We often talk about how just one day at camp contains multitudes. Not just in terms of activities and events, but also small moments of connection. You start the day baking brownies and end in costume, dancing in front of the whole camp, and somehow in between you played softball, swam, painted, helped a friend, had hundreds of interactions with people from 8 years old to 40, saw a turtle, jumped and ran, and, perhaps most importantly, laughed. Sometimes come dinner an exchange from the morning feels like a lifetime ago.
Red, White and Blue treats in Cooking
So what makes a day in the 12523? Let’s take just one special day…. the 4th of July!
The 4th of July always marks a turning point of the summer. It’s no longer just “the beginning of camp.” Now we’re entering the heart of daily rhythm. Divisions have found their groove, and for first-time campers and staff, Scatico feels familiar.
A few random, highlight moments from 7/4/2023 include…
A launch competition…
The Rave (aka the water trampoline located at each waterfront) is definitely one of the most popular spots in camp, and campers love getting air as they are launched from it. A relatively new tradition (in the context of Scatico) is a proper launch competition in which counselors are paired with campers— the former being the launcher and the latter the launchee— to get the most air possible. Campers try to strike a pose, or do a trick, mid air. Three judges sit along the dock and score on a scale of 1-9, while spectators file into the bleachers. This summer’s launch competition actually ended in a tie and led to a LAUNCH OFF!
A counselor hair cutting…
Sometimes it’s elevating the quotidian and random to ceremony and ritual that make for the most special, most “campy” camp moments. Such was the case for the public haircutting of Emmett Miller, a longtime Scaticonian and second-year counselor. Emmett has notoriously long hair, and when he was ready for a cut… it became a celebratory, communal affair! Several counselors made cameos as hairdressers, and boys side campers circled around in their bungee chairs and crazy creeks to soak it all in. Music played and chatter ensued. Younger campers looked on in awe at the deep level of friendship (or even more, kinship) on display among their counselors, most of whom have grown up together at Scatico, and the level of trust to have not one or two, but SEVERAL, peer barbers. Older campers joked and lounged. Something that would be utterly routine in the outside world but with the right combination of camp elements…. a cause for celebration.
Annual flag football…
Another relatively new tradition in the 12523 on the 4th… the Soopers vs. Seniors girls side flag football game! Spearheaded by Kerri’s husband, Michael Winderman, (though he prefers “Head of the Scatico Football Department”), the flag football game strikes that difficult balance of very competitive but also very fun. This year, the Soopers emerged victorious.
Talent show…
Of course, the biggest 4th of July program is our full-camp evening… BBQ, talent show and fireworks. It’s the first full-camp special event of the summer, and as campers descend from the BBQ deck and file into the amphitheater, the sun dips just below the tops of the trees lining the lake to awash the whole camp in its magic hour glow. Josh Thompson, Head of Boys Side Music, and Jamie Segal, head of Girls Performing Arts, served as hosts and led us through an impressive 26 acts! There was stand up comedy and magic… gymnastics and dance… spoken word poetry and karaoke… singing and band-jamming.
The talent show always feels like a moment when the best of camp is on brilliant display. There are first-time campers working up the bravery to perform in front of an audience of 400 (give or take), and there are talent show veterans who get a standing ovation even before they sing out their first note. Somehow the audience knows just when it’s time to clap or sing along, and when it’s time to get real quiet and soak it all in. Divisions cheer on their bunkmates, and a few acts take us all by surprise… a camper revealing a talent no one knew they had.
When the talent show ends groups make their way to the top of the driving range— red, white and blue popsicles now in hand— to take in the fireworks display. A snap, crackle, pop of magic in the darkening Elizaville sky.
So there it is. Snippets of one day in the 12523. And we got it all in before a deluge of 10 PM rain…