Boys Camp was proud to celebrate the best of all holidays yesterday: International Elf Day! We celebrated all things elven by playing games, eating some special treats, and learning about the elvish history of Miniwanca. For example, it was revealed at breakfast that the original motto of the AYF was “My Own ELF, At My Very Best, All The Time.” It was modified to its current form to be more inclusive of non-elvish people. Breakfast also included some special toppings for our pancakes in the form of caramel and chocolate sauce.

After breakfast we started our week of Interest Groups. It’s a good mix this week including camp classics like sailing and woodshop, and new options like Bigfoot tracking. Everyone seemed very excited to get started!

It was also the departure day for our Trailblazer boys, who are going on a 3 day hiking trip, and a 2 day canoeing trip. We can’t wait to hear their stories when they return!

After Interest Group 1, all of camp gathered to play some Elf games on Bryant field. The favorite of the day was Elf Ball, in which you score points by passing the ball to a player standing on a chair. It also included some watermelon to help us beat the heat.

The afternoon was full of Interest groups and Free Time. A new record was set for most Baldy climbs in one free time at an astounding twenty-five!!!

After a delicious pizza dinner, we all gathered in Council Circle to play Elves and Orcs. Each tribe divided in half with the Elven half attempting deliver gifts to other tribes, while trying to avoid the Orcish members of other tribes. It was great to see campers enjoying playing with integrity and good sportsmanship.

We finished the night with an amazing evening reflection led by Cabin B8 about the power of balanced living. What a great end to International Elf Day!