Awe and Wonder
Wednesday, July 16th, 2025
TIPI CIRCLE circa 8:30pm—A campfire burns, mixing the aroma of smoke with that of bug spray. The fire is surrounded by a cylinder of rocks and mortar, which itself is surrounded by a disk of dusty earth, the stage for tonight’s Fire Circle. The evening is sure to be filled with songs and poems offered by campers and counselors alike.
“So you think, so you think you can tell,” sing two teenage campers, one strumming a deep four-string banjo.
The disk of dust is surrounded by large wooden benches, laden with campers. The campers are surrounded by counselors who stand or sit in camping chairs. The collective audience sings along with the fishbowl part of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”.
The audience is surrounded by an even larger disk of earth covered in woodchips, the living room carpet of Camp’s Tipi Circle. The woodchips are surrounded by fifteen tipis whose open oval doors yawn toward the fire, completing an energetic loop, a torus of communal activity and belonging.
The tipis are surrounded by large tree trunks which eerily recede into the growing darkness. High above, three times taller than our tipis, the canopy looms in bushy blobs. The pulsating sounds of crickets emanate from the creekside brush.
The banjo twangs out the final riff and the audience applauds.
“Can we please have Flame Tipi gather by the Costume Barn,” says MESH Lead Hannah Fritz. As parallel programming tonight, half of the tipi groups will be treated to a labyrinth-walking ceremony, presided by Winnarainbow Founders Wavy Gravy and Jahanara Romney. As Flame Tipi gathers, the previous tipi group returns and rejoins the audience.
Earlier today I spent some time among the denizens of Winnarainbow to collect performance reviews of last night’s Teacher Talent Night.
“The best one was the dubstep juggling act,” said Anna Marie, 13, Scarlet Tipi. “There was so much going on, my senses were dazzled. Everyone was in funky costumes, and the music was funky too. It was very crazy, bright, and fun. Everyone here is so free and open. It’s a very safe space.”
“Mostly the best act was that one—what’s it called—aerials,” said Lyric, 9, Indigo Tipi. “It was so classified, like, it was very good. They went all the way to the top and then all the way down. I don’t know how they did it. I want to learn how to do that.”
“Stilts and unicycle was really cool,” said Matthew, 11, Blue Tipi. “At one point a unicycler went under a stilter, and they actually fit quite nicely. My first thought was, ‘I want to do that!’ I like Teacher Talent night because the tricks are more advanced. It was action packed!”
“Teacher Talent Night was a smashing success,” said Stilts Instructor Maya Blackshaw Nichols, who helped as a spotter. “It can be hard to create an act that’s more than just walking on stilts, but we collaborated with unicycles to create a parade feeling. Lucas rode his unicycle underneath Nova on stilts, which was highly entertaining. The rest of the show was so good—Peace Choir, Experimento. By the end I was crying.”
“The best act would definitely be aerials,” said Clara, 8½, Yellow Tipi. “It’s kind of crazy how people can wrap stuff around their legs and arms and fly around in the sky. I already know one aerials trick, Man on the Moon, but this session I want to learn Music Box. That’s where you wrap the silks around your legs. It’s called Music Box because you look like a little fairy that’s on top of a music box. The whole night was impressively filled with talent.”
“The best act was Experimento with puppets and clowns,” said Procyon, 12, Flame Tipi. “It started with Memo in the center falling asleep in a chair, and then these puppet waves popped up carried by clowns like he was in a dream. There were jugglers; so much was going on. It was a mystical ambience. I was filled with awe and wonder. Overall, it was a pretty fun night.”
Stay hydrated,
—J. Payseno, Editor