At Merrowvista, we use a bell that people can hear from the entire camp to let them know of transitions to the next activity.

The first bell to ring is the rising bell to wake up the community for the day. Following the rising bell is Go-Getters, a time for physical activity like a morning jog, yoga, or a morning swim, designed to jump-start everyone’s day before breakfast.

After Go-Getters is flag-raising. This is a time for each village to lead a short reflection about a common theme, like service or gratitude, with the community. Next is breakfast in the White Mountains Eating Lodge.

Once everyone is through with eating, there is time to clean up the cabins before heading to the two-morning interest groups when campers choose an activity to try for a week, such as sailing, woodworking, improv, etc.

Lunch occurs every day at 12:30 p.m., followed by an hour of “easy time” when campers head back to their cabins to rest and take a nap or read a book from the camp library, followed by another interest group.

Village time is the next item on the schedule, when villages bond over different activities. Depending on the day, it could consist of doing the high challenge ropes course in the activity center or raft building at the waterfront.

Your Time is the hour before dinner when campers can choose what to do given the options open for the day like the waterfront, arts and crafts, or athletics. At dinner, the camp learns what the the Night’s Doings will be – camp-wide activities that happen after the meal. Some of the most popular activities include Capture the Flag, Melbourne Cup (cardboard box chariot-style racing), and the camper talent show.

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Session B brings many more Four Trails participants than Session A. Each will embark on different hiking trips throughout the session. On Wednesday, this year’s Odyssey trip left for an 18-day trip on the 100-mile wilderness of the Appalachian Trail.

Pioneers and Seekers are diving into interest groups like archery and woodworking. The entire community celebrates achievements at these activities, like when campers who made a bull’s-eye are applauded during lunch.

On Thursday night, a remarkable live production of Merrowvista Idol, a talent show put on by staff for campers, took place inside the Bahn due to rainy weather. Notable acts included a saxophone arrangement, breathtaking singing, and a unique painting performance.

To end the show with a bang, the staff sang and danced to “Firework” by Katy Perry. Fifteen seconds into the song, the entire Bahn was a big dance party.

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Camp Risk is an updated and more action-packed version of Camp Conquest of years past.

There were four zones in the central camp area for the tournament’s four teams: two in the meadow and two on the activity field. Each team had five jewels, each corresponding to a level of points. Teams tried to steal jewels from other teams.

Teams can also earn points by tagging other players who enter their zone. To reenter the game, the tagged camper must sing a camp song or be tagged by a team member. The updated game allows campers to be more engaged and provides a greater sense of healthy sportsmanship.

As the week comes closer to an end, we will soon find out the winner of Session A’s Four Fold Tournament.

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The entire community gathered in the Activity Center before dinner to learn about this year’s Four-Fold competition and which teams they would be on. All week, the campers compete to earn points during many camp-wide activities.

With the inclement weather, the Merrowvista community could not enjoy the initially scheduled Night’s Doings outside, but the incredible activities team was ready with one of the most popular indoor Night’s Doing’s options, Middle Earth Duel.

Participants learn how to “duel,” led by a beloved character named Tim, a mystical man who hails from the mountains of the Canaan Valley.

Each person takes a slip of paper with a number and character. After, players finds another person and taps them to engage in a duel. Each person’s number determines the duel’s outcome, and the winner collects the other person’s slip of the paper. As the game progressed, teams earned points toward the Four Fold Tournament.

Many event like the relay and camp-wide Capture the Flag still remain this week for teams to earn more points toward the coveted Four Fold plaque.

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At breakfast, the entire community gets a clue about where Woody might have wandered. Campers may encounter Woody anywhere, at any time. Those campers who find the hedgehog get to sign their names on them.

On Monday, the younger campers had fun at the County Fair. The fair included many activities like metal-can bowling, scooter racing, and other yard games. Participants earned tickets for each activity they completed. Those tickets allowed them to put staff in a “music box,” which they could only escape from by singing karaoke.

Meanwhile, Four Trails campers started their camp service project to reimagine and reconstruct the iconic camp bell tower. The project consists of tearing down the old structure, replacing the roof, and adding benches where people can sit to reflecting after flag raising. They are also helping clean and rebuild the two rock walls near the green top (basketball court) and the Bahn.

After breakfast on Tuesday, campers were surprised by the Duke of Ducks, who bore an official proclamation for Merrowvista’s first Duck Day. The day consisted of many duck-centric activities like a rubber duck race at the waterfront and an opportunity for campers to spend time with live ducks.

On Wednesday, some of the Four Trails campers left for a five-day backing trip to the Mahoosuc range in Maine. We look forward to welcoming them when they return to hear all about their adventures.

We are more than halfway through Session A for the two-week campers, and they are heading home soon. But before they go, the two-week Pioneers will still experience the magic of Candlelight Sing and Wish Day. Wish Day is a chance for campers to try any activities they missed or would like to do again.

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This year, Merrowvista introduced a new Night’s Doings called Creature Crossing. Campers had to use clues to find hidden creatures (costumed village leaders) around camp.

Once they found a creature, they had to complete a task to the creature’s satisfaction to convince it to go with them to their team’s island on the basketball court. For the creatures to stay on an island, the campers had to continue doing what the critter asked. Campers fell over themselves to tell funny jokes, fetch apples, or complete other silly asks to tempt the creatures back.

Competition was fierce. Other islands could lure animals away from their opponents if they were able to achieve what the creature asked better or faster. Every minute, judges tallied the number of creatures on the islands, and each team issued points accordingly. At the end, Whitecap managed to convince the most creatures to take up residence on their island.

Creature Crossing has quickly become a hit with the campers at Merrowvista.

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This year, the Health Team rapid-tested each camper for COVID-19 upon arrival. After receiving negative results, campers said one last goodbye to their families before entering the building to meet their village leaders, or cabin leaders, for the session.

The White Mountain Eating Lodge, or E-Lo for short, welcomed campers to the first meal of the session, a delicious, comforting pasta dinner prepared by the incredible food program team.

Following the meal, campers learned about Merrowvista’s composting program, one way the camp practices being good stewards of the environment.

The Pioneers and Seekers gathered on the athletic field, aka the A-field, for the opening carnival. The carnival is the kickoff event for each session and includes consists of a series of games campers rotate through with their village. Games like helicopter, where the goal was to jump over a swinging ball on a rope, were a big hit among the villages.

Four Trails campers spent the evening by a fire at the waterfront, enjoying s’mores and learning more about their program.

After the evening activities concluded, all campers returned to their villages to prepare for bed. One of the longstanding traditions at Merrowvista is Village Insight, a moment of intention before bed where villages reflect on the day. Leaders engage youth in thoughtful conversations often centered around discovering one’s best self.

There is much to look forward to as camp moves full speed ahead into the first week of exciting programming.

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