The Magic of Gwynn Valley Evening Programs
As the sun dips behind the Blue Ridge Mountains and the fireflies leave their foliage shelters to glisten in the crisp, evening air, something truly magical begins at Gwynn Valley: Evening Program! With campers’ stomachs full of home-grown, farm-to-table food, they set out for ASA’s (After Supper Activities) where they can choose an activity to get their sillies and extra energy out before bedtime. Some activities include looking for salamanders and crawdads under the Lodge, playing knockout on the basketball court, dividing into teams for a game of soccer (or football as our international staff would say), or even scouring camp for the elusive Tajar with their friends.
Golden hour is a special time of day at camp. Campers transition from energizing play and exploration to community or cabin based activities. Throughout the session, we look forward to gathering under the setting sun for enriching camp culture experiences. A returner favorite is Mountain Dancing! Joined by Grant our caller and Debbie the pianist, campers will parade through the Lodge to songs in contradance style. Mountain dancing has deep roots in Appalachia culture evolving from dances brought by indigenous people and folks who migrated here in the early 1900’s.
Another notable favorite is a camp wide Scavenger Hunt! Main Camp and Mountainside have their own version of this scavenger hunt that they complete within their cabin groups, scored by our program leaders and logistics staff, usually ending in a GV tie. Cabins are given a list of items to gather, scrounge up and borrow for a certain amount of points to be awarded to each. Some items include; a piece of advice from a Leadership person, a thumbprint, a new friend, a red flashlight, impersonate a staff member, a four leaf clover and the perfect marshmallow roasting stick ( we are always on the lookout for this one!).
A few of our slower evening programs include Fire Time and Mountainside Farm Night. Cabins will gather around a campfire in the evening to roast marshmallows, tell sweet stories and maybe finish a friendship bracelet or 2. Evoking a sense of a classic camp night, campers will get to enjoy the twilight by the fireside before heading back to their cabin for friendship circle. Mountainside will get to spend an evening at the Farm this week to help weed, pick potatoes and visit the baby animals. The Farm is one of my favorite places in the evening, the barn swallows swoop around gathering bugs for dinner and the animals start to settle to sleep.
As the warm days go on at camp, we have many more cool evenings of exciting programs to look forward to. Fourth of July Program will be met with oooh’s and aaah’s of fireworks set off by Team Maintenance, sunset Tajar Tales acted out by our wonderful cabin counselors, and a Mountainside Visit for our Brookside campers who will learn the adventures that await for them on the Mountainside program. Ending the day with the perfect sunset on the Gatehouse Green is the best way to wish the day goodbye and welcome another amazing day at Gwynn Valley.
