It may only be a week since arrival, but we’ve packed so much excitement into such a short period of time! Our 8th Graders returned yesterday from their unbelievable trip to Acadia National Park. What a great time they had bonding and enjoying one of the most beautiful destinations on the east coast! Shortly after, our CIT’s returned from their amazing White Water Rafting trip on the Kennebec River.  They all told us about how incredible their trips were and how glad they were to be back at their summer home.

Back at camp, activities are moving full steam ahead. Each day is filled with lots of Intercamp Games and Tournaments. Yesterday, our Girls’ Tennis Team had the opportunity to compete with our friends from Camp Laurel. They loved seeing our partner camp! Today is filled with even more opportunities for our campers to compete, including a Climbing Wall Challenge. Also today, a group of campers are taking part in our new Fly Fishing Excursion, and our Saco/Kineo Campers will head out to go berry picking.

There is so much going on and so much to look forward to. Monday, the entire camp will depart for our first Out-of-Camp “S” Day to Canobie Lake, and you never can tell when Spirit Days will break.  The CIT’s who run Spirit Days are very tight lipped at the moment!  Stay tuned for more!!

W e may still be in the first week, but there’s been plenty of action on the shores of Crescent Lake!  Our “A” and “B” program days are off and running. From the ballfields to the waterfront, the theater to the stables, our campers and counselors have been enjoying themselves immensely…not to mention the amazing smells coming from the Culinary Center. Today, our 5th Graders are off for a day trip to Aquaboggan. Our 8th Graders departed for their amazing three-day trip to Acadia National Park, and our wonderful group of CIT’s are rafting the Kennebec River!

We are all excited for our first “S” Day tomorrow! After a late wake up, we will have our awesome “S” Day Breakfast of Chocolate Chip, M&M or Blueberry Pancakes, Scones, Cheese Omelets and more. After breakfast, Saco and Kineo will head off to Splashtown USA, the 7th Grader will depart to Sea Coast and our 5th and 6th Graders will stay at camp for their fantastic Beach Party Blow Out!!!

Thursday we will be right back into our “A” schedule, and, by dinner, the 8th and 9th Graders will be back. They will share with us all the memories they made and we will be glad to have the entire Laurel South family reunited!

The 2015 Second Session has finally begun!! We were filled with joy yesterday as we welcomed our campers to their summer home. All over camp, old friendships were rekindled and new ones were formed. We had an amazing Cook-Out Dinner followed by active evening programs designed to help build cabin and group chemistry.

Today is our Annual Moose Stomp: a day filled with Bumper Tubing on Crescent Lake, S’mores at the Outpost, Adventure Team Building Games, The Moose Bowl Combine, Theater Auditions, Camper Photos and Health Checks! Tomorrow, regular programs will begin. Our campers anxiously await receiving their schedule and seeing what fun activities they will have on “A” and “B” Days.  Intercamp Games and Tournaments are set to begin as well.

Future blogs will update you on all the excitement going on at camp. For now, we’re so thrilled to have the entire Laurel South family back in Casco. What a beautiful day in the state of Maine!!!

Where does the time go?  Yesterday, we said goodbye to our amazing  group of campers who made the First Session one of our best yet. We had a tough time seeing everyone go, but what a wonderful day we had. It was so great meeting all of the families who joined us on Departure Day. At Laurel South, we choose a positive attitude and are already excited that the countdown to the 2016 summer has officially started! To our amazing group of CIT’s — thank you for the years of joy you’ve brought us. We’ve watched you grow into an amazing group of young men and women. Please keep in touch. We can’t wait to welcome some of you home as staff members in the future. To all our camp families…thank you for trusting us to take care of your children. We miss them already.

Meanwhile, the excitement is bubbling over as we prepare for our Second Session campers to arrive on Thursday! Over the next two days, we will be making the final preparations for what is going to be an equally awesome session. We have so much to look forward to over the next three and a half weeks: Theater Shows, Moose Bowl, Carnival, Funtown, Bumper Tubing, “S” Day breakfast…the list goes on! Thursday can’t get here soon enough!!

How quickly a summer can fly. It seems like just yesterday we were welcoming the Laurel South Family back to our summer home. In the blink of an eye, we’re beginning to celebrate the summer with amazing culminating activities.

The 5th Annual Moose Bowl was one for the ages. After The Black Bears took a commanding 14-0 lead at the half, The Rattle Snakes came roaring back. While the final score read 28-17 Black Bears, the entire camp felt like winners in the end! The next day, our younger campers performed an amazing production of The Wizard of Oz. It was truly spectacular! Yesterday was the final “S” Day as the camp took to Funtown USA for a wild day of rides, games, music, food and, of course, FUN!

We’re all looking forward to the show, The Sound of Music, this evening. Tomorrow night is our Final Banquet. We will all dine on Steak, Lobster or Vegetarian Lasagna while reflecting on the unbelievable experience we just shared.

Our Overnight Trips concluded this week as the 6th Grade Girls returned from their incredible Camping Trip and the 8th Graders from their awesome trip to North Conway!

We are down to the last week, but there’s plenty of excitement to be had. Tonight is the 5th Annual Moose Bowl, as the Black Bears and Rattle Snakes take to the gridiron to show their talent, athleticism, hard work and (most importantly) great sportsmanship. The teams have been practicing all session for the big game. We’ll begin with our Tailgate and Cook Out Dinner. Then our talented singers will get things started with the National Anthem. Rockets will be launched by campers at the end of the song. All of our Dance class members have worked hard to put on an intricate Half Time Show. S’mores will be eaten, tee shirts will be launched, dance parties will form and everyone will have a blast!!!

On the horizon, we have our wonderful Theater shows: The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music.  Sandwiched between the two shows will be our final “S” Day trip to Funtown USA.  Of course, all of our program areas are gearing up for the culminating activities.

One more week of fun in beautiful Casco, Maine!!!

It started out as any ordinary morning. Campers and counselors strolled to the Dining Hall for a fantastic breakfast and left ready for another exciting day of activities. Suddenly the horns blared and the cheers rang out from all over camp. Our CITs had broken Spirit Days!!! For the next 2 days, the Blue Cavemen and Green Dinosaurs poured their hearts out on the fields, cheered loudly for each other, showed tremendous sportsmanship and exhibited Laurel South Spirit to the fullest! We’re so proud of our awesome CITs who take over the days and serve as role models to our younger campers. At the end of the night, the scores were tallied and the winner was: All of us, because at the end of it all, the score doesn’t matter. The real winner of any Spirit Day is Laurel South!

Tomorrow is our Carnival Day!! We cant wait! Saco and Kineo will spend the morning at Splashtown USA to make up for the rain-out on our first “S”Day. Intercamp Games and Tournaments are in full swing. We’re even participating in a Fishing Intercamp this afternoon! With just over a week left, we still have so much to look forward to. What a beautiful day it is in the state of Maine!!!

It’s hard to believe we’re at the half-way point for First Session! We’ve made so many wonderful memories and look forward to even more fun over the next two weeks. Yesterday, most of the camp traveled to Canobie Lake Park for a day of fun, games, rides and food! Everyone had an amazing time. The CIT’s spent the day on a Magical Mystery Tour seeing parts of Maine they hadn’t visited before like the Old Port section of Portland, Hacker’s Hill, Get Air Trampoline Park and, of course, the Dugout for Ice Cream. They too had a blast! This morning, all 103 members of our 5-Year Club spent the morning at the movies. Now that they’ve returned, about half of our camp (as well as friends from neighboring camps) are participating in the Annual Laurel South Color Run 5K. This event has truly become one of the many Laurel South traditions!

As we reflect on the first half of the summer, we truly can’t think of a better start. At the same time, we have so much to look forward to: Spirit Days, Carnival, Funtown, 3-Year Club Party, Theater Shows, Final Banquet…and the list goes on and on!

Obwana may control the weather, but we control the fun. Our “S” Day plans may have been altered, but we still had a blast!! Since Wednesday, we’ve had sunny skies and beautiful days and nights in Casco. It’s been perfect.

Our 8th and 9th Graders returned from their fabulous trips to Acadia National Park and White Water Rafting on the Kennebec River. We’re so glad they had a great time, but camp is best when the entire Laurel South family is together! Our 6th Grade boys are off this morning on their overnight camping trip as well.

Everyone is excited for the 4th of July. Our day of fun will culminate with the best fireworks show anywhere!! On the horizon is Monday’s first Out-Of-Camp “S” Day, as we all head to Canobie Lake for a day of rides, food, shows and fun! The action keeps rolling in Casco, Maine!!!

It may seem as though camp has just begun, but the action is non-stop!!! A little liquid sunshine may have altered our 7th Graders plan to spend the night camping at Camden, but the next morning was beautiful, so the group had an amazing day-trip seeing the sights of one of Maine’s most famous destinations. This morning, the 5th Graders left for a day-trip to Aquaboggan, our 8th Graders departed for their incredible trip to Acadia National Park, and our awesome group of CIT’s headed out on the first of many memorable excursions… their exhilarating White Water Rafting Adventure!

Back at camp, the activities are going great. From the ballfields to the theater, the waterfront to equestrian, camp is filled with the sounds of children having the times of their lives! Intercamp games and tournaments have begun as well.

Tomorrow is our first “S” Day! Our Saco and Kineo campers will spend the day at Splashtown USA, the 5th and 6th Graders will have a wonderful beach party and our 7th Grade Nation will be off to Seacoast. Then we are right back into our A Day schedule, and by dinner, the 8th and 9th Graders will return with awesome memories that will last a lifetime.

As you can see, the action never stops at Laurel South. Oh, what a beautiful day in the state of Maine!!!