Watch this amazing video! Your kids will go wild for The Aluminum Show, at UConn’s Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts this Friday and Saturday at 8 pm.
We have teamed up with Jorgensen to offer you a chance to win free tickets to the event. There are two ways to win:
Check out Jorgensen’s Aluminum Show Facebook Contest for a fun snow-day project with aluminum foil! The contest ends at 4pm Wed, Feb 3. The winner will be announced on Facebook after 4 pm. (Parents must post entries for children under 13 years).
Enter our Favorite Camp Memories Contest by Friday, Feb. 4 at noon, and be entered in a random drawing for a pair of free tickets to Saturday’s performance of The Aluminum show. The winner will be contacted by email by 12:30 on Friday, Feb 4.
Have fun creating and reminiscing! We’ll see you at the show!
And keep following our blog for more possible ticket giveaways!
Is Archery one of your favorite activities at camp. Thanks to slow motion camera we can see that the arrow did snuff out the candle in today's video. There is something special about the feeling you get when your arrow pierces the target. There is a little Robin Hood in each of us! Here is a link to learn more about the great Archer Robin Hood.
Camp Director Wendy skiing down the hill in 1960. The tree to the left of the photo now holds "The Big Swing!" See Bill Young's posting about Swimming and Little Bobby to find out how the swing came to be...
Had Enough Winter? Obviously some are bothered by it more than others!
When the mountains of snow in our doorways starts to get us down it is the best time to sit down and make plans for summer fun!
Teens Take Notice and participate
Holiday Hill's Nest Leadership Program
Here is your chance to participate as Eagles in first year of the NEST program. If you are entering grade 9 in the fall you can be an Eagle this summer at camp. All the details are on the web so stop by and see. Questions email camp at info@HollidayRecreation.com
This is the first phase of NEST Leadership Program for Teens and leads to next year's Junior Counselor Phase for successful Eagle graduates.
2011 Nest Leadership Program
Nest Eagle Phase Sessions 1&2
Session 1: June 27-July 8
Session 2: July 11 -July 22
Nest Eagle Phase Sessions 3&4
Session 3: July 25 - August 5
Session 4: August 8- August 19
Nest Junior Staff Trainee Phase
Session 3 or Session 4 ( reduced tuition rate for Eagles who did phase 1&2)
Snow Queen is out of Control this year and if it is starting to feel like your house full of kids on yet another snow day is out of control, here are three things to do on a snowday !
1.) Above are video directions to make a paper star , these would be really nice in a window, as a mobile, tucked in an envelope and mailed to a friend, or used to reward a super star student!
2.) RAOK Random Act of Kindness
I hope everyone will keep an eye out for the chance to do this! It is so much fun. Sneak out early and clear snow from someone's car windows, shovel a walk for a neighbor. Mail a "Thinking of You" card to a shut in. Send a letter to a soldier stationed overseas. Need more ideas, bring someone a pot of flowers, leave cookies by the company water cooler (buy Girl Scout cookies and leave them a double good deed) Want your deed to help the animal world? Take a pound dog for a nice walk, leave a bag of pet food off at the pound after you go shopping, put out bird seed, invite neighbor children over to make pinecone bird feeders and take them to a park to hang up.
3.) Go to http://www.holidayrecreation.com/and sign up forcamp this season. Warm thoughts and summer planning will make a snow day seem well spent. Only 6 days left in the first Early Bird Discount. period (Jan. 31) You can change sessions later if your plans change, but get your first choice now while we have choices. All the choices are on the website but here is the list so you can think about them right now:
April Vacation Camp April 18-22
June Mini Camp June 20-24
Session 1 June 27-July 8
Session 2 July 11-22
Session 3 July 25-August 5
Session 4 August 8-19
August Mini Camp August 22-26
Need a Happy Thought?
Family Pool Memberships June6-Aug 28
Now that's a great reason to sign in on http://www.holidayrecreation.com/ website - sign your family up and spend a snowy afternoon bathing suit shopping on line, in a catalog, or at the store!
Here is a video for all the "Little Bobby" campers who dream of swimming like Olympians! Read the " little Bobby" Memory from Trampoline Bill ( Bill Young) below.
"Wow! to many to pick one and even remember a small percentage of them in a short time so, 1.) climbing up the rope swing, over the limb, pulling up a new rope, attaching it to the limb and climbing back down NOW THAT WAS DUMB! 2.) losing the race to the horse and knowing Lloyd won. Two feet from the finish it seemed impossible to lose. 3.) ( probably my favorite) racing 6 Orioles around the 200 meter track. They each ran 100 meters. My first lap was backwards and against my perception the slowest kids. Easily keeping up, my mouth was running faster than my feet. Next lap shifted to a higher gear, skipping because the next two campers were faster. Uh Oh! 30-40 meters into this lap my legs started to rig. The burn, the pain, the dismay watching them pull away but the necessity to endure without quitting to avoid the kids thinking it was OK to quit when things got difficult. Hitting the finish line with a lap to go all was certainly lost as my legs were shot and they were 50-70 meters ahead. Then as each running stride massaged my muscles back to functioning and momentum shifted my way the race was on. Entering the backstretch the fastest little guy was already into the final turn but with each stride he was drawing closer by about a 3:1 margin. With me going into the turn he was almost coming out the other side. Leaning and digging my bare feet into the beautiful sod as the turn straightened he was 10-15 meters from the finish to my about 30. The it was rig time for me again, but panic time for him as he kept furtively looking over his shoulder, carrying the weight of his teammates on it and pressing so hard for that line. With but 2 yards for him and 4 yards for me he was confident of victory but with one last push and a well timed learned lean, victory was mine, was my feeling but with everyone cheering for him this one time I had to pay off with popsicles from Lloyd and Gwenn's freezer or come away looking like a poor sport. Having run a few races over the years it is without equivocation the best race of my so far short life. 4.) My first day as camp counselor in 1966 we played a quiet game called " Black Magic" which over the years proved highly entertaining and provided endless hours of fun for many children. Unfortunatley this being my very first go at itwas the first little disaster of the morning. Saved by swimminglessons we set off for the pol. UH OH we're 20 minutes or so to early, another mistake by the unit leader. OK, I've gotit! We'll do "Indian" wrestling, something I remember from my youthful playing days. Lying feet to head, hip to hip, each contestant raises their adjacent legs up past their opponents, once, twice, and on the third lift crossover, interlocking and trying to roll their opponent over backwards. Being unable to remember which guy got the worst of this Jeff and Nate, but I think Nate missed the leg lock and bashed Jeff in the mouth with his foot. Another disaster! Finally we're getting tonto the water. At least the Unit leader isn't in charge anymroe. Testing first. Those who know how to swim go to the deep end, those who don't to the shallow end. New York City Bobby, " do you know how to swim?" "Yup!" With the big boss Lloyd himself, standing right there, portly little Bobby hops into the deep end and goes under. He's verticle but swimming and pushing himself down negating his own buoyancy. Lloyd looks at me, I look at him and in an instant we're lying on the coping reaching for Bobby. We miss, we both miss again. My thought is if I miss him again I'm going in after him, but we both grabbed him on the third try and lift him out. That was the begining of my first day at Holiday Hill Day Camp! Needless to say more than 11 seasons spread over more than 30 years it just got better and better. 5.) Trapoline. As they say in Hawaii, "no need" to say anymore."
( not little Bobby but another camper loving pool time!) Remember now is the time to get the best discount on this summers registration! Sign in before Jan.31 to save on summer fun and Olympic sized memories! online registration at: http://www.holidayrecreation.com/
Frosty cold days and quiet mark camp in the winter months. The snow shovel is the the most frequently used piece of equipment. Stacks of catalogs come in and camp registration materials are going out. The baseball diamond lies under a deep white blanket. The archery field, ropes course and grounds are haunted by remembered laughter and the call of birds. We wait for the return of campers and outings groups to bring back all the smiles.
So what should a camp director do? Play guitar, sing a few of the old favorites. Be sure to ask at camp this season to hear "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgrerald" a song originally put out by Gordon Lightfoot. Listen to the video clip on the blog here. Dudley played at the Bread-Box to benefit the Covenant Soup Kitchen in Willimantic. The Bread-Box Showcase mic raises funds for the soup kitchen which is feeding our hungry neighbors. It is held in the sanctuary of St. Paul's at 22 Valley St. in Willimantic, Ct.
Now do us a big favor please and remind your friends from Holiday Hill Day Camp to enter the contest (see previous blog post )for camp memories and subscribe to this blog so you can keep up with all the news. Camp may be quiet without YOU, but there is a lot happening to get ready for your return.
We want to hear about your favorite memories of Mansfield's Holiday Hill Day Camp! Post your favorite camp memory on our blog and you could win a $50.00 gift certificate good toward camp tuition, camp store items or camp lunches. All campers and alumni are eligible to participate! Two runner-ups will be chosen to receive $25.00 certificates. Winners will be chosen from blog posts later this spring. Enter as many separate memories as you like!
