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 paddle boarding 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, the 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 New Year’s Eve Dance Party in the Gymnastics Pavilion and the Winter Wonderland in the Creative Arts Center!

Speaking Winter and New Year’s Eve 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 Halloween in July, complete with spooky costumes and trick or treating; International Day, when we celebrate different cultures and customs from around the world; and , This summer, we had a DJ Joe spun the hits on the turntables for our New Year’s Eve Dance Party, complete with noisemakers, a Countdown to Midnight and the Ball Drop, and a special snack at the Stroke of Midnight: White Cheddar Popcorn and sparkling cider.  The Creative Arts Center was transformed into a Winter Wonderland, where campers took a walk through the Hillard Blizzard, learned some fun facts about snow, wintry climates and polar animals, and had the opportunity to take photos with some very special guests from Arendelle; Anna and Elsa, and Olaf and Sven!  Tribal Winter Games, including a Mock Snowball Fight and an Abominable Snowman Relay Race, were just another part of this fun day, which concluded with an extra special afternoon refreshment; a Rainbow Polar 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!
• The INA Boys and Girls Night, originally scheduled for July 8th but postponed due to inclement weather, will take place on Monday night.  The INA boys and girls eagerly anticipate this Annual Evening Event, a Hillard tradition, that includes spirited competition between the Green And Gray teams.
• The INA girls can look forward to some more wintry fun on Tuesday when they travel to the Brewster Ice Arena for a skating trip.
• Our Visiting Day and Evening Programs continue in earnest, with Cheyenne Boys and Girls and the Cherokee Girls scheduled for next week.
• Ice cream parties and s’mores roasts continue, as do Talent Shows and Hillard Voice.
• Friday is Tribal Color Day.  Every camper should remember to wear his or her Tribal tee-shirt!

For more details specific to your child’s group, please read our Weekly Tribal Newsletters which are found in the Enrolled Camp Families section of our website.