I write a lot about the benefits of camp, but sometimes it is nice to celebrate the fun.

I am including a couple of pictures to show different versions of camp fun that goes beyond the many activities we provide.

First, I give you the silliness of Miss Champini. Champini is a favorite girls side evening activity. Miss Champini is a pageant, but not a normal one. We are not focused on beauty, but creativity. Cabins choose a subject and dress up their counselor as a camp-related item.

We have seen globs, camp dogs, sailboats, the Pirate Ship, sprinklers, corn dogs and sunscreen.

This year’s offerings were great, though we failed to get a picture of all the candidates. We had Cinnamon Toast Crunch (one of our most popular improvements in the dining hall is that everyone can get a box of CTC), a Walkie Talkie (talent was “interrupting conversations), an Aquanaut, a Chaco (a sandal that creates awesome tans), Dock Girl (the “ghost” that keeps an eye on the girls’ side), Old Faceful (a water fountain), a climbing wall, the trunk fairy (a poltergeist that moves trunks that are not clean), Leah Ma’am and Lola, Luna the mermaid, and Susie Ma’am.

The best talent was the Climbing Wall (because the counselor is quite tall and allows a camper to climb her), best costume was the Walkie Talkie,

and Ms Congeniality was Old Faceful who would spray the campers. I am not sure that is really congenial, but I was not actually there.

The overall winner was Luna the Mermaid who (beautifully) sang an original song about camp.

While the girls were painting and dressing their counselors, the Letterman (boys finishing 5^th and 6^th grade) were having their overnight. They had a fire building competition and basically connected with their inner caveman.

I happen to love seeing children bonding in nature around a fire. These moments are special, so distanced from their typical world. The stories told there stay with the campers for years. In fact, I still remember moments I shared with my 10 year-old friends as we told tales while illuminated by a campfire, watched for shooting stars and slept outside.

Not a bad day at camp.

Steve Sir