It’s hard to believe we have just finished up the fifth week of Camp! We are now deep into the camp season and there’s no end to the fun we have been having.
The boys and girls departed for their mini-sleepaway to Camp Pontiac on Sunday morning, and they had an amazing time! Water front activities, including banana boating, kayaking and the brand new Tarzan Swing were a big hit with campers and counselors alike. The boys and girls also enjoyed arts and crafts, cooking, dance and woodshop. The food at Camp Pontiac was varied and delicious; multiple salad bars, pasta, grilled chicken, homemade, thin-crust pizza hand-fired in state of the art pizza ovens, in addition to afternoon snack offerings and evening trips to the Canteen or the Ice Cream Shop. A particularly cool aspect of Camp Pontiac’s Canteen, The Pont Roc Cafe, is that it is a stylized version of the Hard Rock Cafe! One particularly special highlight of the trip was an Overnight Sleepout in Tree Top Village for both the boys and the girls. This sleepout was a great opportunity for team building and bonding, as well as for a mini-prank war between the boys and the girls. When the Pontiac Shuttle buses returned to Hillard, everyone chattered excitedly about their experience, and they are all looking forward to visiting again next summer. But everyone was really excited to be back home at Hillard, just in time for the Halloween Dance Party in the Gymnastics Pavilion and the Freaky Fun House in The Creative Art Center!
Speaking of Halloween In July; during the fifth week of Camp every summer, we celebrate a different special event. Everyone know that the regularly scheduled programming at Camp Hillard is unparalleled, but every once in a while, we like to switch thing up a bit and add something special. In summers past, we have celebrated Tropical Islands Day, complete with a Tropical Dance party and a Cruise Ship around the Islands in the Creative Art Center; International Day, when we celebrate different cultures and customs from around the world; and this summer, DJ Joe spun the hits on the turntables for our Monster Mash Dance Party, complete with princesses and Pirates, Ninja Turtles and Ballerinas, a Limbo Contest, and a Spooky Snack; Ominous Orange Punch and Cheesy Popcorn. A Freaky Fun House, complete with goblins and ghouls, mummies, monsters and Mad Science, lay in store for the campers when they Trick or Treated through the Creative Arts Center. Halloween Tribal Games, including a Halloween Scavenger Hunt, a Witch’s Broom Relay Race and Mummy Wrapping Contest, took place on the Upper Field. The Day concluded with a special afternoon refreshment; a Polar Orange Push Up Pop!
It has been an awesome 5 week of camp for Here at Hillard. A little more than half the summer is done but there are so many fun activities to go!!
- Our Swim Festivals begin next week! Campers can expect treasure hunts, boat rides, lifeguard relay races, music at the pools and more!
- On Wednesday, The INA Boys and Girls can look forward to a trip Yankee Stadium to watch the Bronx Bombers take on the Detroit Tigers.
- Our Visiting Day and Evening Programs continue in earnest, with Cheyenne Boys and Cherokee and Navajo Girls scheduled for next week.
- Ice cream parties and s’mores roasts continue, as do Talent Shows and Hillard’s Got Talent.
- Friday is Tribal Color Day IV, Topsy Turvy Day, as well as the Announcement of Spirit Week Teams for Green and White, which kicks off on August 7th.