The Fourth of July is arguably one of the most fun days we have at Miniwanca. We started off our day jumping in the lake for an All Camp Polar Bear in our pajamas. The waters were chilly, but we quickly forgot the cold as we sang one of our favorite traditional songs – Founder Hearts.
After racing back to the cabins to get ready for our day, we heard a lovely Morning Stretch reflection and then jumped right into a red, white, and blue breakfast. There were donuts frosted by our Avail campers and some staff friends as well as red, white, and blue pancakes. We even extended the morning dance party to make the day extra fun.
As breakfast ended, campers made their way up to Assembly in all their red, white, and blue regalia to get lined up for the Parade for No One. That’s right, Miniwanca has a parade where everyone is in it and no one watches! We marched down to the Hollow, singing patriotic songs and dancing to fun tunes, and waving at our imaginary fans. Once there, we started the annual dodge ball tournament! The Trails faced off against the Dunes and came out victorious. The Ridges battled the Draws and folded to them. Then the Trails and the Draws competed to see which quad was the dodge ball champions and after a long and hard fight, victory went to the Draws!
Of course, we couldn’t end our dodge ball playing there. It’s been a tradition since 1925 to have a camper versus leader game on the Fourth, so the leaders stepped into the rink facing all the campers. For a while, the campers looked to be victorious, but then the leaders staged a surprise jailbreak and were back in the game. Neck and neck, the teams continued to battle it out, with the leaders pulling ahead this time! There was no telling what might happen next, when all of a sudden everyone was surprised with the arrival of red, white, and blue rocket pops! It’s hard to focus on dodge ball when there are Popsicles to be had. And so the campers and leaders rested their rivalry for another year.
The rest of the day was fairly relaxed, with some extra camper Free Time in the morning, and lots of chances to swim. We ate quesadillas and garden chili for lunch, had an extended rest hour, and worked to make a craft all together before heading back to the lake for more swimming. What can we say – it was a perfect day for the beach!
Dinner had us eating a cookout in the Hollow, and then we headed up to Assembly to watch Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse, which has a great message about every person, no matter their age, being able to be the hero of the story. The night ended to the sounds and sights of many fireworks over Stony Lake and Lake Michigan alike. It was an amazing Fourth of July, and we’re excited to see what tomorrow brings.