Salutations Founder Friends and family! Big things are happening here at Merrowvista so let’s dive right in:
Yesterday, Tri-Py led an inspiring flag raising around their interpretations of the Viktor Frankl quote, “What is to give light must endure burning.” Also, the three week Pioneers rejoined us from their overnight adventures and all Trailblazers returned from their backpacking and canoeing trips, which means the three week Pioneer & Trailblazer villages are all together and will be for the rest of camp.
The Four Fold Tournament kicked off with camp being visited by 6 elemental beings from space who challenged the earthling campers of Merrowvista to prove their knowledge of balanced living in a camp wide competition spanning the final week of the session. The campers accepted the challenge and were divided into six teams: earth, wind, water, fire, light, and darkness, each led by one of the elements. After a spirited dinner, the night concluded with a race of camper built, hand crafted chariots pulled by teams across the Activity Field. Everyone did a great job of being inclusive with their ideas and craftsmanship, as well as supportive during the races while they vigorously cheered everyone on.
This morning was the second event of the Four Fold Tournament: Water Carnival. Teams came down to the waterfront to find stations set up and oh, the things they could do! Campers had a blast romping in the water, competing in the greased watermelon (first to touch the watermelon to the opposite wall of the dock wins), pudding paddle (paddle to the raft and feed pudding to your partner), and mermaid’s gold relay (diving for treasure in the deep end) events, as well as bopping from station to station. Other popular events include face painting, hair wrapping, marshmallow mayhem-ing, candy walking, pudding eating, water balloon tossing, and PFD tug-o-war-ing. To cap it all off, teams gathered in the shallow end for Canoe Sinkaroo, a race to see which team can sink their leaders’ canoe first!
In the afternoon, campers attended their interest groups around camp and headed to free time. This evening, Pioneer and Trailblazer campers played a game in which they attempted to go to as many stations as possible to perform challenges and avoid being tagged by Explorer campers, who could give them additional challenges to complete. Carter Dome led a beautiful Evening Reflection on what they’ve learned this session that can be brought home with them, with each boy sharing something personal and important.
Tomorrow we’re looking forward to Camp Conquest, Enchanted Dinner, and MV Production!