Arrival Day!

Woohoo! My favourite day of the year is finally here: Arrival Day! Our campers have just stepped off the busses for Manitou 2019 and we’ve hit the ground running! When the busses started to pull up, I could feel the excitement in the air. Campers new and old — all smiling — ran off the bus into what is bound to be THE BEST SUMMER EVER! They ran through the Tunnel of Love, a tunnel of hands made by our Head Staff to welcome our campers into Manitou, and onto Main Field where their Counsellors were eagerly awaiting with their cabin signs. The reunions and the blooming friendships alike almost made this old Moose cry!

All the campers went to go settle in their cabins, and rest will be good for the big night ahead! After a bit of unpacking time, we will be going to the first official Flagpole of the year! Flagpole usually happens after dinner, and it’s when the whole camp meets on Main Field to hear the evening announcements. Tonight is a very special preview Flagpole where we will meet the Unit Head and Director team, so we’re doing it a little differently before dinner. And speaking of dinner, our amazing Head Chef will be cooking up another incredible meal…I’ve heard rumours of chicken burgers!

After dinner, our campers will go in their cabin groups to the Activity Fair! All of our Activity Heads and Specialists will be set up on Main Field with a little booth for their activity, trying to get as many campers as possible to sign up for it! Because Manitou is special and our campers have the opportunity to choose their own schedule, the Activity Fair is an important and fun place to go. I love going to see what our 35 creative Activity Heads come up with, and I know our campers will be excited to see them, too!

Once a cabin has gone through the Activity Fair, they’ll be able to sign up for the activities they’re interested in and write a postcard home! So keep checking your mailboxes for those beautiful Manitou postcards! Finally, the evening will end on a quieter note when we raise the flags. Campers who have birthdays today and last year’s Jordana Lokash Award winners will have the honour of raising the flags, and then it will OFFICIALLY be the start of Manitou 2019!

Well, I’m off to see if my Unit Head friends need any help unpacking their campers!

Yours Moosily,

Manny the Moose