister. The campers sure were dirty when the activities ended! For those campers who preferred to remain un-gross, we had Tranquility at Meg’s Planet. There, kids could read a book, hang out with friends, play some music, or make friendship bracelets.
We all regrouped together for lunch, and then had rest period. Pool activities are ongoing right now, and the Parent Trap is showing in the Rec Hall. It’s been, and will continue to be, a great Trip / Lazy Day, especially because we have Valley Fest tonight! Valley Fest is the camper talent show, and we have over 30 acts coming our way.
Be sure to check out the photos from the Wheel and Glow Bowling. There are more photos to come of Gross Day and other events happening around camp, so stay posted.
Over and out,
Lady of the Lake