Sunday, 7/24/16
Yesterday, our Saturday Activity was Harry Potter Day! As everyone was entering breakfast, Ben stood outside with The Sorting Hat. He sorted each camper and counselor into a house (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin). They ate breakfast with others from the same house. After breakfast, they were able to change into their house colors. I want to give a shout-out to the four counselors that worked so hard to plan this activity. Jenna (Sybil Trelawney), Sam (Delores Umbridge), Ben (Severus Snape), and Jon (Remus Lupin). Of course, we had others dressed as Professor McGonnagall (Susie), Voldemort (Joey), Moaning Myrtle (Brynn), and Hagrid (Forrest).
Girls’ Tents led a touching ceremony centered around family. They read quotes, told stories, and played songs that were family-themed. Noah, Tre, and John each got up to share a poem or thought about family.
There were four vases in the pavilion, one for each house. The counselors that organized the day added/took away points (marbles) as the day went on. Delores Umbridge was, of course, very strict; she took away house points during Silent Lunch.
The first event of the day was quiddich on the soccer fields. Ten players on each team were given brooms to “fly” on. The chasers’ goal was to throw a ball through the hoops that were hanging on the soccer goals. The keepers were able to block these throws. Counselors stood on the side of the field, throwing bludgers (dodgeballs). The beaters were able to guard their teammates by hitting them away. The seeker’s goal was to catch the golden snitch (which happened to be one of our counselors, Jenna, who was painted yellow with glitter). Gryffindor won the quiddich tournament; Hufflepuff took second, followed by Slytherin and Ravenclaw.
After Silent Lunch, we had rest hour. Four senior members from each team had to sneak out of their cabins and retrieve a book from the forbidden section of the library. They were to then bring it back to Professor McGonnagall. Each book was worth a different amount of points, depending on how hard they were to find.
In the afternoon, there were three big activities planned. Each team had to save a CIT from the Black Lake. The CIT’s were floating in the middle of the lake (with lifejackets, of course). The teams had to row out to them and hoist them into their canoe to bring them back.
For the Wizard/Witch Duel one person from each team stepped up. They stood back-to-back with water balloons in hand. They paced heel-to-toe to the hula-hoops placed about six paces away. When they stepped into the hoop, they were able to turn around and throw the balloon at the other wizard/witch. The other wizard/witch was able to dodge the balloon, as long as they remained inside the hoop.
The third station in the afternoon was The Whomping Willow. Ben stood in the middle of the pool with a pool noodles in each hand. He swatted all around. Two swimmers at a time tried to retrieve spoons, which were underneath the “tree”. If a swimmer was hit by the willow, they had to drop the spoon and switch out with another teammate.
The last activity was taking down Voldemort. In order to kill him, they pelted him with spells (water balloons). The kiddos also wanted to throw them at Delores Umbridge, because she was also horrible. (The things we do to entertain the kids…)
The winners were announced at dinner: GRYFFINDOR
Last night, we went to see the Winchester Royals play baseball. The camper and counselors got to have concessions, and they watched the game. Some of the campers (and administration) bought some Royals apparel. Robert B even won one of the raffles! It was a fun ride home for all involved. On the bus, the campers and counselors sang a bunch of songs. I know that the van rides were a lot of fun too. I had the tent girls, Charlotte, and Ella S in my van. Loudest. Singers. Ever. By the time we returned to camp, it was already time for all to be in bed.