stephenwinbaum
Communications Coordinator
/ Moderator
Oct 16, 2008, 11:42 AM
Post #1 of 1
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Halloween meets Summer Camp
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Halloween and summer camp. Are there common themes? Halloween ushers in the beginning of cold winter months making camp a distant memory. It's hard to believe that cold Arctic breezes will be flooding in when last July and August kids all over North America were swimming in lakes, water skiing, surfing atop brine-filled waves, and participating in all sorts of devil-may-care fun.
At Halloween, it's one last indulgence -- trick or treat, candy kisses and mini chocolate bars, jack-o-lanterns at every door, and kids decked out in elaborate costumes -- before wintry realities sink in.
I once performed in a summer camp sketch about Halloween. Why? My cabin wanted to showcase a mini theatrical event about late-autumn in mid-summer, a quasi-morality play about the changes of seasons, and the impermanence of life during summer camp. It was like we were looking ahead to a time when the fun would be over, so we would remember to enjoy the moment.
It worked. Dressed in scary costumes, we walked around the camp auditorium spouting philosophical phrases amidst a loose episodic narrative, handing out goodies to the audience. I played the part of the Oracle of Winter warning spectators to live life to the max before it slipped away. It was my cabin's final year as campers; naturally we thought we had pulled off some brilliant theatrical coup.
Our counselors weren't so sure but gave us credit for trying. I think that the camp owner and director opted out of the spectacle.
The message is to look ahead, even as the autumn slips away, and as the economy struggles to rebound. The costumed drama of life continues. We still have summer camp 2009 to look forward to.
Stephen Winbaum is the Communications Coordinator of MySummerCamps.com
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(This post was edited by stephenwinbaum on Oct 17, 2008, 7:56 AM)
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