It was a very full, and fun, camp weekend. Friday's headline event was the Box Office Hits Social, hosted at Newfound by counselors in full Avatar regalia. Campers from both camps dressed creatively as Jaws, Harry Potter, Darth Maul, Forrest Gump, Batman, several directors (we needed several for all the movies!), and others. Super hero "training," wand making, face painting, dancing, and ice cream cones were some of the headline events at the social. It was a great evening!
Saturday morning brought with it the traditional camp clean-ups at both Newfound and Owatonna. After cleaning, the Owatonna boys headed off to a local track for their annual track meet. The campers competed in the high jump, the shot put, sprints, one and two mile races, middle distances, and several relays. Teams cheered their friends on, and everybody was witness to excellent competition and sportsmanship. After each boy crossed the finish line--win or lose--he was met with high fives, hugs, and congratulations. Back at Newfound, the girls had a great afternoon of club activities. This is a favorite day for the Newfound campers--they get to focus on one activity of their choosing for the afternoon. Activities are different every week, and there are always a full range of choices from artistic to athletic to dramatic, and more!
Today, Sunday School highlighted the morning, and a Newfound-Owatonna Water Carnival filled the afternoon. The Newfound waterfront was a-buzz with activity as the boys and girls combined their teams and had fun (no team points!) competitions. Campers of all ages raced in traditional events such as crawl, butterfly, and breast stroke, and in non-traditional even such as swimming with water noodles, while reading Sentinels outloud (elementary backstroke), and while wearing Newfound uniforms. Meanwhile, swimmers raced to Cherry Island (a half mile swim), raced sailboats, crossed waterski wakes, built sand castles, and raced in kayaks. The afternoon ended with much cheering and laughing as first the counselors and then the CITs competed in the "greased watermelon" event: each team tries to get a watermelon covered with Crisco across the water and up onto the dock. Both the swimmers and the spectators always love this event! After the Water Carnival, the Owatonna boys stayed down at Newfound for a huge cook-out. A great end to a fabulous weekend at camp!
