Greetings, folks! News correspondent Olive Oyl here with your second Fair Day update!

The Brumby horse show went fantastically this morning, with campers showing off all of their tricks and skills on the beautifully decorated horses, manes complete with flowers and braids. After the show we dived right into fair day, where we munched on lots of yummy food and partook in super fun activities. Taj Mahal did their classic kiss-o-grms, Valhalla was manning the marriage booth, and Shangri-La got soaked with the dunk tank. Chateau Fiasco and Gimme Shelter got competitive with pillow jousting and sumo wrestling. Loons did the slip and slide on Tipi Hill and Down Under face painted. Haley’s Comet kept the party alive DJ-ing in the Gazebo. Avalon did the Moon Bounce in the backyard while Paquatahnee helped those having identity crises with name changes. French Quarter predicted the future with fortune telling and recorded guesses for the Jelly Bean Count…it ended up being a tie between Camelot and Paquatahnee, who will each get 609 and a half jelly beans (the total was 1,218 and both cabins guessed 1,200). In terms of food, there was lots going on with Forbidden Planet doing their standard fried dough, Treasure Island carting around pretzels, and Camelot scooping ice cream. Atlantis did the drinks booth, Fiddler’s Green had the chocolate fountain, and LCH had mozzerella and popcorn. In addition to all of this grub, there were corn dogs, hot dogs, and sausages…so much yum, so little time!

After Fair Day we headed back to our cabins for some down time and a little bit of packing. We then congregated in the rec hall to watch the camp slideshow and footage from video classes. After enjoying a delicious dinner of chicken burgers, onion rings, salad with cranberries and walnuts, and home-baked cookies, we will have our Fair Day Dance in the backyard…I can’t wait to jam out to some awesome tunes!

Tomorrow is Packing Day, which as you may have guessed means lots of packing, moving our luggage, and cabin cleaning. Tomorrow night’s evening program is closing Pine Grove, which is sure to bring up wonderful memories of the summer as we prepare to say goodbye to this amazing place we call Hidden Valley.

With all of this end of camp business going on, our next few updates may be a little scarce, but we’ll be in touch as often as we can!

Now for some sweet Fair Day photos plus pictures from yesterday’s trip at the Roller Rink!

Until We Meet Again,
Olive

 

Good morning, ladies and germs! Special reporter Olive Oyl here with all your HVC news! It’s a beautiful and sunny last day of classes here, with campers perfecting choreography, grouting mosaics, and putting the finishing touches on woodshop pieces as we prepare for the art show and tonight’s evening program, Sharing Night! Sharing Night is a time for campers to share all that they’ve worked on these past two weeks, with acts ranging from songs to dances to poetry. It’s sure to be amazing and I surely can’t wait!

Yesterday was a busy day full of lots of action with the tennis tournament, the Montville Road Race and the Camper vs. Counselor basketball game. Sisters Alanna and Ivana will face off today in the tournament…it’s sure to be an exciting game! Those who participated in the race yesterday had an early breakfast and then headed off on their run. Hidden Valley dominated the finish line, with our very own kitchen staff member coming in first place! In the afternoon we sweated a bit more in the basketball game, with campers and counselors playing a close match. There was lots of hustle and teamwork and of course the game wouldn’t be complete without an appearance by the infamous “Team X”. The counselors ended up on top with a score of 26 to 23, but as we say here at Hidden Valley, we’re all winners!

Last night’s evening program was one we were all waiting for…the musical! And it sure did live up to the hype! We were dazzled by singing candlesticks, talking teapots, a furry beast, and a beautiful princess. The music was melodious, the choreography was charming, and the acting was amazing. We still have lots of performances to look forward to this session, with Sharing Night tonight and the Alive Show tomorrow night. Although camp is winding down, there’s still tons of fun to come, like the Broadway Lazy Day and younger half Roller Rink trip, the Brumby Horse Show, and Fair Day!

Don’t forget to  check out photos from the basketball game, the musical, and this morning’s meeting!

Lots of Love,
Olive

 

Good evening everyone George of the Jungle here with our second report of the day.
We’ve had a massively jam packed day here today and our reporters have decided that just one news report for today is simply not enough. So I am delighted to bring you all the news from this evenings incredible sharing night along with a run down on whats coming up with tomorrows Lazy Day before the crew here at HVC take a lazy day break from reports and catch up with you all on Fair Day (Tuesday) morning!

The sun has set on the final day of classes and many a camper has headed off to sleep in this beautiful valley after an epic day in the sun. The final interest groups have been had and art projects completed. Waterballons were thrown and many a fort did fall down at The End of the World. Promos wrapped up with a record breaking 13 items promoted at evening meeting and the final products of the pickle sacrifice were consumed down at Planet Meg this afternoon. All in all camp is wrapping up splendidly. The incredible end to the summer was further highlighted by tonight’s evening program, the final sharing night of the summer! We began the evening outside on the rec hall field where dancers, play writes, mad scientists and guitarists wowed us with their impressive skills. Extreme llama carers and members of the outreach outdoor crew, who had composed a song for the occasion along with some terrific tango-ers also graced the stage with their tremendous talents.

We moved indoors for our ear drums to be burst by the thumping beats of the rock bands and an incredible stop motion modern movement dance film. Next up we were treated to a jogging demonstration that turned out to be a flash mob and then it was time for the best of Improv classes and a sock monkeys class who told a riveting tale of alien invasion. Songwriters performed their new songs and the evening came to a close with a chaotically wonderful Ukulele performance channeling the spirit of the camp wide phenomena, Aloha Tuesday- despite it being a Sunday…

And so the final Sharing night for 2013 has came to a close and bed time has been and gone and our cohort of talented but tired campers are tucked up safe in their cabins.

Both the younger and older half have trotted off to bed now so they can be bright, ready and refreshed for tomorrows final lazy day festivities.

The Younger half will be heading off this morning to enjoy all that the Roller Rink has to offer. I personally can’t wait to grab some skates and enjoy the smooth tunes and fun games always played on the rink. There will also be activities at the ready for those of us less willing to go for a roll. When they return the younger half will enjoy an outside lunch in the back yard before some afternoon rest, relaxation and cleaning time. Before dinner and evening meeting the Younger Half will also enjoy a chilled out afternoon down by the pool for one last summer swim, friendship bracelet making session and relaxation time before the end of camp festivities begin.

While on camp tomorrow the older cabins will enjoy a slight sleep in and some time to spruce up their cabins after breakfast before donning their dancing shoes and warming up their vocal cords for the main act of tomorrows lazy day- the Broadway Bonanza!

Camp will inherit a dramatic flare tomorrow as musical and Broadway themed activities take over different parts of camp. Activities will include The Wizard of Oz Obstacle Course, Little Shop of Horrors Sock Puppet creation, Peter Pan Flying lessons up on Tipi Hill and the building of a Les Mis inspired barricade in the rec hall.

After their own outside lunch and rest period the Older Half will be joining their younger counterparts for some fun in the sun down by the pool before returning up to the back yard where we shall, for the final time this summer, swap stories of our various lazy day adventures.
For dinner we will be treated to some scrumptious pizza dinner and shall be returning to the rec hall tomorrow evening for our fourth consecutive night of incredible camp talent with the Alive Show. A culmination of four weeks planning, preparation and hard work by our on camp teen program Alive, having caught a glimpse at their rehearsal today i am sure it is a night not to be missed!

Until next time folks it has been my pleasure corresponding with you, watch out for those trees.
Forever Yours,
George of the Jungle.

 

Photos from Sharing Night:

 

Go0o0od morning, everyone. Alleycat here with zee Hidden Valley Camp latest scoop.

I’m pleased to report that it did end up being a gross day indeed! Gross Day? In the rain?! Sure! Why not! All the usual nastiness ensued: gnarly shaving cream hair-dos, a disgusting obstacle course, a slimy dunk-tank, slip-n-slide, condiment Twister.. and more! I mustn’t forget to mention the tranquility area for those that getting dirty doesn’t precisely strike a chord with. Gross Day is always something special to behold, whether participating in it or just observing. Everyone went wild.

Once the older half returned from their stellar roller-skating trip they got the special opportunity to sit in the rec hall and watch the mega-classic Back to the Future part 1!

Everyone trekked back to their cabins after these activities for a bit of an extreme cabin clean and rainy day rest session.

On the menu for dinner was a Mexican feast! Soft and hard shell tacos, homemade guacamole, salsa, rice, and a cinnamon chocolate brownie that was to die for.

After dinner, it was back to the rec hall for the marvelous tale Fantastic Mr Fox! Since the cast members of the play did not receive their script until very late, they took it upon themselves to read the children’s story and adapt it for the stage, chapter by chapter. The result was truly hilarious with some zany details such as an angsty teenager fox, water guns, and a pre-quel scene written by a camper. Everyone did an amazing job.

AND THEN, OH AND THEN… there was a surprise dance! And we boogied with Bohemian Rhapsody to end the evening.

Camp will have the privilege to watch another camper performance tonight… the musical Beauty and the Beast! It’s one of my favorite stories and I know there are others just as excited as I am! Stay tuned for updates on that performance tomorrow.

Until then, check out  some awesome photographs!

P.S. The weather guy predicted a 10/10 today after the schvitzy day we had yesterday… and so far, it looks like an 11. As Peter said this morning, if we had so much fun yesterday… today better watch out!

Warmly,
Alleycat