A Midsummer’s Night
Welcome to the Camp Winnarainbow Blog! This feed is dedicated to providing daily updates on various Camp happenings with a special focus on camper quotations. DISCLAIMER: For matters of an urgent or serious nature, please contact the Camp office directly. This blog desk is not equipped to handle official business. Besides that, feel free to request article topics or special reports. Happy reading! —J. Payseno, Editor
Monday, July 13th, 2026
TIPI CIRCLE circa 8:31pm—The sunless sky retains a light blue brilliance as the forest slips into the faint blue shadows of early evening. Tightrope Instructor Kaneasha Hutchinson-Harris rakes the ashes in the cold firepit in preparation for firebuilding. The nearby Rainbow Theater is alive with the antics and cheering of Tipi Skit Night. Here in the Tipi Circle I have located a contingent of all-summer staff, paired off and discussing various matters of varying import.
Yesterday was the midpoint of our summer season—three weeks done, three weeks to go—so my assignment tonight is simply to collect midterm assessments. My subjects will be members of the honorable ‘All Summer Crew’, who are best qualified to give a birds-eye view of the 2026 season.
“So far so good,” says Administrative Manager Mayahuel Montoya. “I’m also Lead Camper Advocate and tambourine player for the Stragglers,” she corrects. “Nature is very lush in terms of wildlife this summer. There’s new birds, lots of baby deer, new insects—just this afternoon we saw a banded alder borer! It looked surreal, like a zebra crossed with a cockroach. The abundance of frogs we’re seeing is an auspicious omen in many cultures. If the second half of the summer is anything like the first half, we’re in for a fantastic summer.”
“It hasn’t felt like that long,” says Kaneasha. “This summer we’ve had the most kids ever at the Tightrope Site. We’ve got these new Indo Boards and a slack line. More boys have been coming to class, which is cool. A lot of the older kids have been stepping up as spotters. The only people to injure themselves were two counselors who were playing on the equipment incorrectly.”
“Can I please get interviewed even though I’m not here all summer,” pleads Duper [see: Supervisor] Thea Lamers. “Supervising adults is equally entertaining compared to children. They have very similar issues, such as dealing with heat, dehydration, and not knowing when or how to shower. Also sometimes your heart gets so full, you don’t know whether you’re happy or sad. This session I’m looking forward to hanging with campers more.”
“I’ve got a solid crew this summer,” says Dinner Cook Joseph Sorensen, rolling by on his bicycle. “It’s a lot of work to put out a meal, but my team handles it every time.”
Operations Manager Angel Herrera instructs us to build a small fire for nightwatch tonight, as there is a red-flag warning in a neighboring county. Restorative Justice Coordinator Silver Morningstar begins making a structure of twigs in the freshly raked firepit.
“My goal is for everyone to get the idea,” says Juggling Instructor Memo Gosnell. “Some even go from zero to three balls in one period! It’s great to have club jugglers, but the basis of it all is fundamentals. It’s important to me that beginning juggling is offered every period. I’m looking forward to this session; Session C is where Camp really hits its stride.”
“I’d give it a B-plus; there’s not enough waterslides,” says Restorative Justice Coordinator Silver Morningstar. “The mornings at Camp, they’re the golden orb, they’re the rocketship to the moon that nobody seems to know about. When I get there, I have my morning squabble with Memo and settle in. Memo is Camp’s human alarm clock and barista. When he goes off to wake people up, I’m totally alone with my paper cup of coffee, reading Mary Oliver’s The Leaf and the Cloud—‘Somewhere a thousand swans are flying through the winter’s worst storm’—that is, until MJ or Shelly show up to cook breakfast. Honestly, I came to Camp for the salad bar, but I’m staying to help children find their water bottles. And, of course, for the Heart Rock Spiral/Tao Zen Garden/Peace Place Center.”
“The lake has been really fun,” says Waterfront Director Annika Crowley. “Our new beach (not to be confused with a nude beach) has created a brand-new lounging experience. There’s an invasive aquatic plant that showed up at the end of last summer. It’s on the edges of the lake, so it’s not impacting the campers’ experience, though we have been trying to abate it. Various lifeguards have been using the canoe to remove it, and then Ella takes it away in her truck by the tarpfull. So far they’ve made it halfway around the lake, so if we keep up the pace, it’ll all be gone by the end of Session D.”
“Session B was a huge success; we had 47 stilters in the parade!” says Head of Stilts and Camper Advocate Anaïs Mendoza-Rosekrans. “I’m a little worried about the heat. Our cutoff is 95°F, and it got kinda close today, so we’ll have to keep an eye on that. It’s been a great run. It’s always such a blessing to be here.”
The show has concluded and campers navigate toothbrushing at the various sinks around downtown Camp. The fire now lit, tipis buzz with chatter, flashlights casting flitting shadows on the canvas. Two counselors make rounds to deliver a ‘15 minutes until lights-out’ warning.
“This place rules,” says Clowning Instructor Riley Soloner, “I’m always so proud of my clowning students when they perform as a group at the end of the session. They have this innate sense of play. When I teach adults, they have a hard time playing. It’s funny how an adult will sign up and pay for a clowning class and then not want to look stupid. Kids don’t have this problem. Crossing the halfway point of the summer is bittersweet.”
“Teaching Camp the song ‘Unwritten’ last session made me ecstatic,” says Tech Lead and Performance Coordinator Momo Calfe-Smith. “It’s been one of my favorite songs since it came out when I was 9. Tomorrow is my birthday, so it’ll be one more year of loving that song. I want to get pied for my birthday, but I don’t want to get it in my hair. Maybe I’ll get pied in slow-motion to that song from Chariots of Fire.”
People who have their birthdays during Camp are traditionally pied with a plate-full of whipped cream.
“The first half of the summer was good besides the earthquake,” says Head of Maintenance Marcos Herrera. “Besides that it’s been a real steady flow of minor projects. Mateo and I work really well together. I always love catching snakes. Only gopher snakes so far this year. I love being here and I love The Stragglers.”
“We hit the ground running with our Friends & Family Camp,” says Camper Advocate and Lightning Designer Lexi Takaki, referring to our new all-ages pre-season program. “It’s cool to be here for so long and see a new program along. I’m glad to be a Camper Advocate this session. I’ve known these kids for years now. It’s great seeing them grow up, change their styles of clothes. I’ve decided I’m going to be more strict this session, especially with kids who have been coming for many years. I wanna see them attending warm-ups and really plugging into the program.”
An eruption of giggles from Orange Tipi cut through the bedtime quietude. Silver and Lastarla walk over to quiet down the excited campers.
“35 counselors left from last session; it feels like a whole new group of people,” observes Songwriting Instructor Johnny Ali. “Those who remain remember those that have gone. Though we cannot speak of them, we hold them in our hearts and we carry on the flame.”
“I’m feeling rejuvenated,” says Lifeguard and Flying Instructor Shakon. “I got benched for like 11 hours, aka I went to the Bay and did laundry. Now I’m back for the 3rd quarter, and I’m going hard in the paint. They might have taken away the Warriors, the Raiders, and the Athletics, but I’m still ballin’. It’s gametime, baby. Knicks in five!”
“This summer is funky in a good way,” says Office Assistant Kira Linn. “I’ve really enjoyed being an honorary member in my sister Sada’s tipis. We finally got to sing together in a talent show this year. We sang ‘False Start’ by Bella White. It’s folky, fun to harmonize.”
“Last session had the most Giraffe-ified kids I’ve ever seen,” says Unicycle Instructor Arek Rein Jungwirth, referring to the qualification standard for riding the extra tall unicycles. “The young unicyclists keep raising the bar. They even made up a new level called ‘Gir-unified’ which is when you can do 8 figure eights on the giraffe. One thing that’s new this year is the ‘DON’T RUSH ME’ bar for beginners, so that they don’t have faster kids breathing down their necks. The thing I always look forward to is training the teachers who keep growing the department.”
TIPI CIRCLE circa 12:05am—The fire has gradually died down though the coals still emanate heat I can feel on my face. The small flames flicker blue and green. One by one the counselors have been returning to their tipis for bed, whisperingly checking in with Gabby, who checks names off the nightwatch clipboard. Gabby and I now sit and watch the fire in silence, waiting for the 12:30 curfew to bring in the final counselors. She stirs the coals for a little extra heat.
Stay hydrated,
—J. Payseno, Editor