Valley Fest and Junk Food Day - Ooh La La!

A short note to families before we hand the blog back over to our correspondents….

It’s hard to believe but in a few days we’ll be in the midst of closing activities. An email this week to families will confirm travel plans, etc. Logistics aside, here are some brief reflections on our time here these past weeks….

Reading the blog, you are now aware of the tremendous effort that staff put into community activities at HVC. These events are fabulous and fun, nearly impossible to produce outside the world of camp, and – in the absence of the “color war” activities at more traditional camps – enhance our efforts to create a meaningful, positive group life here. We have long believed that these positive community experiences – taken back in to the “real world” – are an ideal for young people to aspire to in their daily lives.

Even more importantly, we see so much individual growth here. Some campers are spending their 6th or 7th summers at HVC and not only are they taller, but these children have truly become themselves, making contributions all over camp, acting as role models and demonstrating that values of love, friendship and mutual support can truly be brought to life. And our brave new campers have shown that they too can make contributions – as together we build “family” life in the cabins, learn skills all over, etc. – while establishing creative independent identities away from home.

So, there you have it… Independence and Interdependence, both at once! Our thanks go out to counselors and instructors who have set the stage for so much success. And hats off to our campers, a truly generous, comfortable and open-minded group, always thinking outside the box, but too far!

And now the news of the day… Meg and Peter

Hi world! It’s Lady of the Lake here with the rest of the news from yesterday – and some from today!

It’s Junk Food Day! We woke up this morning to a breakfast of donuts, pop tarts, and sugary cereals. We can’t wait to see what food the next meals bring!

The Wheel is still on everyone’s mind, particularly the gory ending. I forgot to mention yesterday that the Mayor had his heart ripped out by his wife. Oof!

After pool activities ended yesterday, we gathered up for evening meeting, where we heard the results of the cabin inspections. In the Younger Half, a dragon and his knight searched for the dirtiest cabin to burn down. During their search, they discovered that LCH was the cabin to demolish. But the knight couldn’t let the dragon do so, and struck the dragon down. For the older half, a Princess decided that Deer Meadows was the scariest, while Taj was the most indifferent. Fiddler’s Green won cleanest for the Younger Half, and Halley’s Comet won cleanest for the Older.

We headed into the dining hall for a delicious meal of pizza. There were so many options to choose from, like veggie pizza, pesto and tortellini pizza, and various meat pizzas. Then there was delicious watermelon for dessert.

With our stomachs warm and full, we had Valley Fest! There were 32 acts that performed, and all were truly amazing. There were instrumental performances – a fiddler’s tune on the violin, a guitar rendition of Wild Horses, a flute performance, a classical violin performance, and a juggling drums performance (the two campers traded off juggling and playing with the bowling pins). There were also musical performances that involved singing – we heard A Thousand Years, Ho Hey accompanied by the ukelele, Anyone Else But You (also on with the ukelele), Royals, Someone Like You, Blowin’ in the Wind, This Love, Brave, You and I, I’ve Got Confidence, All of Me, and Let it Be. We also had campers perform dances – one to Rolling in the Deep and another to Waka Waka. We were all amazed by the talent in HVC, and can’t wait to see more performances from these folks over the next week and a half.

After the delightful night, we climbed into bed where we dozed off to the lovely sounds of schvitz. And that brings us to now, Junk Food Day and the 4th day of classes.

Be sure to check out the awesome pictures of Gross Day activities and Valley Fest!

Until next time,

Lady of the Lake

Share this:

Related