Saturday night we had a wonderful social with neighboring Camp Kawaga. Earlier that day we had a sing off contest organized by each cabin. Each cabin was instructed to come up with a song to share with the entire camp. They had to incorporate Agawak into their song and create the best Agawak song they could in the time allowed. Some songs were serious and others were funny but they were all original. We selected the three best songs which came from cabins X, OW, and 14.

This morning and afternoon we spent the day in full activities. We’ve had many fist time campers up skiing for the first time. Our fishing class continues to catch large amounts of fish daily. Each class period they are catching about 17 fish. This activity really has grown over the years and it’s great to see young girls enjoying the art of fishing. The Agawak parade dance class is doing an outstanding job preparing for the upcoming 4th of July parade. Every year we take the entire camp in for it and this year we will have approximately 190 campers dancing down the main street of Minocqua. By far we are the hit of the whole parade. There is such excitement surrounding and leading up to the parade. The other night, after cookout, we piped the parade song into the outdoor sound system and within seconds the picnic area was quickly transformed into a dance stage. We’ve had great parade performances in the past but if all goes right this one will be the BEST one yet. Brittany Curtis and her team do a super job preparing the girls for this BIG event. Abby Frank and Romy Kotler were the campers of the day for today and yesterday. We try to select a camper of the day who has shown kindness to others and who does a good job helping others in their cabin. Margaret Duffy, Kozue Matsumoto, and Hannah Frost were selected as counselors of the day over the past few mornings.

Any campers celebrating a birthday while at camp will be given a cuddly moose clothed in a blue Agawak T-shirt. The birthday moose is a large hit! Our birthday campers always enjoy the special attention they receive from all their camp sisters.

Packages are out of control. Please remember ONLY 8.5 x 11 envelope packages will be given out. I truly do not want to hire another staff member for the sole purpose of handing out and organizing packages. Based on how parents follow this rule I will be reevaluating our package policy at the end of summer. At this point, I feel strongly we will need to ban all packages next summer. Camp Kawaga, Camp Chippewa and other camps have a no package rule. Campers have already over packed and now are receiving additional items they must eventually stuff into their duffles at the end of their stay. Yesterday, a camper received a package with two sets of Christmas lights inside. The day before that someone received a bean bag chair. Please stop sending stuff they don’t truly need. Packages larger than 8.5 x 11 will be returned at your expense. This of course does not include birthday packages. Birthday packages are always welcome.

On a positive note homesickness continues to be at an all time low. We have a few campers who are experiencing normal levels of homesickness. More than 95% of all campers report having some homesick feelings on at least one day of their camp stay. It’s normal! We have no severe cases though which should put all of you back home at ease.

We receive a large number of calls every day and do our very best to return calls as quickly as we can. Please remember during meal times (8:15am-9:15am), (1pm-2pm), (6pm-7pm) we leave the office to get a bite to eat with the rest of camp. After 10pm the office is closed. The office staff would truly appreciate morning calls no earlier than 8:15 am. Please try to keep these times in mind when contacting the camp office.

Tonight is our first campfire of the summer and we will announce our campfire girls at evening flagpole. Our first campfire girls for the summer of 2011 are: Ellys Perry, Samantha Marcus, Gabriella Zuckerman, Rachel Schlecter, and Logan Weiss.

I get to witness daily the power and energy that surrounds every moment here at camp. This is the most wonderful, carefree time of everyone’s life. Some don’t realize it until it is over and they are past it so I try to remind them to open their eyes, every day, to the magic and beauty that surrounds them. Camp is a great place to discover the gift they were given at birth and to share it with all of us. I feel a creative and positive force overflowing here. It is exhilarating and uplifting. You can look at the web pictures and see the energy. Camp is where our Bliss resides.

We’re all smiling here,

Mary & Staff