Camp Blog

More Agawak fun!

by: 
Camp Director

 

As we wind down week three the program continues to hum at a rapid pace. We have packed in tons of activities over the past several days and our campers are sleeping well from the energy exerted out daily. 

Our 4th of July celebration was hot and humid. One hundred and eighty-three dancers took part in the annual Minocqua 4th of July parade. The Agawak girls stole the show....proving they are tops where ever they go! We enjoyed a cookout after the parade and watched the Min-aqua-Bat Ski show. With thunderstorms lurking nearby I made the decision to head home and forgo the fireworks show. As the last campers boarded the buses rain fell and the town of Minocqua canceled the fireworks display. The majority of camp was alright with getting home a little bit earlier than we typically do on the 4th. We were all exhausted from exploring Minocqua shops and dancing our hearts out to Dancing Queen and were ready to snuggle into our bunks. 

This morning, Ducky served up his homemade chocolate chips pancakes and campers participated in various clinics. We had homemade broccoli soup and chicken sandwiches for lunch. Ducky our head cook for 25 summers will make his famous Friday night pizzas and EP coordinators (Morgan P. and Zoey K.) will introduce a new evening program tonight called ...Nancy Drew. It's an Agawak mystery where cabins try to be the first to figure out who stole hundreds of Agawak dollars and for what reason. Campers will travel to 10 different stations where they will interview staff members, hear their alibi and be given clues to solve the mystery. Every night at Agawak there is a planned and well-executed evening program which our campers eagerly look forward to. Multiple times throughout the day I'm asked, "What's the evening program?" Sometimes we kept it a secret which adds to the excitement. Over the past few days, we have played Blue and White Stratego, Counselor Hunt, and danced up a storm at Club Agawak. We have tested campers for the swim lake happening this coming week and started our preparations for our Olympic Day celebration. Olympic Day will be represented by The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Queen & the Grateful Dead. Our O-Day Commissioners, Kayla Morris, and Maddie Abrams are off to a great start with team selections. 

Our full activities days on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week had us moving from the ski docks to the tennis courts to the gymnastics mats to the pottery wheel. It's no wonder most campers sleep better at camp than they do at home. Tons of fresh air, lots of physical activity and a jammed packed schedule produce tired campers. While mastering a backhand in tennis, getting up on a slalom ski, conquering the climbing tower or being in the minicamp play are all ingredients to an amazing summer, it’s the overall dynamic and pulse of camp that campers will remember through the winter and, very often, the rest of their lives. 

One of the things we talk about in the cabins, at program areas, in the Lodge at meals, at evening activities, at flagpole is being nice. Sometimes, campers need to be reminded about this, and it’s our job, as caring and responsible adults, to do this in a loving and constructive way.  Kindness and respect are key ingredients to a happy cabin life, and therefore a happy summer. It’s a value we speak about regularly and reinforce when necessary.  These values are important at camp. They’re important at school. They’re important at home. And, of course, they’re important in life! 

As we begin to approach week 4 we gear up for the Agawak color run, Olympic Day, commando, a social, the Miss Agawak Pageant and our famous Blue and White lip-sync performance. This last week will leave us too quickly. We are not ready to say goodbye to our first session camp sisters.  It's been the best first session I can recall in years weather-wise, programming wise and administrative wise. I could not ask for a better group of campers nor a better selection of staff. Your girls are so very blessed and happy and I am too.

 

Smile-on,

Mary