STAR WARS DAY!!!!

Dear Reader,

Imagine a symphonic orchestra playing the most triumphant music imaginable. Imagine lights upon lights, filling the lodge with stars. Imagine Jedi, aliens, and the force. This is it. Today was STAR WARS DAY!!!

To celebrate our love for the classic films, we did some awesome chanting at the beginning of the day and launched right into special event groups. We learned light saber dueling techniques, used the force to make Jedi mind tricks, and heard from two real world Jedi in the most awesome Arrowhead Planetarium ever!! We ended the galactic festivities with a space jam dance party in the planetarium itself! It was a blast!

After Star Wars Day was over, we launched into groups. Groups were great, and tasty, too - in ADL we made stir fry! Yum! After groups, we had lunch, volunteer break, and a fantastic swim. It's our third field trip tomorrow! Get amped!

Will Smith Day!

Are you gettin' jiggy with it? 'Cuz we were today at Camp Arrowhead! It was Will Smith Day, and it was incredible.

We started it off with groups. In ADL, we had a nature scavenger hunt! In Arts and Awesome, we shot movies! In Active Games, we played kickball! It was so much fun! Then we started Will Smith Day! The special event groups included learnin’ awesome Will Smith dance moves, Men in Black alien defense training, Pursuit of Happiness awesomeness, and learning the art of suave from Dr. Suave. Then we had lunch, volunteer break, and a super swim!

TOMORROW IS STAR WARS DAY IT WILL BE THE BEST DAY AT CAMP EVER GET EXCITED!!!

Nintendo Day!

Get out your wii-motes everybody, because today was Nintendo Day! It was also the start to Week Five!

We started with camper introductions, having everybody shout their name proudly so we would all know it. Then we had groups! In Active Games, we competed in throwing events in the Olympics! In Arts and Awesome, we prepared and wrote scripts for movies! In ADL, we played Family Feud! It was a great start to the day, and set us up perfectly energy-wise for our special event - Nintendo Day!

To celebrate our love for all thing Nintendo, we played Duck Hunter (with the lovable Sam "Flatbread" Thurston serving as our duck), Dance Dance Revolution, and learned how to defeat goblins like Link. Then, everybody participated in distracting the staff as they competed in a real life Mario Kart! It was a lot of fun, and we were ready to start lunch at the end of it. After lunch, we had volunteer break, and went for a swim. More awesomeness to come tomorrow!

Dave Polansky!

Friday we had a very special guest at camp - the one and only David Polansky! Dave is a fantastic musician in the Boston area who plays piano, trumpet, sings, and writes awesome songs! Everybody loved hearing all the Polansky classics, including "The Alligator Song" and "I Love Dessert." Check him out now!

We also had some stellar groups. It was hygiene day in ADL, so we had a lot of fun learning about shaving cream and toothpaste (and coating it on volunteers!). In Arts and Awesome, we painted! In Active Games, we solved a puzzle and played Volunteer Bowling! It was a blast.

The day ended with a nice swim. We can't wait for Week Five!

Thanksgiving Day!

Today we celebrated our favorite Camp Arrowhead holiday - Thanksgiving Day! We started it all out with groups. In Active Games, we played mini golf (there were even a couple of special holes - we even had a hole going up to the basketball hoop!). In ADL, we played sound bingo! In Arts and Crafts, we made action figures out of clay!

After groups were over, we got ready to start the holiday. Ben and Clayton started us off with a story of the first Thanksgiving, and then we had a variety of groups - fishing, a pie-eating contest, making "thankful for" mats, and going on a turkey hunt. Then we had a feast cooked by the staff, led by Sam and Tim!

After Thanksgiving was over, we went swimming! Before we went in, Sam and Clayton entertained us all by putting fish in their bathing suits! Ha! It was hilarious, and the swim was awesome. Week Four ends tomorrow - this summer is going by too fast!

Dance Partay!

As we brace ourselves for the festivities tomorrow (it's Thanksgiving Day!), Arrowhead went in to full gear being awesome today. We started out with groups - in Active Games, we ran relay races! In Arts and Awesome, we made songs and dressed in sweet costumes! In ADL, we made delicious cookies! The fun didn't end there, of course - we then had an Arrowhead Dance Party! The dance party was amplified by the crazy antics of Ben and Clayton, who sprayed everyone with water from the roof of the Arrowhead lodge. The day ended with an extended swimming session. Bring your appetites tomorrow! It's Arrowhead's very own Thanksgiving!

Manly Mohawks!

Today was another fantastic day at camp, and a lot of the fun came from our new hairdos - campers and volunteers alike joined the mo-hawk bandwagon, and now we have a small army of totally awesome hawk-wearers.

Aside from the hair festivities, we also had some super fun groups! In ADL, we made a large dream catcher using yarn. In Active Games, we played baseball! In Arts and Awesome, we colored in our own specialized drawing books. Groups were special today because they were longer than usual, which gave us more time to have fun with them! After groups, we had lunch, volunteer break, and an extended swim. Looking forward to giving out some more righteous haircuts tomorrow!

Circus Day!

Ladies and gentlemen in the center ring we present... the Camp Arrowhead Circus Day! It was an awesome day, and it all started with some camper introductions, because Week Four has just begun! Then we had some awesome groups - including finger painting in Arts and Crafts, various forms of target practice in Active Games, and performing skits in ADL!

Then we began Circus Day events. Campers learned to ride elephants, tame lions, and defeat evil clowns. Then the staff presented our very own circus! The circus included Siamese clowns, a strong man, an acrobat, a unicyclist, a juggler, and an awesome ring master. It was so much fun! Then we ate lunch, and had volunteer break (a few volunteers and staff members alike received mo-hawks during the break!). Then we went swimming! What a great start to the week!

Team Hoyt!

On Friday, we had a very special guest visit Camp Arrowhead - Team Hoyt! Team Hoyt is the incredible father-son duo of Dick and Rick Hoyt, who compete in marathons and triathlons all around the world. There story resonates very well with the Arrowhead community because Rick has cerebral palsy, yet despite this disability, keeps the motto, "Yes you can!" It was awesome to see such inspiring guests!

The rest of the camp day was great as well, including groups and swimming. We can't wait for Week Four - it starts tomorrow!

Da Zoo!!!

Today was Arrowhead's second field trip - to the zoo! Upon arriving at camp, we drove out to Mendon to visit Southwick's Zoo. Now, some of you may be thinking, "Wait a second, isn't that Southwick's Wild Animal Farm?" You'd be right - they are one in the same. But whether you call it a zoo or an animal farm, the trip was super awesome.

There were so many awesome animals to see at the zoo - lemurs, lions, tigers, deer (a deer forest! some of us even touched the deer!), a goat petting zoo, porcupines, giraffes, elephants, rhinos - it was incredible. We are happy to say that although some of the staff wanted to jump in and fight the spotted leopard, everybody had a fun and pleasant trip to the zoo. The end of Week Three comes tomorrow! This summer is flying by, so we better cherish every moment!

PROM DAY!!!!

Despite the rain, we had one of our best days of the summer today with Arrowhead's own annual Prom! Everyone looked simply stunning in their snazziest suits and dresses. To kick off the day, we held Opening Circle (and had an awesome Prom-themed Pledge of Allegiance), and went straight into special event. We made flowers, took pictures, put on makeup, and learned Prom dating advice! Then, all the campers were announced as they entered the actual Prom! Crazy dancing ensued, and people were having a blast. The fun with Prom didn't end there, though, because we also had limo rides in a real stretch limo! Apollo Limousine stopped by Arrowhead and took all the campers out for a spin. What a fun dance!

After it was over, we had big groups! Everyone participated in ADL, Arts and Awesome, and Active Games together. In ADL, we decorated the large paper doll, Mr. Cam P. Arrowhead. In Active Games, we played Active Bingo! In Arts and Awesome, everybody made snowflakes out of coffee filters.

To end the day, Clayton and Tim told a ridiculous story about their escapades in Egypt, which segued beautifully into an Arrowhead Magic Show! All the staff showed off their magical talents, and the campers enjoyed the show immensely. The day officially ended when we held Closing Circle, our most epic circle in a long time. What a fun and exhausting day! We're going to the Zoo tomorrow!

Visitors: A Belated Recognition

We've had so many awesome guests come to camp in the past couple of weeks! Arrowhead is more than just a camp - it's a family that continues to grow every year, and sometimes those who have left Arrowhead come back to visit! It always gets the campers, volunteers, and staff very happy and excited. Recent former staff members that have stopped by Arrowhead include Amy Buschenfeldt and Matt Raffol - both currently enrolled in graduate school (yes - it's a big deal!), and Erin Miller. We love you guys!

But let's not forget a certain former director of Camp Arrowhead - Matt Frechette! Matt visited us on July 2nd - we were so lucky because he has joined the army and had leave for the Fourth of July! When Matt visited camp, everyone literally erupted with joy (though the eruption was not as big as our recent Earth Day volcano). We love you, Private First Class Frechette!

Earth Day!

Today, to celebrate Arrowhead's love of all things natural and organic, we held Earth Day! But, as per usual, before we could get to the festivities, we had some awesome groups! In ADL, we played The Price is Right using coin dice and home-made stamps - it was super fun pressing our luck in this game! In Active Games, we played street hockey, and in Arts and Crafts, we wrote letters to each other! What an awesome start to the day!

Then, we started Earth Day! For Earth Day, we made edible bird's nests out of shredded wheat, had a recycling relay, and planted seeds in the garden. Then, we had an Arrowhead first with a giant volcano eruption on the beach! It was so exciting! After Earth Day, we ate lunch, had volunteer break, and then had a relaxing dip in the lake. Week Three has been great so far, let's keep it up with a fun Prom Day tomorrow - we can't wait to see how everyone will dress up!

Superhero Day!

Today was Superhero Day! Thankfully, many of our campers are experts on this very subject. Before the adventures began with all the superheros, though, we had groups!

Groups were a super fun time. In ADL, everybody made personal puzzles! In Arts and Crafts, we painted! In Active Games, we had a special triathlon! It was a great time, but it didn't end there, for aftrer groups we celebrated how awesome superheros are! In honor of Superhero Day, we made our own distress signals, made superhero costumes, and saved damsels from a burning building. After that, everybody headed to the beach to watch a duel between incredible superheros and the evil characters from Candyland! Good conquered all, though, and everybody was safe and happy when we went to lunch! After lunch we had volunteer break and a quick swim. We ended the day with a special cross-dressing dating game, in which Ryan, James, and Ryan from the Rec. Dept. stopped by to participate... and won! It was a great end to our first day of Week Three.

Willy Wonka Day!

Friday was a Camp Arrowhead first - Willy Wonka Day!! With everybody dressed in crazy outfits in honor of Wonka, we got started with special event right away. For Wonka day, we made our own crazy candy creations, sang our own Oompa Loompa songs, and had a Wonka-themed obstacle course. After these groups, we watched a Willy Wonka skit featuring the staff of Arrowhead! It was so much fun!!

After Wonka Day events were over, we went to groups! ADL, Active Games, and Art and Crafts were all so much fun - thanks to Sam and Ethan for cooling us down with water guns! After groups, we had lunch and volunteer break, then went inside for a game of Wheel of Torture! With staff members Ben and Ethan as our torture victims, we answered questions to give them punishments. The day ended with a nice swim. What a great end to Week Two!!!

Game Show Day!!!

Yesterday we held one of our favorite special events, Game Show Day!!! We started the day with some of our favorite game shows, including Supermarket Sweep, Double Dare, and Figure it Out! All of the campers were winning at every game show! Unfortunately, we could not give away any cars, but we could do another awesome game - HOLLYWOOD SQUARES! With the staff as the celebrities and Ethan hosting, we had a great time in which campers agreed or disagreed with staff answers. We then went swimming, which was a blast as usual. To end the day, we decided to relax and watch a movie - The Little Mermaid! Week Two is going by so quickly!!

Supa Hot, the Sequel!

Wednesday was another scorcher, but we still made it a great day! We started the day with an Arrowhead ice spitting contest in which Tim Flynn prevailed! Then, we made our way to groups, including ADL, Active Games, and Arts and Awesome. We even recorded radio interviews with all of the campers on Ben's tape recorder! Since it was so hot, we decided to jump in the water twice with a double swim. During volunteer break, we watched Lilo and Stitch! What a fun day!

Supa Hot!

As many of you know, today was the hottest day of the summer so far, so Arrowhead made up for it by bring extra awesome. To start off the day we had some great groups - in ADL we learned about the food pyramid, in Arts and Awesome we made gifts for each other, and in Active Games we played Drip, Drip, Drop! Since it was so hot, we had a double swimming day, so we spent the rest of the time in the water! What a great way to cool down and get started with week two!

Decade Day!

Today Arrowhead celebrated its first dress up day of the summer - Decade Day! With everybody dressed up in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s gear (and even one volunteer from 30,000 BC), we had an awesome special event. We were even greeted by a staff member from the future, who told us we needed to complete some special activities to save the universe! So we set out to do just that. We searched for a time machine, had a boy band competition, and made temporary tattoos and peace necklaces! Next we had groups (ADL, Arts and Crafts, and Active Games), which were great as well. In Active Games, we even set a few Guinness Book of Arrowhead Records! To end the day, we had an extended swim, played basketball, and made sand sculptures on the beach. It was an awesome way to end the week!

Here comes Week Two!

Science Museum Field Trip!

Today was the first field trip of the year! We drove into Boston to visit the awesome science museum in Boston! After driving in, we ate lunch, and walked around to see stuffed animals, dinosaurs, lasers, mechanical oddities, x-ray exhibits, and DINOSAURS. Most of the exhibits defy description, but to find out more about the Museum of Science, click here.

Our last day of Week One comes tomorrow! It's our first dress-up day, Decade Day!!!