Hello all, it’s Mama Iguana here! I am SO excited to tell you all about our amazing lazy day yesterday. We had a great un-fair on camp for the youngest third of camp and the rest of camp went to the Bangor State Fair! It was one amazing day full of prizes and fair puns for our younger cabins!

At the un-fair, campers participated in activities to try and win as many tickets as possible. There was a nomination table at the gazebo with each counselors name written on it. Every time a camper won tickets, they could put a ticket into an envelope to vote on a counselor to get slimed! There were some great activities including spin-the-wheel, ring toss, duck pond, fish bowl, lollipop tree, and pop the balloon! We also had the inflatable slide out, face painting, and ice cream! In the end, James got the winning vote with 593 tickets to get slimed! There was lots of cheering for him and some disappointment from campers who voted for Bethany or Chris. Oh, well… At least they got to see a counselor get slimed!

The older half went to the Bangor State Fair. The campers got wristbands so they could go on an unlimited amount of rides! People were going on the zipper and the fireball and eating fried dough or Oreos. There was a crazy performer who went up a tall ladder, lit himself on fire, and jumped into a pool of water! Don’t worry families, no one was harmed in the making of the event.

Last night, we had an amazing performer Antonio Rocha who told some wonderful stories and did a mime performance. At the end of the night, he threw some invisible balloons to the whole camp and everyone got to tie a balloon to their wrist and bring it back to their cabins. Mine popped, but hopefully everyone’s are still floating around the cabin! Taj Mahal and Forbidden Planet had their own cabin activities. Taj Mahal made cookies and Forbidden Planet watched a movie.

Today is the seventh day of classes. Everyone is starting to finish art projects and practicing for sharing night! Make sure to check out photos from both of our (un)Fair days and Antonio Rocca last night!

See ya later alligator,

Mama Iguana

Howdy! It’s Mama Iguana here to update you all on our fantastic cabin night from last night and give you a special, special, special update from one of our Community campers! Community is a teen program that lives up at Blodgett house, about a mile down camp road, and does different service work within their group, as well as in the greater Maine community. Here’s the update:

One week into Community, the Blodgett house has been abuzz with excitement. After some vigorous cleaning, our space is now a home. While it took time to adjust to the lack of electricity and running water, we’ve managed to fully adapt to this sustainable lifestyle. We’ve been cooking everything from mac & cheese to French galettes, all becoming more experienced cooks in the process. While secluded from the rest of camp, we have been able to further our understanding of sustainability and appreciate the beauty of nature. We have also reached out to our local community through an assisted living center, a local farm, and a state park. After many blissful swims, some Kyle-induced sun salutations, and lots of cups of decaffeinated tea around the fire, we have successfully developed a community of strong relationships.

Thanks for the update, Community! Make sure to check out photos below of all the fun Community has been having, as well as some photos from our other teen program Alive! Alive is an art-based teen program located on camp that has advanced art classes throughout the day, goes on trips, and spends a lot of time preparing for an amazing show at the end of the summer.

Now, back to details from our night on main camp, cabin night! Here’s a list of what all the cabins did.

Loons made glass beads

Gimme Shelter had a dance party and made s’mores

Avalon went on a slip ‘n slide

Chateau Fiasco did glass fusing with Philippe

Bermuda Triangle went on tipi zip and did some X-treme art

Forbidden Planet was “adulting” and their counselors held mock job interviews

Down Under glazed their mermaids from pottery and had s’mores

French Quarter did tie dye and designed shirts with popsicles

Paquatahnee got their faces painted and did tie dye

Lower Carriage House made banana boats and painted with water colors

Shangri La did a color personality test and tie dye with s’mores

Wombles went to the end of the world and burned clay figurines

Camelot made cookies and had a tea party

Wabanaki made cookies blindfolded

Valhalla went on a hike with s’mores and stargazing

Fiddlers Green went swimming and had s’mores at the lake

Taj Mahal went to Mamma Mia 2! in Belfast

Today has been full of fair and un-fair activities! The older half is at the Bangor State Fair while the younger half stayed back for an un-Fair. Stay tuned for an update on all the adventures from our lazy day tomorrow! For now, check out photos from cabin night, community, and alive!

Peace and love,

Mama Iguana

 

 

 

Hi there! It’s me, Cara B., here with an update on this glorious warm, sunny day.

If you caught yesterday’s evening post, you’ll know that we finally had the long awaited Candy Drop! Just as we were about to gather for evening meeting, we heard a buzzing murmur up in the sky. It was none other than the Candy Drop plane! We ran over to the soccer field with pillow cases and sheets in hand. Many cabin groups used what I like to call the “Meg’s Rodeo water balloon toss tarp strategy,” holding a sheet together and running under the candy to catch the sweet treats before they even hit the ground. Others went about the drop the old fashioned way, running as fast as they could to collect the candy once it hit the grass. After all the excitement, we headed back to the Gazebo to debrief.

We learned that the amazing droppers were fabulous fourth year staff, Jacob and Peter I., who received their Candy Drop shirts today during morning meeting. Not many people noticed, but Jacob and Peter actually dropped french fries from dinner the first time around! Droppers from previous years went up in front of meeting to talk about their experiences, and we read some mysterious notes that were attached to the candy, including “fake fact,” “where’s the plane?” “burst the star,” and “five cups of coffee.” We were all pretty confused, but the AWACs seemed to find these notes totally hilarious.

After enjoying our dinner of burgers and fries with all the fix-ins outside picnic style, we gathered in the Rec Hall for the Staff Talent Show! Boy, who knew we had such a talented group of staff? Charlotte solved some tricky math problems, a large crew of counselors danced the awkward Macarena, Natalie, Emma W., Seth, and Leah S., all sang wonderful songs, and Sandia did too with some help from Dario on Piano. Rob P. showed off his pen flipping skills, Grace painted a picture using audience requests, Emma J. signed along to a song from Hamilton, and Seth did some hilariously emotional improv poetry using suggestions from the audience. The AWACs finished off the night by doing the Harlem Shake! If that wasn’t enough of a blast, we continued the evening with a surprise dance before heading off to bed.

Today is the sixth day of classes! We had our bagel Sunday breakfast, heard some beautiful dulcimer music played by Meg and Tom before morning meeting, and got covered in cereal when Forbidden summoned the spirit of “alternative drops,” throwing Frosted Mini Wheats at everyone. Tonight is Cabin Night, so each cabin will be doing a super special activity with their cabin group. Tomorrow is another fabulous lazy day, where the older two thirds of camp will be going to the Bangor State Fair, while the younger half stays on camp for the…”Unfair…” We’ll have to stay tuned for an update from Mama Iguana on that one.

That’s all from me! But before I go, a quick update on what our awesome teen program, ALIVE! has been up to:

Hey, guys! Here’s our report from this first week of ALIVE! We had our sketchbook initiation ceremony and got to work drawing and making collages. We’ve written poems, taken light photography pictures, and made glass beads. In classes, we have been choreographing, acting, singing, making typography, paper mache-ing, making pottery, playing ukulele, and so much more! Asher and Chance have even put together a giant sun catcher in their spare time. Friday Night we set up a gallery at the Rock Dance for the rest of camp to come see! Now we are starting to plan for our showcase performance at the end of the session, so stay tuned for more!

Awesome! Enjoy photos from the Staff Talent Show, and the surprise dance!

Climbing away,

Cara B. Ner

Good morning folks! Mama Iguana here to give you an update on our super fun rock dance last night.

Yesterday’s evening meeting was held at a different spot. Everyone gathered by the picnic tables in the backyard. Is that a hint that the candy drop is coming?!? I guess we’ll have to wait and see…

Last night’s evening program was the rock dance! Campers taped rock to their foreheads, dressed as rock stars and musical artists, wore some earth tone colors, and put on some whacky outfits! There was a crazy fun dance in the rec hall but also many activities to do! There was rock star face painting, basket disco ball, air guitar, painting pet rocks, dressing up and doing a paparazzi hunt, and playing the game “Who am I” with famous rock stars. Our amazing DJ, Jacob, put on some great tunes for the group including “God’s Plan”, “Cotton Eyed Joe”, “Thriller”, and much more! The night ended with an HVC classic, “Don’t Stop Believin'”. Everyone let out their last high notes and dance moves before the night came to an end. Campers all headed back to their cabins and got a good night’s sleep before Jake Day!

This morning, some cabins got an early start for Jake Day! Jake Day, which happens once a session, is when our amazing video crew films every cabin doing a special cheer or chant before morning meeting. Morning meeting and evening meeting are also recorded so that campers can receive a yearbook with a video of all camp highlights from the summer! Make sure to check your mail in the winter for a special gift from HVC!

The rest of the day is a normal class day! Hiking class just left on a big hike, there’s a drone flying above the lake taking videos, and everyone has their picture perfect face on for video taping! Speaking of being in the spotlinght, tonight is the staff talent show! Counselors have been busy preparing to show off all of their amazing talents. Stay tuned for an update from Cara B. tomorrow! For now, make sure to check out all the photos from the dance.

Xoxo,

Mama Iguana