RSS

Category Archives: Campfire

Alumni Weekend Is a Hit!

29 Aug

Here at Camp Carolina our history, memories and alumni are incredibly important to us and areas we strive to keep alive at CCB. Our current campers love searching for relatives or the oldest names of campers past etched onto their cabins walls, some dating back to the 30′s! Camp-fire, camp songs, the brands and paddles and the values we hold strong at Camp Carolina add to the historical aspect of camp and encourages our campers to reflect and appreciate all that has gone into making CCB the amazing place that it is.

 

 

We recently hosted our 89th Alumni Reunion! Campers and counselors over the age of 21 were invited for a weekend of fun and reminiscing! Friday night began with a delicious dinner and run down of the weekends plan before everyone headed to Ec and Alfred’s house for a “jam session” and cocktail party. We hear that around 50 songs were started and 0 were completed! The next morning we had a horse back ride and mountain bike ride on offer. Kylie led the alumni on a ride up to the top of Bulldozer to savour the beautiful view before having a canter or two across the grassy fields. Alfred led the other alum on a mountain bike ride on several of the trails on Bulldozer mountain before cruising on down the new mountain bike trail that will be featured in our up coming mountain bike race!

The afternoons activities saw the very competitive alumni Olympics get under way. After an Olympic creed read by JJ and the torch carried by Chocolate Phil the two teams (Red-necks and Blackheads) began! After the first 2 rounds the teams were tied and exhausted but determined to be able to announce a winner! Eventually it was the Red-necks who were victorious. The Olympics were followed by an intense volleyball match before a delicious dinner.

Saturday nights event was camp fire where many old camp songs were sung and the alumni spent time reminiscing. On Sunday many of the alumni had to begin the journey home but Alfred led a hike for anyone who did not have to leave which we hear was a great hit!

The Reunion was a great end to the summer and everyone here at Camp Carolina are excited for next years 90th Alumni Reunion! We would like to encourage you all to spread the word and get a group from your era together and head on down to the best place on Earth for an action packed weekend of Camp Carolina fun in 2013. Stay tuned for more information and dates!

 
1 Comment

Posted by on August 29, 2012 in Campfire, Current News

 

Tags: , , , ,

All Good Things Come to an End!

14 Aug

What a whirlwind these last few days have been! The excitement of the Olympics and final campfire followed by the sad part of camp where the campers heading home. Then we had the camp pack down which our hard working counselors completed in record time before they  headed off to travel or to head back home to whichever country that may be! But what an awesome end to the summer we have had…

 

 

 

 

 

Our Session 3 campers grabbed every opportunity with both hands and tried as many new activities they could, always with a smile on their faces. Seeing the boys grow and progress, not only with their new found activity skills but also with their confidence, communication skills and independence is always a very special component of summer camps and a component no one takes for granted here at CCB.

 

We would love to receive feedback from our parents and campers via the feedback forms you have received or via email (info@campcarolina.com) so we can continue to make Camp Carolina the best camp in the galaxy!

See you all again in 2013, WHAT A DAY!

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 14, 2012 in Campfire

 

Tags: , , , , ,

What a Special Day!

22 Jul

Closing Day at Camp Carolina is always filled with mixed emotions and an awesome atmosphere! The counselors are sad their campers are leaving, proud of their accomplishments and looking forward to seeing their campers parents once again. The campers are ALWAYS excited to see their parents but are sad to be saying goodbye to counselors, friends and awesome times where as the parents are usually just plain ready to see their boys!

 

 

 

We like to make closing day an awesome experience for not only the campers but also for the parents. The Olympic ceremony we host is a fantastic way for the boys to showcase a new skill they have learned whilst at camp. The Olympics include almost every activity at camp and are performed in a giant relay race with 4 teams. After the Olympics we all head up to the dining hall where we have a delicious feast prepared as well as a slide show of pictures playing from the session just gone. The finale of closing day is the very special Final Camp Fire. On Friday night we had the New Zealand counselors surprise the audience with a presentation and stories about their culture and history-Hukka included!

 

After that it is time to say good-bye! We usually have around 20 boys who want to stay the extra night (sometimes with little brothers) and watch a movie before heading home at lunchtime the next day. We hope all of our boys have made it home safely and we look forward to seeing them again next year!

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 22, 2012 in Campfire, Current News

 

Tags: , , , ,

Final Campfire Farewells 1st Session Campers

23 Jun

Campfire is such a significant and special tradition at Camp Carolina and when the boys parents attend it really has an impact on everyone involved. In just 3 weeks the parents can see the independence, confidence and friendships the campers have developed whilst at CCB and sitting together at campfire, singing camp songs and applauding as their son receives their Old Man of the Mountain Paddle or Brand is a really special time for a proud parent.

Last night we had our final Campfire for Session 1. We begun with songs such as “Vita Pup” “My Paddle” and “I Have Found me a Home” before we leapt into our new addition to campfire night- “He aint from around here!”. Manders head counselor Conor Martin was this weeks guest and spoke about the quirks and traditions from his hometown Belfast, Ireland. He then transitioned into the famous story about the Giants Causeway in Ireland. Legend has it that a Scottish and Irish Giant were fighting in Ireland and their size and strength during the battle caused the land to deepen, boulders to be moved and deep ravines created. The Irish Giant of course won. The causeway is caused by volcanic magna which looks like giant steps that lead from Ireland to Scotland. There is a large nose shaped protrusion (now called Isle of Man) where the Scottish Giant fell and left the nose shape.

Marshall Nelson then read a maxim by Benjamin Franklin. “I will speak ill of no man and speak all the good I know of everybody” and passed the maxim on to Mark White. Conor then read the poem “Courage” and passed it on to 7 week camper Ryan Spiegal.

 

 

 

We miss our first session campers already but are excited for our Main session boys to arrive on Monday!

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on June 23, 2012 in Campfire, Current News, Weekend Activities

 

Tags: , , ,

Traditions, New and Old at Camp Carolinas Friday Night Campfire

19 Jun

Campfire is such a special time for everyone at Camp Carolina. Campers and Counselors have some down time with their friends and spend the minutes reflecting on the week just gone and remembering and appreciating the good times they have had. Songs are sung, inspirational stories and poems are told, trip reports allow the campers to stand up in front of a supportive audience and speak and the old man of the mountain is awarded to those boys who have shown great citizenship over the week.

This year we have included a new “segment” to Friday night campfire called “He aint from around here”. Mountaineering counselor, Guy Sloan from the Isle of Arran, Scotland was our first guest speaker who chatted to the crowd about traditions and culture from his home town. He told a few intertwining stories that begun with the story of Robert the Bruce who famously led Scotland to independence against England. Robert the Bruce lost support from the Scottish Nobles and so fled to the Isle of Arran and hid in a cave called “Kings Cave”.

Robert The Bruce was good friends with the Duke of Hamilton. The Hamilton clan owned Brodick Castle which is where Guy was working as a volunteer right before he came to camp! The Hamilton clan had several superstitions, one being if an Albino deer is born on the Isle of Arran that is a sign that the family lineage is ending and the deer must be killed. A few weeks before Guy was scheduled to fly out to the USA to begin his WFR training an albino deer was seen. And who was hired by Brodick castle to hunt it? Our very own Guy Sloan! Guy tramped (hiked) all over the Island but could not find the deer. The day after he flew out it was seen on a sports field and is still currently running free.

Also in Friday nights campfire we had Head Counselor Conor Martin repeat the wise words “Dont judge those who try and fail. Judge only those who fail to try” and Newt, Tripp recite the poem “Courage” by Robert Service. We had several trip reports for mountain biking, fly fishing, hiking, skating, climbing, horse riding, caving and surfing which entertained the audience and got the campers excited for the upcoming week. Check out our website for pictures of Friday nights campfire and stay tuned for our next “He aint from round here” segment!

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on June 19, 2012 in Campfire, In-Camp Activities, Weekend Activities

 

Tags: ,

← Older posts
 
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 102 other followers

%d bloggers like this: