It is hard to believe how quickly another summer has come and gone!  Camp Hillard’s 88^th 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 took to the stage in their 10^th Anniversary production of High School Musical.  They were all in it together, and what a production it was!

On Tuesday, the Libman family was joined on stage by representatives from Friends of Karen for the presentation of a generous check of over $22,000 to this worthwhile organization.  Thank you to all the campers and counselors who participated in this year’s Charity Event.  We also enjoyed a very special Camp show; where campers performed some popular tunes from their Visiting Day performance.

The fun continued on Wednesday, with the annual Camp Hillard Carnival, which was postponed from Tuesday due to a rainy forecast.  This year’s Carnival theme was the Olympics; every group in Camp was responsible for creating a game booth with some Olympic Spirit.  Pin the Medal on the Athlete, Pluck An Olympic Duck, Space Jam Shootout, and Black Hole Bowling just to name a few!  There were exciting inflatables on the Main Field for campers to enjoy; a Candy Land obstacle course, the Goofy Gator and the Sea Fun House, and an Amusement park Obstacle Course.  As an extra special sweet treat, every camper and counselor enjoyed 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.

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 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 Cold Play/Beyonce medley, 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.

Jim Libman continued his father’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 88th 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 2017.  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!

Week 7 was another fun and exciting week at Camp, highlighted by a variety of fun events. Campers continue to put their talents on display, showcasing their singing, dancing, boxball, basketball, break dancing, beat-box, piano, and “armpit-tooting” skills in talent show performances worthy of America’s Got Talent.

Olympic competitions continued in earnest throughout the entire week; groups came together and broke out into their respective countries for Track and Field events including the javelin throw, the broad jump and the shot put, as well as the 40 yard dash.  Other Olympic events included running bases for time, dribbling and shooting competitions at basketball punt and pass competitions at football, mini-golf and tennis tournaments, as well as an intense Olympic Soccer tournament and water polo matches at the Pool.

On Wednesday, the entire camp wore their tribal color shirt and some even added some tribal color accessories, and we all met on the Main Field for a colorful All Camp Assembly – it looked fabulous!  On Wednesday evening the Navajo girls had their visiting evening.  The girls did a great job showing off their swimming skills and did a BEAUTIFUL job on stage performing their show.

Thursday was Crazy Hat/Hair Day!!  Campers and counselor showed off their creative sides, displaying a dizzying array of whimsical and colorful hairstyles; mohawks and faux-hawks, dreadlocks and boxbraids and unicorn horns; not to mention a wide variety of crazy hats including Viking horns, hotdogs and hamburgers, bunny ears and cat ears, and giant Dr. Seuss hats, minus the cats, of course!  It was great to see such an expression of spirit all throughout camp!

Campers continued to work on their American Red Cross swimming skills and are making great progress.  In addition to our regular swim program, Junior Campers participated in Olympic Swim Fun, complete with Medal Hunts, swim races and “silly’ jumps!

On Friday afternoon, the CIT’s took a short jaunt down to the Candlelight Inn for the Annual CIT Luncheon.  CIT’s or Counselors in Training, are the eldest campers at Hillard; all are rising 7^th-10^th graders who work side by side with General Staff in Group or Specialty Assignments. As a special thank you for all of their hard work, they were treated to a lunch that included the Candlelight Inn’s World-famous chicken wings, a messy and thoroughly delicious reward for a successful summer!

On Friday afternoon, the entire Camp assembled once again on the Main Field for our Olympic Closing Ceremonies, which included some intense counselor events, including a 40 yard dash and a football toss.  Six counselors from each tribe were chosen at random to represent each of the six Olympic countries participating; Brazil, England, France, Greece, Israel, and Mexico.  Campers cheered for their respective country, while enjoying their afternoon refreshments, and when all of the events concluded and the medal counts tallied, England was the Gold Medal winner, followed by Greece, who took home the Silver and France with the Bronze.  Congratulations to all our participants!!

The eighth and final week of Camp is sure to be an exceptional four days of fun. The Big Show is on tap for Monday evening; the Apache and Iroquois Boys and Girls are ready to cut loose in the 10^th Anniversary production of High School Musical.  Final rehearsals have been in full gear, and the show is sure to be a fantastic one.

Wednesday, the long awaited Hillard Carnival will commence. It’s also our final Tribal Color Day and an All Camp Picnic. The Special Camp Show and Charity Presentation are on Tuesday; campers are gearing up to take the stage to perform some of the most notable songs from their Visiting Day performances. The counselors have been furiously preparing for the Annual Counselor Talent Show on Thursday, which is sure to be a lot of fun.    On Thursday, we will also have a Moving Up ceremony for all the campers as they step into the shoes of their future tribe; Pawnees to Chickasaws, Hurons to Cheyennes, and so forth!  It is sure to be an exciting and memorable week.

Week 6, Week 6!!? It’s hard to believe just how quickly the summer is flying by.  The week was highlighted by the Swim Festivals; Senior Camp on Monday, Junior Camp on Tuesday and Middle Camp on Wednesday.  There was music at the pools, treasure hunts, swim races, musical water buckets and more!  On Monday evening, the INA boys and girls took part in the annual tradition known as INA night, a spirited competition between Green and Gray.  The boys competed on the baseball diamond, the soccer field and the gridiron, while the girls participated in the Apache Relay.  The competition was friendly but fierce, with the gray team edging out the green team by only 100 points!

On Friday, the entire Camp assembled in Olympic Stadium, (usually known as The Main Field) for our Olympic Opening Ceremonies.  Everyone, campers are counselors alike, was randomly assigned to one of six countries; Brazil, England, France, Greece, Israel, or Mexico; and after Morning Assembly, we filed into Olympic Stadium behind our Country’s Flag Bearer, to the tune of every country’s National Anthem.  The Olympic Flag was raised, the Olympic Oath was recited, the Olympic Flame was raised and the Games were declared officially Open.  The first day of events included an Olympic Soccer tournament, which saw medals awarded to England, Greece and France; gold, silver and bronze, respectively.  An entire week of Olympic competition continues all next week!

S’mores Roasts and Ice Cream Parties are in full swing.  This week, the Pawnees, the Huron boys and girls, the Comanche boys and the Cherokee girls all enjoyed their ooey, gooey, sticky-delicious S’mores Roast, while the Cheyenne and Comanche girls, the Cherokee and INA boys and the INA girls enjoyed their Tribal Ice Cream Party.  Nothing beats a Camp Hillard Ice Cream Party; campers build their very own Ice Cream Sundae, choosing two scoops of ice cream, chocolate or vanilla (or both), assorted tasty toppings like rainbow and chocolate sprinkles, caramel sauce or chocolate syrup and maraschino cherries.  An Ice Cream Float is another option; two scoops of ice cream, swimming in fizzy, bubbly Coca Cola.  A refreshingly tasty treat on a hot summer day!

The week’s Lunch offerings were varied and delicious, as usual.  We started the week with a Mexican Monday, Mexi-Beef Tacos with Cheese, salsa and sour cream. A Make Your Own Sandwich meal of assorted cold cuts, cheeses and french fries was on the Menu for Tuesday.  Wednesday featured Hillard’s insanely popular Chicken O’s; most campers and counselors will admit to saying, “I’m just going to have one more.”  But everyone knows you can never just eat one more Chicken O! Thursday featured one of the more highly anticipated lunches of the summer, Sloppy Joes, prepared with lean ground turkey and served with sweet potato fries.  We rounded out the week with warm and cheesy macaroni and cheese on Friday.

Tribal Talent Shows are in full swing.  Tribes assemble during their Rest Periods, and campers show off their skills; the acts ran the gamut from karate chops and arm farts to hula hooping and rope jumping, to singing and acting and joke telling!  Hillard campers are a pretty talented bunch!

This week, we also saw several nail-biting Sports League Playoff and Championship games.  On Tuesday, the Comanche Boys kicked off the first round of their Divisional Playoffs.  In the American Division the Hillard Scorpions played the Comanche Crushers and the Lightning Strikes took on the Eight Crushers.  The Hillard Scorpions and the Eight Crushers were victorious and played each other in the American Division finals with the Eight Crushers claiming the title!

The National Division saw the Blue Strawberries play the Eagles and the Wrecking Balls took on the Rockets.  The Eagles and the Wrecking Balls won these matchups and had an epic finals matchup with the Wrecking Balls coming out on top.

The Cheyenne Boys continued the playoff action on Wednesday; in the American Division, the Other Guys played the MonStars and the Fire Bombers took on the Golden Hamburgers.   The Other Guys and the Fire Bombers were victorious in the first round and played each other in the American League finals, with The Other Guys claiming the title.  The National League saw the Golden Retrievers play the Camp Hillard Heroes and the Super Ballers took on the Scorpions.  The Camp Hillard Heroes and the Super Ballers won their respective first round games and had an epic National League finals matchup with the Super Ballers coming out on top.

The excitement continued for the Cherokee Boys, with the Mean Green Machines, Gruesome Gray, Terminators, and Fire Scorpions placing first, second, third, and fourth respectively in their Division 1 Championship Games and the Underdogs and Warriors placing first and second in their Division Two Championships

As we near the end of the sixth week of camp, almost every Tribe in Camp has experienced either a Visiting Day or a Visiting Evening.  Campers look forward to these very special days when moms and dads, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas come to watch them swim, play sports and perform songs or put on a show at theater, while also finally getting to meet the counselors who have been essential in making every camper’s summer fun and successful.

The Pawnees and the Chickasaw Boys and Girls had their Visiting Mornings early in the summer; for many of our youngest campers, Camp may be their first full-day group experience, and moms and dads are eager to meet the counselors and see their little ones in action!  This year, the Pawnees and the Chickasaws showcased their developing athletic skills at a Sports Skills Showcase on the Main Field, participating in a mini-obstacle course which included shooting hoops, kicking a soccer ball and scoring a goal at field hockey.  On the musical side of things, they performed a few special songs that they had been perfecting for the first few weeks of the summer, including songs from The Jungle Book and the Camp Hillard song.

The Visiting Day programs for Hurons and older are a little more intense; in addition to participating in sports and swimming, campers perform a Broadway style show on the big stage.  This summer, the Huron Boys and Girls hit the stage for the very first time, performing Peter Pan and The Little Mermaid!

Visiting Day for the Cheyenne Boys and Girls included baseball and softball and swimming at South Campus Pool Complex, which always includes a ride down The Great Green River!  The Boys traveled to Neverland in their production of J.M Barre’s classic, Peter Pan and the Girls travelled under the sea in their performance of The Little Mermaid!

Comanches and older are always excited by the prospect of a Visiting Evening.  These Tribes get to remain at Camp after every other camper has gotten on their bus and headed home!  Dinner is served at South Campus and campers and counselors gear up for an exciting evening!  The Comanche Boys and Girls showed off their athletic prowess during games of basketball and soccer, respectively, after which the boys hit the stage to perform The Blues Brothers, while the girls were Aca-Amazing in their performance of Pitch Perfect.

Visiting Evenings for Senior Camp take place towards the end of the summer; campers spend six to seven weeks rehearsing for some very exciting shows; the Cherokee and Navajo girls in Beautiful and the and The Really Big Show during the final week of Camp.  This year, A-I Boys and Girls and the Cherokee Boys Theater Club are starring in the 10^th Anniversary Celebration of High School Musical.

Next week, the fun continues!  Olympic Competition continues in earnest, in addition to the Junior Camp Olympic Swim Fun and the Middle and Senior Camp Crazy Dive Contests.  Thursday is Crazy Hat/Hair Day; everyone is looking forward to getting all wild and crazy!