Tribal Games 2019!
YABBA DABBA DOO! It’s been a jam-packed couple of days up here, and it’s all been fun fun fun! Even though the end of first session is near, our campers and staff are all still having a blast and enjoying the beautiful, sunny weather we’ve been having.
Friday was our last full day of activities for first session, and campers were finishing up their art projects and completing all of their various goals: like getting up in Waterski or perfecting their wrist shot down at Hockey! We ended our Friday nights as we always do with another inspiring Friday Night Fireside. This week, our Senior Unit took to the stage to talk about our theme for the summer, “We Don’t Stand By.” As some of our older campers, they were able to share some wisdom and thoughts on the theme and they all spoke so gracefully. Here are a few of the things our Senior Unit campers mentioned.
“Don’t Stand By. This is the message for Fireside. This year’s theme is probably my favourite in the five years I’ve been at this camp. There are always going to be moments in life when you are faced with a decision between doing something and doing nothing, and even though it is almost always harder to act than watch, it is almost always more rewarding.”
“Being a dissident in a group of friends is difficult, and you open yourself up to criticism when you don’t conform with the group, instead advocating for yourself or others. Camp is the perfect opportunity to take those risks. Additionally, at Manitou there will be times when someone else–maybe it’s someone in your cabin, or someone in the same activity as you–is being excluded and all it would take to help them is a single invitation to sit together at outdoor dinner, or hang out at O&A. You can initiate that change! Don’t stand by, stand up!”
I’m always so impressed by the maturity of our campers, and it was so amazing to hear them speak on our theme in such a passionate way. It was a lovely Friday Night Fireside as always, and I can’t wait to hear from our next unit!
Saturday was a big day at Manitou–as I’m sure many of you know–because it was our annual Visitor’s Day! We welcomed all of our camper’s parents and family members into camp to see what Manitou is like! Everyone was able to see the activities, meet the counsellors and staff, and eat at Chef Will’s famous Visitor’s Day buffet! It was fun to meet everyone’s family and see everyone having such a great time! I even invited my moose family to see our camp!
After all the excitement of Visitor’s Day, it’s hard to believe there was more to come! That night, after all of our visitors had left, we all went to the theatre to see the Seniors and C.I.T.s perform in Mamma Mia! It was a blast to see everyone having so much fun, and I know I’ll be humming those ABBA songs for a few days!
That night, as is tradition, we had our opening for Tribal Games. Tribal Games is our one-day camp-wide program where a theme and captains are chosen to lead their teams to victory, through sports events, artistic endeavours, and general cheering and spirit! This year, our opening revealed that the theme was redemption for past Tribal Games teams that have lost. It was their second chance at glory, and very exciting for our campers to compete on teams they may never have had the chance to perform on.
There was Team Candyland led by Head of OCS Tyler Svadjian and Senior Girls Counsellor Gaby Sheiner, Team Superheroes led by Head of Crafts Jordy Haar and Canoe Tripper Tom Gurn, Team Asian Cuisine captained by Senior Boys Counsellor Daniel Goldman and Head of Adventure Park Soph Lewis, and Team Country Music spearheaded by Head of Dance Edyn Karney and Senior Boys Counsellor Cole Tishler. The morning started with a thrilling sports rotation, which led right into our Spirit Lunch where the Dining Hall had been transformed for each team and cheers were yelled as loud as they could be! After lunch, we had our first ever Manitou Competition, where Units participated in a rotation together, and then we had our annual 4-way Tug of War, with our staff round lasting a whopping 45 minutes! The day ended with the teams presenting their plaques, songs, and dances, which campers and staff had spent all day working on. The whole day was an extremely close battle, and I had no idea who was going to be announced as the winner! In the end, the winner was Team Superheroes…a fantastic victory and a fun day for all!
It’s been a fun three days, and I know there are more to come second session. But for now, I’m going to help my friends pack that are leaving tomorrow!
Yours Moosily,
Manny the Moose
