Week 5 was a blur. Sitting and recollecting, I take that as a good sign.
This was a week of presence and presents.
I felt like everyone here was more present than ever before, especially the campers. Week 5 is the week when the TF staff take a step back and the campers run more and more of the show – (Important note, this is from a programmatic and systemic standpoint, not a safety and supervision one.) We talk a lot about leadership in this community and this is the time that it is most apparent.
A camper-led committee picked our Fair Chairs, the campers who are in charge of organizing all our booths and concessions at the end of the summer Fair. Campers took full responsibility for barn chores. And they are really taking care of each other.
So, that was the presence part of camp.
The present aspect comes from a gift we gave to a local farm. Every Saturday, we do an all-camp work project and this past one we moved past the borders of Tamarack Farm. We packed everyone into vans and drove to a local CSA. Evening Song Farm is a first-year farm bought by a couple of young and dedicated farmers. The connection to Evening Song Farm was formed during trips when one of our groups stopped by and helped them out. So, this project was a continuation of that contact. Our 80 or so community members flooded their fields with willing hands for weeding. We also dammed up a small dunking pool in a river that borders the farm. I think it was a special morning for us to see young people really excited about growing vegetables and putting in the hard work to make a successful CSA. One of the farm’s owners, Ryan, was very grateful and really quite moved by the gesture.
Our campers worked their butts off. This is a connection I hope can continue to grow over the years.
On Saturday night we had our Museum of Farm Art, or MOFA, party, which is a fantastic night of celebration. Every member of Tamarack Farm submits some piece of art and we turn our Rec Lodge into a fancy exhibit. There was a mix of hand drawn works and sculpture pieces and there were also some fine performances sprinkled in throughout the evening. MOFA is often one of my favorite nights of a summer and this one certainly did not disappoint. There were brilliant costumes complementing the decorations and hors d’oeuvres. We finished the night with a bonfire shaped like an octopus.
Any time you finish your week with a bonfire shaped like an octopus, you know it has been a good week.
My Best
Medicine Shield Dancer