We’re Wrapping Up!

Even though first session is coming to a close, and today is the last activity day, there are still so many exciting things happening around camp! Even today, on this gorgeous sun-filled Friday, we are celebrating Pajama Day! Everyone is wearing their best set of PJs or onesies around camp, and making their nighttime wear stylish for all to see. It’s a blast seeing everyone at their activities in their pajamas…what fun!

Today was amazing as always, but there was so much happening the past few days, I just have to give you a recap! This week we celebrated New Years Eve–in the middle of July! I know that may seem strange to some of you, but since they were the winners of last year’s Tribal Games, we thought it would be great to have a big New Years Eve celebration during the summer. All day long I saw people in party hats, with sashes, and counting down to the new year–2018.5–everywhere they went, as many times as they could! At lunch, the ball dropped to signify the new year, and everyone cheered!

But summer New Years Eve hasn’t been the only fantastically fun thing going on at Manitou this week. Just yesterday we saw the Manitou Film Festival, which is always a treat! Our talented Video staff and campers always put on an incredible festival of the films they have been working on, and this year was no exception. There were comedies, dramas, music videos, documentaries, and even stop motion! I was blown away by the talent and creativity, and can’t wait to see what the second session festival has in store!

Just after the Manitou Film Festival ended, we had to say goodbye to our friends from Adventure Valley Day Camp. They had the chance to experience the Manitou camper lifestyle, and I sure hope they enjoyed their time here at camp! I know every time I saw them, they had huge smiles on their faces and were always ready to participate in their activities! I hope I get to see some of them as Manitou campers again next summer!

After all the films, cabin activities, and beach visits were done for the day, we settled down at our Fireside spot for a very special Blanket ceremony. Every year, we honour our campers and staff who have hit the ten year milestone at Manitou with a beautiful blanket and a speech about them. All of our campers and staff gathered by the water to hear about fourteen of our wonderful blanket recipients, and hear stories about them throughout the years at camp. There were smiles, tears of joy, and I am sure some lifelong memories were made. Next session, we will hear about the rest of our 2018 blanket class, and I am sure it will be just as lovely as this ceremony.

I can’t believe we did all of that in a week, and there is so much more to come in the next few days! Tonight I am excited to see our Junior Unit show us their talents in The Lion King, and I can feel the anticipation for what is always a thrilling Dance Show! Tomorrow we will be watching the Seniors and C.I.T.s perform in Wicked, and I have a feeling I’ll be seeing some of you readers throughout the day, as well! And on Sunday, we will be competing in our annual Tribal Games…but more on all of this later.

I’m going to go over to our Fitness Studio, and see how many push-ups this moose can do! Until next time…

Yours Moosily,

Manny the Moose