A camper’s first day of camp is something they will never forget. The long car or bus ride up, sitting with anticipation, waiting to discover or rediscover what it means to go to camp. This past Sunday was that first day at Camp Wenonah. Long time campers as well as first time campers were ushered into camp beginning to meet old friends as well as new.
My name is Mieke Barette and I have personally been going to Camp Wenonah for 12 straight years. Working as a counselor the past three years, this year I am the Creative Program Director. I hope over the course of the summer to give others a look into how camp works and for those who come here, what camper’s experiences are.
The lead up to camp at Wenonah was enormous. Our staff experienced a week of training before camp allowing them to become accustomed to different skills streams, emergency procedures, sensitive issues training, and much more. Finally the night before counselors and other staff started making cabin signs, name tags, and cabin clean up schedules.
As a past counselor I always loved that part of camp where you had no clue who was coming to you the next day except for the names in front of you and a paragraph or two written by their parents. It was thrilling to me that I would soon meet these campers who I could only identify by their names and allergies but would be given the gift to help guide them through camp and get to know them as an individual and not just a name.
Camp Wenonah’s first day was busy busy busy. We had staff members heading to Pearson Airport to pick up campers from as close as Quebec and as far away as Ireland and Spain. Then we had busses from Toronto heading up to Camp bright and early while other parents dropped off their children by car. Thankfully the rain held off until right around lunchtime when parents started to leave.
Cabin groups made their way to the lodge for lunch. With over 200 campers and 80 or so staff members gathered Camp Wenonah Director Jeff Bradshaw finally announced “Welcome to the first day of SUMMER CAMP!” Camp has begun.
The first day of camp is really a bonding time for cabin mates and counselors and even at Wenonah the rainy weather could not keep us down. As I walked around, oblivious to the weather, I saw cabins puddle jumping, playing names games, taking tours in rain gear, and laughing and smiling—experiencing their new environment.
The first day went as planned and tomorrow starts a new and exciting day of activities or what we call PIC’s (Personal Individual Choices) within different program areas. And I think everyone here at Wenonah is hoping for some dry weather tomorrow night so we can enjoy a typical opening night campfire.
Let the summer begin! I’m looking forward to reading about the many adventures yet to come.