Camp Echo Lake – Junior Girls: Week 6 Recap
Just when I think that camp could not get any better for the Junior Girls…it does! It has been quite a week for the girls, both on and off camp.
On Sunday, we had the annual Camp Echo Lake Carnival. Every group pitched in to create a fantastic Carnival, highlighted by fun games, bounce houses, a dunk tank and some delicious foods.
The Junior Girls were in charge of ring toss and the water gun game. The girls earned raffle tickets for a chance to win an ice cream party. At the end of the night, Tony Stein picked the winning bunks, one of which was the Junior Girls bunks. It was a fantastic night for everybody, and a great way for the entire camp to spend some time together.
On Monday, we all went to Waterslide World in Lake George. We had a blast going down water slides and floating in the lazy river. Some of the Junior Girls amazed me with their bravery, going down the Pirate’s Plunge (the biggest slide at the park). It was a beautiful day out for the girls! As if the day couldn’t get any better, we followed Waterslide World with chipwiches and then were entertained by the Counselor Cabaret.
Counselor Cabaret is a night where counselors get to entertain the campers with their talents. The girls loved seeing some of their favorite counselors take the stage, and enthusiastically cheered them on. Overall, Monday was a great day for the Junior Girls!
On Tuesday, all of Girls camp met at the lower baseball field for a “drive-in” movie. All of the girls enjoyed watching High School Musical 3 under the stars of a beautiful Adirondack night, while munching on the special popcorn that we had shipped in for the event. It’s always fun to spend time together with all of Girl’s Camp, bonding and making memories.
On Wednesday, we capped off our big summer program – “Fuzzy Feud.” The Junior Division was represented by the Lower Junior Boys, who won the preliminary round earlier this summer. The Junior Girls cheered the boys on to victory, beating out the Inters and Senior Villagers! All of Junior Camp went crazy when they found out that they were the winners. Needless to say, It was a great moment to be a Junior!
On Thursday night, the Junior Girls enjoyed a night of golfing together at Putt-Putt in Lake George. There was a lot of excitement whenever one of the girls got a hole-in-one! For me, this trip really amplified how close the girls have gotten over the course of the summer. I saw younger girls mixing with older girls, cheering them on while golfing, and singing songs together. It made me feel proud to be the Junior Girls head counselor, and be a part of a large group that is so respectful and caring towards one another.
Friday night was a VERY exciting night for the Junior Girls, who have been keeping a BIG secret from everybody on camp (including Tony) for the past two weeks! Without anyone’s knowledge, the girls had been preparing a flash mob to perform at Friday Night Live in front of the entire camp when they least expected it. This past Friday was finally our night to shine.
In between two acts, I took the stage and stole the microphone from the host. The instrumental version of “Let it Go” began to play, and one Junior Girl stood up to start the song off. Little-by-little, all the Junior Girls stood up and began singing, leaving the rest of the camp truly puzzled! By the time that the Junior Girls all stormed the stage, most of the audience finally began to realize that a flashmob was taking place.
The girls finished the song with gusto! Glitter was thrown, snowflakes were waved in the air, and the girls hit all the high notes. It was an incredible moment that I will never forget sharing with the Juniors Girls, who showed how strong their bond has become since the summer began!
I feel that the girls had a lot of moments this past week where they stepped out of their comfort zone.
At Waterslide World, I saw girls push themselves to go on bigger slides than they ever thought they would. I saw girls who used to be very nervous to be in the spotlight take the stage at Friday Night Live with confidence. I have also seen girls who were once timid, step outside of their typical social circle to make new connections and form new friendships.
Going beyond your comfort zone is what camp is all about! Echo Lake is an environment that allows people to try something new without any judgment, and I am very proud that the Junior Girls have taken advantage of being in this amazing environment.
I can’t believe that the final week of camp has already arrived, but there is still a lot of fun to be packed into this final week!
“Big Al” (Alawatchakeema) should be visiting our camp sometime this week to bless the Echo Lake Tribe. Alawatchakeema (a tradition started by Morry Stein) is an event that takes place every other summer at Echo Lake, and means a lot to all of the campers.
Tribal will be winding down this week with all of the Sachem events (the oldest campers competing in soccer, baseball. hockey and basketball). This is one of the only times when campers act as spectators during sporting events.
We will also be having Tribal Sing (the culminating Tribal event). Each team sings four songs written by LITs. This is a big night for the entire camp, as the final Tribal scores are given and the winning team is announced.
We will be having our camp party, banquet, and reprise on the last two nights of camp. Week 7 is always a really fun week, but it is definitely bittersweet because we all HATE saying goodbye to each other after an incredible summer together!
