We make the Fourth of July a truly special event at camp.

Before I go any further, I want to stress that we are so excited about the international flavor of Camp Champions. This summer, we have campers and counselors from over a dozen different countries.  We love the variety of insights that everyone brings to our community.

But that certainly does not keep us from having fun on Independence Day - especially at a summer camp in Texas!  In fact, one of my favorite moments today was seeing Harriet Ma’am – our exceptional horseback head from England – sporting a huge red, white and blue bow. I also enjoyed seeing our New Zealand Rugby player decked out in an American flag shirt.

We started the day with a boys and girls combined flag-raising (a once-a-year event).  Susie Ma’am came as Lady Liberty and I attempted to embody Uncle Sam. Many campers, counselors and leadership staff came in full July 4^th regalia.  There was a LOT of stars and stripes.

After breakfast, we had All Camp Super Camp Fun Day (ACSCFD). During ACSCFD, campers get to choose their activities, which is a huge camper favorite.  But we did more than just offer standard activities; we also brought out some unusual ones including Hamster Balls, a Foam Pit, a Dunking Booth and Sno Cones!

In the afternoon, we had a beach party at the Swim Bay full of music, watermelon and a pie-eating contest. 

Once again, we decided to spice up the event by bringing in several massive inflatables to play on.  We provided huge slides, an obstacle course, and a few other favorites.

 

Dinner was a picnic served in our field complete with patriotic cupcakes [note: the cupcakes themselves did not express any actual patriotic opinions – after all, they are cupcakes – but they did form a flag.] We ended the picnic with that bastion of American sophistication: a counselor hot dog eating contest. After dinner, we enjoyed a County Fair with campers playing a wide array of fun games. 

We concluded the day with a huge fireworks display.  While our display does not trump those of large cities, it is still quite impressive.  We used to play patriotic music during the display, but we stopped three years ago when we learned that the campers loved singing songs at the top of their lungs.  Few experiences make me smile as much as having hundreds of people singing so loud that you can hear it over the boom of fireworks.

In short, it was truly a full day. As a Texas summer camp, we are obligated not to disappoint when it comes to patriotic spirit, after all!

 

Steve Sir

 

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