A Magical UK Day!
Dear Families and Friends,
What a day! Today was International day at camp and we spent it learning about and celebrating the United Kingdom. International days are a chance to learn about the culture, food, and people who join us during the summer!
We started the morning with a magical surprise. Our dining hall was transformed into Hogwarts, complete with floating candles, hanging sconces, and Hogwarts house placements. We met Harry Potter and even had a visit from the Queen of England–all before breakfast! One of the best parts of international days is the food. Our international staff love bringing a taste of home to the Gwynn Valley dining hall, and we love getting to try new food from around the world. For breakfast, we enjoyed a “Full English” complete with English muffins, baked beans, bacon, scrambled eggs, and melon. It was a delicious start to an exciting day!
The morning was spent in B Day Discoveries. Campers have now had a chance to try out all four of their discoveries which they will have two more days each to experience. As Main Camp enjoyed activities such as singing and dancing, canoeing with Grant, and farm/mill, Mountainsiders were on their second day of mini-adventures. These are full days where campers get to try out each adventure offered before choosing one to embark on for four days later in the session.
As lunch neared, we were treated to a few rain showers that helped to cool off the heat of the past few days as well as fully transform the atmosphere into a genuine UK experience. Counselors from the UK were thanking the skies for a bit of grey which made it feel even more like home. For lunch, we enjoyed a classic dish called “toad in the hole” which is sausage baked into Yorkshire pudding. We also enjoyed some crisps (chips), fruit, and peas and carrots, a truly English meal!
Our Riversiders are still climbing away in Tennessee, enjoying the second day of their four-day adventure.
The afternoon was spent in sign-ups for Main Camp. Campers were able to make wands in Blacksmithing, or play Water Quidditch at the Waterfront–just to name a few Harry Potter themed activities for the day. Even with a few scattered showers, it was a fun-filled afternoon!
As our Main Campers played, our Young Leaders participated in their second leadership training. They will have seven of these trainings throughout the session which will allow them to grow and develop as leaders and as a group.
Dinner was a delight for everyone as we all dug into cottage pie (similar to shepherd’s pie), salad, mixed veggies, and corn (all grown from the farm), and Jelly Roly Polys with custard for dessert. It was delicious, and many campers agreed that based on food alone, the UK was on their lists of places to visit!
Our main event for the day was our campfire which was a celebration of the UK. It was held in the Lodge and hosted by James Corden who introduced us to a variety of stars from the UK including Queen, The Spice Girls, Adele, Ed Sheeran, One Direction, and Peppa Pig! It was an exciting night filled with dances, UK facts, and a fantastic skit from a few of our campers. Everyone was dismissed by the UK staff singing “Let it Be” and smiles were on every face after an exciting evening!
