We have A LOT to look forward to this summer. New friends, new adventures, new sites. You even get to enjoy fun food you almost never have – can you say ‘liquid nitrogen slush puppies’ and ‘taco in a bag?’
And, while there will be a lot of ‘new’, you’ll also get to experience a wide number of traditions we enjoy each summer. Some happen every day while others are a little further in between. Two of them happen just at the end. Here’s a bit of a preview….
Daily Traditions
Starting camp by the flagpole with the entire camp is a treat. It’s one of the few chances everyone gets to be together in one spot. Juniors through CITs and all of our staff gather around the flag each morning at 9:40am. We greet each other, play a little bit, hear about the big news of the day, celebrate birthdays, and start the day as one.
Later each day, you can find at least one bunk (if not the whole crowd) dancing on their chairs in the Dining Hall. Music plays at every lunch and dinner and most of it is requested by the kids. Our in-house DJs do their best to keep the lunch and dinner crowds bee-bopping along.
To end the day, we get to spend a bit of time reflecting on all for which we were grateful. We do this by naming at least two of our daily happies. I walk through the boys bunks while Camp Director Kate or our Head Counselor Tiny gets the happies from the girls. I don’t know a better way to end the day.
Every Now & Then Traditions
While not all of our Evening Activities happen as one camp, those that do are special. So special, in fact, that we end each of them by joining arms, facing the lake, and singing Taps and Alma Mater. These songs have been sung together for decades and we look forward to enjoying them together again soon.
(For our new campers, don’t worry – we’ll provide you the words in our upcoming NewsWeeq and at camp.)
We also enjoy other traditions that happen each summer depending on the session. Events like Carnival, Swim the Lake, our AT Hikes and more. While I can explain them, it will be a lot more fun to experience them at camp!
Ending Traditions
At the end of each of our sessions, we enjoy a ‘Color War’ experience – Tribals in the first three week and Olympics in the second. While they rhyme, each has their own traditions, teams, and expectations. Sportsmanship remains supreme in each as our campers ‘battle’ across the arts, aquatics, athletic, and adventure activities.
After we’ve found the winning team, its time to start packing up and saying our ‘good byes.’ There are certainly tears at this point, we remind everyone the wonderful phrase from Dr. Seuss: Don’t be sad because its over. Be glad that it happened!
As we put our wishboats in the water and make our memories come alight, we get to reflect on what has been an amazing three or six weeks. At the end, we have all enjoyed new experiences while also connecting with traditions that began before us and will last after our time at Weequahic. That’s a pretty powerful combination…
…and we can’t wait to enjoy it with you! See you soon,
Cole Kelly
