It is hard to believe how quickly another summer has come and gone! Camp Hillard’s 87th summer was another successful season, full of fun, friends and really fabulous weather. This last week of Camp kicked off with a bang on Monday, with the Apache and Iroquois Visiting Evening performance. The boys and girls traveled to a small-town in middle-America where both dance and music has been forbidden in their spectacular production of Footloose. Let’s hear it for the boys and the girls!
The fun continued on Tuesday, with the annual Camp Hillard Carnival. This year’s Carnival theme was Outer Space; every group in Camp was responsible for creating a game booth with an intergalactic theme. Pin the Antenna on the Alien, Saturn Ring Toss, Space Jam Shootout, and Black Hole Bowling just to name a few! There were exciting rides and attractions on the Main Field for campers to enjoy; a Space Shuttle obstacle course, the Dixie Copter, the Dixie Dragonfly, and the Jurassic Adventure. As an extra special sweet treat, every camper and counselor received a bag of tasty treats including Hershey’s kisses and Twizzlers from the Candyman. The Carnival culminated with one of the most popular refreshments of the summer; a sour, Lick-a-Color ice pop. It was a truly spectacular day from start to finish.
Senior Camp Challenge Closing Ceremonies took place on Wednesday morning. Counselors representing the Green and Gray teams took part in a rousing Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament, followed by the traditional Pie Eating Contest. The competition was heated and messy, and in the end, the Gray Team was victorious. Congratulation to all of the Senior Camp participants for their energy, enthusiasm and good sportsmanship during the summer long contest.
On Wednesday, we gathered at the stage to give Special Recognition to counselors who really stood out this summer, followed by the ever-popular Counselor Talent Show. The INA boys rocked their Bruno Mars inspired performance of the Amy Winehouse classic, Valerie, the Cherokee Girls engaged in a Green and Gray Acapella Battle, a la Pitch Perfect, and Jessie from the Creative Arts Staff led the Gymnastics Staff in an energetic Zumba workout. It was a very entertaining and spirited display of talent!
Final Day Festivities on Thursday included the traditional Moving Up Ceremony, where campers and counselors moved over or up to a different Tribal Assembly area. This is always an exciting event for the Huron boys and Girls, who will be moving out of Junior Camp, and the Comanche boys and girls, both moving up to Senior Camp. We enjoyed a delicious lunch of Chicken O’s, followed by an Ice Cream Sundae, before we gathered at the stage for one last time for the Special Camper Show, where campers performed some popular tunes from their Visiting Day performance. In addition, the Libman family was joined on stage by representatives from Sunrise Day Camps for the presentation of a generous check of $24,000 to this worthwhile organization. Thank you to all the campers and counselors who participated in this year’s Charity Event.
Jim Libman continued his Hillard’s tradition of jumping into the pool in his clothing, much to the delight of campers and staff alike! The day seemed to fly by, and before we knew it, Tribes were meeting for their Final Afternoon Assembly and refreshments, this time with lots of goodbye hugs and some tears. When Lenny gave the word, campers took one last walk with their counselors to their buses, buckled up and rolled down Elizabeth Street for the last time, as The Libman Family and the Leadership Team waved goodbye. The end of yet another successful Summer!
The 87th Summer was truly terrific. Camp Hillard is a special place, and a big part of what makes it so special is due in large part to that very special group of people, the Hillard Counselors. What they did this summer was very special. Our campers truly benefited from all of the care and attention they received from these dedicated and enthusiastic people.
We will shortly begin the cycle again and start getting ready for Summer 2016. In the meantime, we wish all of you the very best for the rest of the summer and on into the school year.
Thank you again for a great summer!