Holiday times are great.

They give us an excuse to get together, see family and friends, sit across tables, to gather.

For a few days or even hours, we let go of work, goals, and projects. All to spend quality time with each other.

There’s something about being in the same room with people you care about that fills the tank in a way few other things do.

At camp, we get to do that every single night.

The Bell Rings

Evenings come pretty quick at camp.

After full day of activities there’s now a mix of electricity and anticipation. That’s because 100s of campers and staff are gathering at the Forum or the Coliseum.

The bell rings, and the entire camp goes silent.

With the sun setting over Lake LBJ, everyone enters and finds their spot for one of the best and oldest traditions at Camp Champions.

Torchlight.

The Girls Senior Campers lead off with the first Division Roll Call. Each age group has their own song or chant to perform. Campers know every word.

Then we welcome the Torchlighters (the campers of the day) to run down and light the big torch. There’s a song for that, too.

It starts quiet. Reverent, almost.

And then it builds.

Three-quarters of the way through the song, the crowd starts jumping up and down, singing louder and louder.

It’s like the moment the home team is about to storm onto the field.

The Torchlighter rounds the corner, and suddenly everybody sees who it is that evening.

That’s when the yelling really starts. Most nights you can’t even hear the final lyrics because of the roar. And it’s awesome.

High schoolers scream the loudest. They want to give each other the biggest celebration possible.

After the torch is lit, everyone chants and claps together:

“Way to go, Alex! Way to go!”

Then, just as quickly, silence again.

More Than Just a Nightly Activity

Torchlight isn’t just about seeing who was Torchlighter that night, though that’s for sure one piece of it.

There are games. Songs. Skits that have been performed for years (ask your child about the Raisin Skit, the Cookie Skit, or Roxanne). Staff in costumes. Announcements. Call-and-response bits that everyone learns from day one.

There’s “On this day in history”, where the whole camp shouts out guesses about what year something happened. It’s loud, a little absurd, and everyone loves it.

There is always laughter. It sometimes gets a little crazy. And that’s the whole point.

The permission to just be all in on something together is a big part of what makes Torchlight special.

Why It Matters

Torchlight happens every night of camp, going all the way back to 1967. Rain or shine. If it must be canceled due to weather, we find a way to make it up.

It’s the one thing at camp we all do together.

Campers spend most of the day in different activities, with their cabin or age group or side of camp. But Torchlight is where everyone gathers. Where the whole community becomes the whole community.

Everybody gets to be in on the inside jokes. Younger campers watch older campers get into it and mirror their energy. Traditions span ages. Nobody’s too cool to participate.

It’s silly and loud and reverent and chaotic, sometimes all within the same five minutes. This is what gathering together at camp looks like.

I’m feeling grateful for the chance to spend time with friends and family this week.

But it also makes me think of camp, and how much I’m already looking forward to the first Torchlight of each session next summer.

Campers and staff, I can’t wait to see you there.

Erec Sir