Adult in the Room
Saturday, July 27th, 2024
CHESS GROVE circa 5:00pm—Post-show euphoria has super-charged the exchange of hugs and farewells among the Camp public as our Session ‘C’ campers prepare for departure. Their grown-ups stand by, toting duffle bags or snapping photos on their smartphones. Usually a haven for quiet, intellectual contemplation, the Chess Grove has been transformed into a bustling marketplace for Camp-branded merchandise. I’ve positioned myself here to solicit some feedback from customers during their wait in line.
“Thank you for the blog,” said Amanda from Brooklyn. “We enjoyed reading about all the creative exploits.”
“Y’all rocked it,” added Adley, also from Brooklyn. “Besides seeing my daughter in the dance show, my favorite part was seeing Camp alive as a group. The ‘Camp Town Road’ song had a lot of energy. You could tell the kids were having fun while doing it.”
“Stilts were amazing,” said Sara from Humboldt. “It was quite the surprise to see my girls up on tall stilts!”
“The poetry was… poetic,” observed Kester, from Berkeley.
“The show was fantastic,” said Jeff from Oakland. “I loved the clowning act, especially the act with the broom. It was really full of life. It’s so sweet to be back; it brings tears to my eyes.”
“I have a bias toward clowning because of this one here,” said Anne from Berkeley, hugging a child, presumably hers. “But the whole show was awesome. I thought the tightropers were agile and amazing. This is his third time and it’s always a highlight of the year, a real self-esteem booster.”
“The songs at the end of the show always bring me to tears,” said Mark from Alameda. “I liked the DEVO number, and the hat and melodica were a nice touch. The house band was really strong—what do musicians say—really tight.”
“Poetry was deep—deep as the ocean!” said Samantha from Alameda.
“We came to the Session ‘B’ show too, and this one was even better,” said Paul from Alameda. “Poetry was a knock-out.”
“The poetry was very impressive,” agreed Margot from Palo Alto. “You could tell it came straight from the heart.”
“Tears in my eyes, but filled with joy,” said Ella from Alameda. “Seeing Rueben on stilts was amazing.”
“The singing at the end always gets me, especially the ‘We are the children of Camp Winnarainbow’ song,” said Gabby from Oakland. “I always try really hard not to cry, and I’m never successful.”
“I love the old-school vibe of the ending with ‘Camp Town Road’,” said Boots from Oakland. “It reminded me of a football movie where everyone has had fights with each other, but now they’ve made up and they’re in it together. I was also really surprised by the poetry. At first I thought, ‘Was this written before, by someone else, and they’re just reading it?’ It’s amazing to have that moment where you see, yes, their brains work the same as ours, they have the same wants that we have.”
“Camp is awesome!” said Mora from Pinole.
“It’s quite an achievement, very unique” said Oscar from Palo Alto. “The people coming in on stilts against the drumming was powerful. It set the stage, so to speak. It had the same color palette as when I saw the Dead at Stanford circa 1985.”
Thanks for reading along this session! Have a safe journey home and as always,
Stay hydrated,
—J. Payseno, Editor