Absolutely Gravy

Saturday, August 3rd, 2024

PUPPET GROVE circa 7:00pm—The afternoon heat has dissipated to the pleasant level of a freshly-dried garment. Setting sunbeams cast golden patches on the forested hillside overlooking the Camp kitchen. A hundred-odd staff members and ranch residents shuffle in a long line that snakes among several buffet tables, loading up precious plates of extra fancy dinner fare. “The Feast”, as we call it, is an important end-of-season tradition that celebrates all the hard work we put in to make this summer possible. Tomorrow we will begin the arduous process of take-down, but tonight is for relaxing and sharing in our community, which many of us would claim as our chosen family.

Here in the Puppet Grove, I sit at Facility Manager Sindi Petti’s old desk, an austere mid-century piece that wouldn’t look out of place any time after the Protestant Reformation. This year, as Sindi prepares for retirement, she gifted her desk to Puppetry Instructor Milla Blackwelder who has put it to good use in their outdoor workshop, as evidenced by the matted web of hot glue residue that holds my clipboard quite still as I write. For me, this desk serves as a reminder that Camp is a sharing community, one with history and legacy, and one in which all that is old may be made new again. As we contemplate packing away all our equipment of merriment, this thought comforts me.

Camp Winnarainbow is a place where we strive to bring joy to children, but pick-up day is special because we get the opportunity to rekindle childish joy in all the visiting grown-ups. Today I camped out at the merch table to gather thoughts from anyone who looked like they were alive during the World Series Earthquake (and a few kids, just for good measure).

“I tried to ride a unicycle but my kid said, ‘Thats not for adults!'” said Greg from Martinez. “I liked when the kids came together and sang. It was my first time here; I’ll definitely be back.”

“The emcees were great; they really shepherded us parents along nicely,” said Erin from Fairfax. “I got goosebumps even in 90° weather.”

“The show was rockin’,” said Matt, also from Fairfax. “The first song, ‘We Are the Children of Camp Winnarainbow’ was really touching.”

“I like Camp Winnarainbow,” said Porter, 8, of the Lime Tipi. “I liked doing puppets. I already knew about them before but I got to get more into it at Camp. I love it.”

“As an amateur juggler myself, I really liked the juggling act,” said Sam from Santa Rosa. “I loved the ending with the band and the kids pounding on the metal rainbow.”

“The show was so good I want to come back next year,” said Michael from Berkeley. “You take 69-year-olds right?”

Camp does in fact have a session for adults, Adult Camp as we call it. It typically occurs in the third or fourth week of June.

“The show was definitely vibey, certainly wavy, and absolutely gravy!” said Mac from Oakland. “My favorite part was the ‘Old Town Road’ remix. The kids were vibing it. I was impressed.”

“It was super special to be able to read the blog on our roadtrip,” said Sarah from Asheville, North Carolina. “Our kid is a total misfit and this is the perfect place for it. I love Camp’s approach to childhood; you all know how to harness the craziness and keep kids busy. Clearly no one is afraid of kids here.”

“My favorite part of the show was all of it,” said Liz from San Francisco. “‘Camp Town Road’ was great. You can’t go wrong with Lil Naz X.”

“I love clowning for the makeup and the miming,” said Sidney, 12, of the Blue Tipi. “I’m definitely coming back.”

“You could tell there was a lot of joy and happiness,” said Nancy, from Oakland.

“The show was a nice capstone,” added Shimon, also from Oakland.”

“My time at Camp was incredibly crazy and all-over-the-place, but totally fun,” said Teen Staff Gabby. “It’s the people that make Camp. Everyone is so warm and welcoming. You can walk up to anyone and have a life-changing conversation. I’ll you next year!”

“The kids in the group singing really brought the heat and the energy,” said James from Sebastopol. “And the Foo Fighters? Come on! So good.”

“The blog was a nice lifeline,” said Dor from Santa Cruz. “The show was eclectic and hilarious, especially the puppets and clowning. I loved the short experimental piece in the river. The theme was ‘home’ and it really communicated a lot about Camp and the feeling of going home.”

“Camp was good,” said Tashi, 11, of the Ultraviolet Tipi. “It’s really fun and the people are nice. Ok, here’s my quote: ‘The same hot water that makes an egg hard makes a potato soft, so don’t let your environment dictate you.'”

“The show was awesome, especially the stilts,” said Chanelle from McKinleyville. “It was a beautiful experience for the kids. They seemed so happy.”

“The tunnel the stilters made for the unicyclers was really impressive,” added Bonnie, also from McKinleyville. “The collective singing brought tears to my eyes.”

Thanks everyone for reading along this session! Have a safe journey home, and, as always…

Stay hydrated,

—J. Payseno, Editor

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An Ode to Lake Veronica

Friday, August 2nd, 2024

LAKE VERONICA circa 3:00pm—Stern sunbeams bear down at a steep angle from the immaculate sky, a perfect robin’s egg. Campers scuttle down the dry, grassy slope from the easement where Camp’s Kia Sedona has deposited them. “Don’t forget to check in with Beach Mop!” chirps Singing Instructor ‘Iron Jaden’ Larson, brandishing a yellow legal pad. Hopeful swimmers line up to check in and receive buddy assignments. A linked pair of dragonflies buzz from one clump of cattails to the another, navigating through the members our human congregation. The final lake day of the summer has arrived, bittersweet as the aroma of wild pennyroyal that permeates the shoreline.

“How many goggles are under the lake?” asks Miles, 5, sporting a yellow lifejacket and squinting in the sun through wet bangs.
“Probably a hundred,” I estimate.
“Well now there’s one hundred and one,” he says after some quick math.

The shallow water entry zone clouds with silt as the first swimming buddies enter the water. A corridor of lily pads guide them toward the deep center. Soon the floating raft structure is swarmed with squirrelly campers who jump off into the water, swim around, and ascend the mounted metal ladder in a continuous cycle. Some more adept swimmers continue to the far end of the lake were stands a 10-foot lifeguard post that doubles a jumping platform.

“The platform is fun to jump off of,” says Lucas, 12, of the Scarlet Tipi. “The lifeguard says an animal when you jump and then you try to make the sound of the animal before you hit the water. Most people don’t know this but at the bottom of the lake there’s a bus, a car, and a $600 remote-controlled submarine.”

“It’s scary when you look down because it’s so deep and there’s nothing to see,” says Quin, 7, of the Lime Tipi.

“If you look down at different parts it can be shiny,” adds Talia, 7, also from Lime. “Sometimes the water is cold, sometimes warm. The lake makes me feel like I can do anything because I passed the rafter test and then I passed the platformer test.”

“Every day it seems like people are having a good time,” says Lifeguard Whitney Royall. “You get to cool off, swim around, and most of all you get a break from the rat-race of downtown Camp. It’s very peaceful. Yesterday before the kids arrived I saw a school of fish swimming around.”

“My favorite is sunbathing on the raft and eavesdropping on campers’ conversations,” says Lifeguard Meadow Wilde. “The lake in general is really enjoyable, even more so than last year somehow. I think the water quality is better, more clear. The lake teaches us that you can have fun but you have to be safe about it. I’m sad this is ending, but I’m glad it happened.”

“The lake is the best part of Camp,” says Lifeguard Bodhi Cedar. “Most of Camp is dry and hot, but the lake is not. I became a lifeguard because of my aunt Kitty. She helped me with my swimming training. I just love the lake.”

“Absolute quiet for buddy check!” bellows Waterfront Honcho Kitty Green. “Begin count!”
“One!” yells a pair of swimmers, raising their hands, “Two!” yells another. The count goes on until all twelve buddy pairs have made themselves seen and heard in this manner.

“I wrote an ode to Lake Veronica,” says Kitty. “I was inspired by Pablo Neruda. Do you want to hear it?” she asks. Opening her Notes app, she begins,

“Ah, Lake Veronica
You swim in my soul with your wonderful coolness

In my barren land, you are the final refreshment
As the smoldering summer heat beats down

Ah, you body of water holds me like cool arms of wildflowers and a lap of rose
Yes, you who are silent, save for the smiling laughter of splashing children and human beings

Lake Veronica you are the one still and deep, who captures the spirit of summer“

Stay hydrated,

—J. Payseno, Editor

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Cheer-O-Meter

Thursday, August 1st, 2024

STILT FIELD circa 8:30pm—A veritable mosh pit has erupted in the auspices of Carly Rae Jepsen’s 2011 single “Call Me Maybe” which blasts out of the Big Top PA at a volume likely fatal to anything smaller than a breadbox. Campers and counselors alike dance about in all manner of bizarre costumes in the spinning patterned lights that are at once green, then pink, then blue. The fading sunlight has painted the surrounding woods into a continuous black silhouette that hugs our little electric oasis of revelry. Session D’s Costume Party is in full swing.

Much too chaotic to garner any sensible quotations, I snap a few costume pictures and retreat to my notes. Last night’s evening program was our final Fire Circle of the summer where campers and staff performed for each other poems, songs, prayers and jokes. For the grand finale, a team of professional fire jugglers dazzled the audience with their daring craft, accompanied by a West African drumming ensemble. Earlier this afternoon I spent a few hours at the creek to gather feedback on the event, and on Camp in general.

“The ending was really cool where they were juggling fire,” said Kaliah, 11, of the Rainbow Tipi. “They were juggling torches that looked like marshmallows on the end. I was mildly scared, but it looked like they knew what they were doing.”

“Today in songwriting I was writing a song about California,” continued Kaliah. “Summer movie nights, stars in the sky, things like that. California is very chill—except in terms of forcing kids to learn cursive—but otherwise very chill. That’s probably why Camp is so chill.”

“Fire Circle was fun and scary,” said Aiyana, 9, of the Gold Tipi. “I thought they were gonna catch all the campers on fire! The drums during the juggling had a really cool beat; I felt like was hypnotized. The whole thing was entertaining, and I’m hard to entertain. This one time, at my cousin’s house, they put Mulan on the TV and I didn’t even watch it.”

“‘If You’re Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands’ really slapped,” said August, 12, of the Scarlet Tipi. “I was inspired by the fire, especially the fire poi. And the low beat and high beats of the drumming, it was ceremonial.”

“I learned a new clown trick,” said Oscar, 9, of the Yellow Tipi. “You pull a balloon out of your pocket, tie a string around it so it doesn’t deflate, and then you move it around and pretend like it’s lifting you up. It’s good for a laugh, but it’s not just about being silly. Clowning is about showing emotion and being vulnerable. People relate to that. And then you hit them with the silly face and they’ll probably laugh medium to normal hard.”

“I made up this thing called the ‘Cheer-O-Meter’,” continued Oscar. “The more people laugh and cheer, the more excited and stupider I get! Camp is a good place to be stupid.”

“Fire Circle was chill,” said Johnny, 14, of the Red Tipi. “The flowersticks were lit, literally and figuratively. It was cool enough that I almost paid attention to most of it. I really liked Dinklefritz’s song. The solo was sick.”

“The best part of Camp is the free time,” said Haydn, 11, of the Ultraviolet Tipi. “Classes are rigid, but free time is so fluid. I love walking around with no plan. Today I got my nails painted completely spontaneously. I do have a plan for the Costume Party, but I’m not telling you.”

“I love Camp a lot,” said Issa, 10, of the Maroon Tipi. “There’s a lot of things you can do here, the classes, the creek, meeting new people. I feel free to be myself. It’s like a home away from home.”

“Fire Circle was amazing and impressive,” said Aria, 10, of the Turquoise Tipi. “It was cool that staff performed too, not just the kids. The fire juggling was my favorite, and I liked that they sang us a lullaby to calm us down afterword. Every day at Camp is the best day. It’s really nice to be in nature and the staff are really nice.”

“I like the creek,” said Sarafina, 7, of the Lime Tipi. “I like how one end is deeper and one end is shallow. And I like creek walks. We saw lots of deers, clay and blackberries. I sculpted the clay into a little doll named Lily. She lives in my tipi now. I ate blackberries, a green one, a red one, and a black one. We saw a whole family of deer, including the baby. I named the baby horse Lilyon.”

Stay hydrated,

—J. Payseno, Editor

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Choosing a Major

Wednesday, July 31st, 2024

TIPI CIRCLE circa 7:00pm—Except for a northern strip of sunlight sneaking in over the Stilt Field, the whole Tipi Circle is shrouded in the soothing shade of early evening. Camp’s downtown is completely still with only a faint clatter from the distant kitchen to disturb the quietude. Soon the area will be teeming with campers, freshly energized from tonight’s burger and pudding dinner, ready to obliterate calmness wherever it can be found with improvised acts of hyper-active hijinks. For now, there exists a few minutes of serenity to review my notes.

Last night’s evening program was Teacher Talent Night, which provides campers with a sampling of the classes we offer at Camp. As today was the first full day of classes, I decided to take a campus tour to hear what campers thought of their teachers’ talent, and how it is affecting their choice of classes.

“Improv was pretty fun; we got to do some acting,” said Henry, 8, of the Yellow Tipi. Clowning was cool too; we learned the mime wall. The clown teachers taught us a lot of miming tricks. In improv we learned about setting the scene, relationships, flaws, et cetera. The clowning act last night was so funny. The improv act was good too—not the funniest—but funny enough. It’s all about making people laugh.”

“I went to unicycle because I want to get better,” said Asa, 8, of the Lime Tipi. “The unicycle act was hilarious. Lucas was the baby and Dinklefritz was David Bowie. They played ‘Dance the Magic Dance’ as the song and they did an eight-person pinwheel. I think a lot of people were inspired by the act to go to unicycle class because the track was very busy today. Honestly, it’s just fun.”

“In capoeira I learned a special type of squat with one hand on the ground and the other on your cheek,” said Ellis, 14, of the Red Tipi. “We combined it with the ginga where you put your foot back and oscillated like that. It was cool; I had never considered the idea of dance fighting. I’ve taken karate before, and that has more swift movements. Capoeira is more fluid, sort of like using dance as a weapon. Yesterday I was wandering around confused, not knowing what to do. That’s when I saw Mniska playing an instrument and a bunch of kids following him. I started following too, thinking we were going to learn the instrument. Once I realized it was a martial arts class I thought it would be rude to leave, but I actually ended up liking it.”

“I took tightrope because I saw it and it looked fun,” said Ada, 11, of the Turquoise Tipi. “They act was really funny. They set a record for ‘World’s Lowest Tightrope’, but it was just a piece of tape stuck to the stage. Today I worked on walking without a spotter and walking backwards. When I’m up on the tightrope I feel like a graceful ballerina.”

“I went to Experimento because I really like theater,” said Sigrid, 10, also from Turquoise. “Tucket taught us about stage presence: ‘You need your mind and your body.’ The act was cool. One person recited a fast monologue while other people were singing and dancing in the background. It was intriguing.”

“I took tightrope because I want to be able to keep my balance and learn how to get back on balance,” said Meilyn, 10, also from Turquoise. “I also took unicycle because I liked their act last night. I liked how they did the choreography. It was joyful. Balance is important in case I’m ever in a spot where I’m falling over I can stop myself from falling and regain balance.”

“In improv we did scenes and stuff,” said Remi, 9, of the Gold Tipi. “We used the three-line technique, then we got our surroundings, and then we made a story out of those, mostly about gnomes. The teachers were really funny and made a bunch of jokes, but they were really nice too. It’s like pumpkin pie: I like pumpkin, and I like pie, and one fits the other.”

“The act last night was awesome,” continued Remi. “It’s one of the reasons I went to class today. Right now I’m painting a scene from our gnome story to make a card to send to my parents.”

“Diablo just seems cool,” said Chris, 10, of the Ultraviolet Tipi. “When Brian did the act last night he was throwing it in the air, between this legs and he even did a 360. I never knew diablo was a thing, but once I saw it, I knew it was for me.”

Stay hydrated,

—J. Payseno, Editor

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Cocoa-Palooza

Tuesday, July 30th, 2024

KITCHEN circa 7:30am—Head Chef Mary Jane Stamper’s New Orleans Dixieland playlist bombards the cool morning air, imbuing the bustling cocoa scene with a Mardi Gras fervor. Campers by the dozen anxiously wait in the line for cocoa, animatedly chatting in small groups, while others examine chess puzzles, play cards, or aimlessly roam the kitchen in search of mischief. The crew of early riser adult staff peer grimly through coffee mug steam at the unfolding sugar-fueled frenzy.

“If you’re happy and you know it, hit the gritty!” sings Ty, 12, of the Scarlet Tipi to some newfound friends in the cocoa line. I inquire him for his first impressions. “Tipi skits were pretty cool. I fell on the stage for a laugh. I didn’t injure myself, but it didn’t feel good! On the orientation tour I was impressed by the Costume Barn. I definitely want to check out that and clowning.”

“Spare change! Spare change!” drone the group of boys, waving their empty mugs at Ty, prying his attention. He joins them and they all turn to the next person joining the line. “Spare change! Spare change!”

“Are you guys pretending to be Grateful Dead fans?” asks Waterfront Director Kitty Green of the sarcastic panhandlers. “What you’re supposed to say is ‘I need a miracle’.” I ask her how the morning is going. “Pretty smooth,” she says. “There were 78 kids in the cocoa line at 6:58am—more than half of Camp!”

“Camp is the best,” says Lucas, 12, also from Scarlet. “I was here last session and stayed over the session break. We watched a bunch of shows and got to eat buffet style. There’s a bunch of new people here now, so I get to show them the ropes. Some kids that are brand new, they don’t want to be here, but once classes start today, that’ll change.”

“The Blue Tipi skit was funny,” says Mandela, 11, of the Ultraviolet Tipi. “They were in a graveyard scaring each other and then at the end they said, ‘We’re the Boo Tipi’.”

I move up the line to a different crew of squirrelly children.

“Camp is very fun,” reports Khloe, 11, of the Orange Tipi. “Dinner was spectacular; there’s no way it could have been any better. It was better than Round Table! I love being with all my friends. Every time I see them they dap me up. By the way, it’s my sister’s birthday!”

People with birthdays at Camp are traditionally pied in the face with a plate of whipped cream. I ask Khloe’s sister if she is prepared for this.

“I don’t know, it’s my first time,” says Ana, 13, of the Flame Tipi. “If I do get pied, I hope it just goes on my nose because you can’t really break out there. I’m excited to try aerials, especially silks. I think the tricks you can do on them are really cool.”

I continue into the eating area where several chess puzzles are arranged on the long buffet table.

“You have to make it so that none of the eight queens are attacking each other,” says Umbe, 10, of the Ultraviolet Tipi. “Tipi Skit Night was fun but long. My favorite was the one where they pushed each other over and fell on the stage.”

“Camp is good,” says Joffré, 10, also from Ultraviolet. “I like the creativity they put in it and I like how they let you walk around and pick what you want to do. There was a lot of stuff that looked fun to do, and all the counselors were very encouraging.”

“I like the skit night,” says Ava, 7, of the Lime Tipi. “The Blue one was the best; I like to scare people and they were scaring their counselors. The cocoa is really good. I like it with marshmallows. I was looking forward to doing silks because I went to a day camp at the Circus Center in San Francisco and I did silks there.”

Now 8:30am, I stash my notes and head off to prepare for our pre-breakfast song circle. Today we will be singing “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers, and a version of “Baby I Need Your Lovin'” by the Four Tops where the verses are replaced by improvised motivational speeches.

Stay hydrated,

—J. Payseno, Editor

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Backstage Passes

Monday, July 29th, 2024

BACKSTAGE circa 9:00pm—Stars can now be seen in most of the sky, or what is visible through the canopy. Isolated pockets of artificial lights cast eerie up-lit shadows on the surrounding oaks. The circular arrangement of Camp’s fifteen tipi structures is mostly dark and deserted as campers and staff enjoy evening program at the adjacent Rainbow Theater.

“Green Tipi to the stage,” announces Camper Advocate Lexi Takaki over the PA. Walk-on music resounds through the campus as the campers of Green Tipi scurry from the audience to the backstage of the outdoor venue. As they await with their counselors to make a grand entrance the music fades the crowd quiets to whispers, allowing the chorus of crickets to temporarily surge to the forefront. In a moment they have slipped through the curtains to perform their tipi skit, an exercise in rudimentary stagecraft meant to give everyone the chance to introduce themselves to all of Camp.

A fire is coaxed to life at the central fire pit by two counselors assisted by a reclining commentator.

“They have this saying about starting a fire in Alaska—any way you can!” quips Juggling Instructor, Memo Gosnell from his seat by the young fire. “Campus orientation went good this evening. I was at my post at the Juggling Cart. For each group I ended with my joke, ‘Why did the camper cross the road? To get to the Aerials Site!’ Get it? Because that’s the next stop on the orientation tour.”

All of Camp’s tipis are named after different colors. Though counselors may create punny name modifications session by session, the main color names stay consistent in terms of record keeping and logistics. This session we took an unprecedented step in deciding to resurrect “Turquoise”, a by-gone tipi name, and use it in lieu of “Sky Blue”. I ask Memo what he thinks of the title change.

“There was a nice ring to ‘T-Q-Sky-Blue’, but I support the change,’ he says.”

“I forgot there was ever a TQ,” admits Art Instructor Lastarla Barker, adjusting the geometry of the fire logs. “I guess having Blue and Sky Blue was kind of redundant. I was at the Art Grove for orientation tour. There were a lot of campers excited to paint this session, and even one finger-knitter!”

“It feels good to be back,” says Diabolo Instructor Brian Bell, depositing an armful of logs near the fire pit for later use. “I’m still recovering from the loss of Sunset Tipi; it was my first. I guess the return of TQ is funny. I like the idea of a rotating tipi name.”

As the show wears on, various counselors and campers begin to visit the bathrooms opposite the Tipi Circle from the Theater, causing them to pass by my fireside perch.

“The Flame Tipi one was pretty funny,” says Teen Staff Addison of the tipi skits. “Sha’him kept on saying ‘That’s fire’ and then the whole crowd would call back ‘No, that’s Flame!'”

“There seems to be lots of excitement for stilts,” says Stilts Instructor Nova Platt. “I was in TQ when I was 12 so I’m glad it’s back. I can’t believe the summer is almost over. I’m excited to get back to my real shower and my real bed, but I’m gonna miss these kids like heck.”

“I think Tipi Skit Night is a really important opportunity for kids to start the process of being brainwashed into our Winnarainbow order,” says Songwriting Instructor Natalie Garms. “Having Sky Blue in that part of the circle didn’t even make sense. What goes in between blue and green? Turquoise! It’s so simple.”

“Ever since Turquoise came back, this whole place has been turned on its head,” says James, 11, of the Ultraviolet Tipi. “I don’t even recognize the Tipi Circle anymore. It looks bigger since the last time I was here. Honestly, Sky Blue was a good one, probably my favorite after Lime, but Turquoise is pretty good too. I just wish they had replaced a worse color like Green.”

“Our tipi skit went pretty good,” continues James. “We did a skit where instead of being the U.V. Tipi, we were the U-Haul Tipi, and we all were carrying boxes. The skit matches our tipi sign, but I don’t think the counselors painted it. I think it just came like that.”

As we discuss Ultraviolet’s clever if not a little lazy tipi sign, Lexi invokes Wavy Gravy’s signature line of nighttime dismissal, “Brush ’em if you got ’em!” launching 150-odd flashlight-wielding maniacs into the night. Not intent on being blinded or trampled I take my speedy leave.

Stay hydrated,

—J. Payseno, Editor

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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

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Highlight Reel

Friday, July 26th, 2024

TIPI CIRCLE circa 4:00pm—Cool breezes temper the heat of the afternoon sunbeams which cast a crisp Dalmatian shade pattern on the dusty earth. Sounds of a small live band broadcast over the Rainbow Theater’s PA as the songwriting class pupils practice their creations. Today is the last full day of Camp, and tonight is the final rehearsal before our Big Show. I’ve positioned myself here in this high foot traffic zone to ask passersby the simple question, “What was your highlight of Session ‘C’ 2024?”

“The teen creek walks were super fun,” said Teen Staff Carmelo. “It was nice to have some ‘teen time’. We picked blackberries and Zappo pulled a gopher snake out of a bush. Being in the creek you’re surrounded by beautiful scenery and big trees. It’s a time for bonding and experiencing the beauty of nature. As teen staff we do a lot of jobs, so it’s good to have strong bonds with your fellow teens.”

“It was low-key goated when I was giving people hair tinsel,” said Teen Staff Aya.

“I think my highlight was just making new friends,” said Vince, 12, of the Sky Blue Tipi. “I made friends with everyone in my tipi so now have somewhere between nine and twelve new friends!”

“Having my daughter Sala get up on silks was magical,” said Medical Director Yakira Teitel. “She’s so small and strong and she always wants to fly. I loved doing aerials when I was a kid at Camp. Sahara Moon was my teacher. It’s been so long but I still remember the feeling of flying. Taking aerials as a kid, I learned how to be graceful in movement, how to value the experience of exhilaration, and the importance of timing. Seeing Sala do it all these years later is totally a vicarious thrill. Camp is still magic after all these years.”

“My highlight was learning how to do silks,” said Charlie, 9, of the Gold Tipi. “You can basically hang upside-down and do amazingly cool flips. Some tricks: Man on the Moon, Cleopatra, and Faux Rebecca. You can do drops or build up momentum by swinging on your stomach and then it feels like I’m a sparrow on the wind. The silks are nice and soft but you can get a silk burn if you slide down too fast.”

“Definitely, the labyrinth was my highlight,” said Lincoln, 14, of the Scarlet Tipi. “I got to relax for one time in my life. There was no technology, worry-free, and talking about hippy spiritual stuff. Riley said something about how laughter is important. The sage smells pretty cool. The experience was very enlightening and calm. If you don’t like the labyrinth, you’re geekin’. Get with that labyrinth program!”

“I have to say the first Fire Circle night was great,” said Tilly, 14, of the Ultraviolet Tipi. “I was chilling with my friends and we were all laughing. I remember José told these stories about someone stealing his baseball cards, and then the kid’s dad said, ‘Don’t ever take advantage of someone younger than you!’ I think Fire Circle brings people together. On stage, there’s a separation. Around the fire it feels more like a community. This is my third year and I’ve realized it’s not just Camp you look forward to, it’s the people that make it up.”

“Getting better at unicycling was my highlight,” said Simon, 12, of the Maroon Tipi. “I can ride off the bar now! It feels like I’m a swan gliding on a glassy lake. When I crash or fall off, it’s a moment to reflect on how to improve. I mostly taught myself during free time. The more hours I put in, the more I improved. The community at Camp is really supportive; when you fall down—physically or metaphorically—they pick you back up.”

“Puppets was my highlight; I worked very hard on it,” said Calvin, 10, of the Orange Tipi. “Mine is a white sock with a rainbow star jacket and very long, pink, purple and blue hair. Also it has a red guitar. The guitar broke today, but I’ll fix it tomorrow. That’s the lesson of puppets. Even if things break, you gotta try again.”

“I have two highlights,” admitted Sunny, 12, of the Red Tipi. “First, when I was at the platform at the lake I was so scared to jump off. It was so high up that my brain just wouldn’t let me. But my friends kept telling me I could do it until finally I believed them. I just closed my eyes and ran off. That moment after jumping, before hitting the water, I felt so happy, triumphant to have overcome my fears.”

“My second highlight was my tipi winning Adventure Night,” continued Sunny. “When they were announcing they said Gold and Lime in 4th, Maroon in 3rd, and Flame in 2nd—we figured that we must have gotten 5th or lower. We thought for sure Scarlet Tipi would be number one. But then they said ‘Red Tipi’ and I couldn’t believe it! Nylah and I just looked at each other and screamed. For our prize we got a box of 12 cans of root beer and we finally got to drink it tonight at dinner. Victory never tasted so sweet! A lot of crazy stuff happened this session, but we all came together and got through it, and we had a lot of fun along the way.”

Stay hydrated,

—J. Payseno, Editor

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Making Waves

Thursday, July 25th, 2024

LAKE VERONICA circa 2:30pm—The sun glitters off the black jewel of water, set in a jade layer of lily pads which trace the triangular perimeter. Dragonflies dart in between cattail stalks while bumblebees graze on a patch of wild pennyroyal. The impressive afternoon heat has necessitated a brief swim to revitalize my outlook on life. Fresh from the water, I sit dripping at a small picnic table near the shoreline, commiserating with lifeguards and the first round of lake shuttle children. My goal today is to discern the public’s attitude toward Camp’s two main water features: Lake Veronica vs. Streeter Creek.

“Lake to death!” exclaimed Lifeguard AnnaLee. “I like jumping in the water and swimming. You can’t do that at the creek. Also the lake has lovely bumble bees while the creek has creepy carpenter wasps.”

“The creek is superior with its emerald pools of flowing water,” said Lifeguard Lucien Geltman-Lamb. “I love to skip rocks and at the creek there’s an unlimited supply of good, flat stones. The lake all pebbles.”

“Lake! A hundred times lake!” shouted Rio, 10, of the Orange Tipi. “It’s bigger, you can go under water, there’s lifeguards, and there’s a diving—I mean a ‘jumping off feet-first’ board. Also there’s wrist rockets at the lake. You can’t argue with wrist rockets.”

“Lake, duh,” said Lucas, 12, of the Scarlet Tipi. “It’s bigger, better, bolder, brighter, and all the beautiful ‘B’-words. Also the lake has pennyroyal growing. It smells good and there’s a cool song about it. If there was a battle between lake-heads and creeklings, I would be manning a catapult full of lake mud and pebbles.”

“The lake gets a bad rap for being muddy, but that’s just at the shoreline,” said Jonah, 12, of the Blue Tipi. “If you swim out like ten feet it’s totally clear. I’m lake all the way.”

…

STREETER CREEK circa 3:30pm—Ample tree shade casts soft patches on the verdant hollow of the bustling creek bed. Cool mud and sand define the shallow banks which transition to a mosaic of river stones near and beneath the water. Upstream, the western stretch is dominated by a rowdy group of laughing, splashing girls who have stirred a thick cloud of silt with their frantic movements. Downstream, the eastern crowd is more subdued and contemplative, picking blackberries, skipping rocks, or simply reclining in half-submerged metal folding chairs. Here I continue today’s divisive opinion survey.

“The lake is better because there’s more activities and challenges, and plus you get snack delivered,” said Margie, 10, of the Yellow Tipi.

“The creek is closer and not as hot,” said Teen Staff Sha’him. “There’s clay down the way and sometimes they do a spa day with nail polish.”

“The creek is better because I can touch the bottom,” said Sala, 4.

“The creek is better because there’s less rules, and rules make things less fun,” said Eva, 10, of the Yellow Tipi. “The creek is more in the woods so there’s more nature like frogs and stuff.”

“Creek all the way,” said Moon, 9, also from Yellow. “There’s blackberries! Who wants to pick blackberries?” she asks, skipping away toward the creek’s briar patch.

“I like the creek because it’s nearby and accessible,” said Iona, 12, of the Rainbow Tipi. “I like how chill it is. I just went on a creek walk with my friends and we all did clay masks.”

“Definitely the lake, mostly because of the platform,” said Liev, 12, of the Indigo Tipi. “I’d say I spend 75% of my time at the lake jumping off the platform. We play this game where when we jump, the lifeguard says the name of an animal and you have to make the sound of the animal before you hit the water. Or they’ll say a song lyric and you have to finish it. The lake just has more to offer than the creek. ‘Don’t sit and bake, go to the lake!'”

“I’ve never been to the lake, and ignorance is bliss,” said Oscar, 14, of the Scarlet Tipi. “The key to the creek is you have to go at the right time when there’s not a big crowd. I like to stick my feet in the water and let the fish nibble the dead skin off my toes.”

“The lake is way better,” said Dalila, 10, of the Yellow Tipi. “There may be animals in the lake, but you can’t see them. Out of sight, out of mind. In the lake there’s a crashed school bus—no one died—I think they all jumped out of the windows before it crashed in. Sitting in the creek you feel like an ice pop, one of those weird organic ones that tastes like grass. In the lake there’s a layer of warm water. Makes me feel like a warmed-over apple fritter.”

“There’s much more room at the lake,” noted Dominic. “Both places can get crowded on a hot day. My favorite thing at the lake is wrist rockets. I’ll go swimming if I feel hot, or else I’ll just dip my feet in. The lifeguards are extremely nice and not mean at all.”

“I don’t go to either, but if I had to pick, I’d say the creek,” said Parker, 12, of the Sky Blue Tipi. “Sometimes me and my friends make paste by rubbing wet rocks together. It can be used for writing and painting. It was probably invented by people thousands of years ago for makeup. You can make different colors by using different colors of rocks. So far we’ve make brown, cyan, and red. Tomorrow we’ll try to make a whole rainbow.”

Stay hydrated,

—J. Payseno, Editor

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Money Is Everything

Wednesday, July 24th, 2024

CAMP OFFICE circa 10:00pm—The dust has finally begun to settle after a harrowing evening of fun activities. From 8pm to 9, all of Camp was embroiled in the camp-wide game known as Adventure Night, aka Camp Winna-Board-Game, aka Hungry Hungry Settlers of Winna-Mopoly. Campers were charged with participating in random activity sites to earn fake money, money which could be spent to roll giant dice. Each tipi was assigned a large object game piece, such as a unicycle or art easel, which they moved around a flour-drawn track circumnavigating the Tipi Circle according to dice rolls. Alternatively, campers could spend money at the Camp Map to rename areas of Camp.

“I got hit by 25 paper airplanes, but I didn’t get bruised, only paper cuts,” said Waterfront Honcho Annika Crowley. “Standing on the stilt bench helped some campers with achieving good distance, but it made retrieval more time-consuming.”

“We would do special limited-time offers where we would up the prize amount for like 60 seconds,” added Counselor Lilah Cottrill.

“The higher the stakes got, the closer the campers would try to get to the hoop,” said Lifeguard Whitney Royall. “It got to the point that they were just swarming all around and pummeling us with their paper planes. It was a planing frenzy.”

“Adventure Night went pretty good; we got third,” reported Donald, 12, of the Maroon Tipi. “Mostly the hardest part was running around between all the different sites. For the ro-sham-bo site I had an informant tell me what to throw. It was a successful strategy. The aerials one was fun too. Swinging over the lava it felt like I was in that movie Jumanji. We didn’t win but we worked hard with friendship and that’s what counts.”

“It was lit,” said Trevor, 14, of the Purple Tipi. “I got kicked out of ring toss for ‘being too good’. I did some side quests from Wizard Harmony, just brain-rot stuff like mewing and hitting the gritty. I could tell my Tipi wasn’t trying to win to just had fun with it. I started hoarding money and then I gambled it all on a ro-sham-bo game with Teen Staff Glade. I won with rock and doubled our money! Remember kids, always gamble!.”

“We decided not to rename anything and just work on getting dice rolls,” said Julianna, 9, of the Green Tipi. “I did the paper planes, rock stacking, and some quests. My advice is go as fast as you can and be good at the games. I didn’t care if we won, just if we had fun, which we did.”

“Our strategy was to have everyone in our tipi go to a different site, and then have one person, a ‘runner’, go around and collect the money,” said Sula, 14, of the Flame Tipi. “The goal is to find a site you’re really good at, and then just make as much money as possible. I mostly did wizard quests and rock stacking and a little limbo. It was pretty fun, but I was sad when it ended. It should have been longer.”

“The goal of Adventure Night is to test your limits and try new things,” said Teen Staff Star. “I was a limbo troll and I made the campers limbo into the troll tavern to find my lost reading glasses. They all ventured further than they thought they could. We kept lowering the bar until they were under their own hip height!”

“Honestly, the obstacle course was the best; it was so easy and fun,” said Veva, 12, of the Rainbow Tipi. “Our strategy was just to be fast, be the fastest you can be, and don’t entertain conversation with anyone. Talk is time, time is money, and money is everything!”

FINAL RESULTS:
4th: Lime Tipi & Gold Tipi team, double-honorable mention
3rd: Maroon Tipi, honorable mention
2nd: Flame Tipi, box of 18 bags of chips
1st: Red Tipi, 12 A&W root beers

Stay hydrated,

—J. Payseno, Editor

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