Last night was Banquet Night!! In Session One we visited Bavaria, Session Two was Korea, Session Four will be Greece, and this Session… we took a trip to Australia!
The evening began when all campers signed up to be a member of one of ten families, then built a jeep in which they travelled to the Australian Outback, accompanied by two inept tour guides (aka Logan and Geoff) ‘hired’ from Craigslist!! Our first stop was the ‘lodge’ where we were to spend out first evening. Outside we were greeted by four hilarious characters – an expert on deadly snakes, an expert on extreme survival, a venomous spider expert and a character (played by Hunter!!) who claimed to know everything there was to know about tackling and fighting crocs! After our enlightening ‘lessons’ we headed into the lodge for a welcome dinner.
Banquets are the specialty of Kymm, one of the Centauri Arts Camp chefs, and last night she did us proud. As an appetizer we had traditional Australian bread, with a pumpkin soup. For the ‘regular diet’ campers there were Kangaroo burgers (yes, really!) dressed with fried eggs, pineapple, cheeses, pickles and a host of other yummy things. For vegetarians we had homemade natural tofu balls, deep fried with different veggies and herbs, and accompanied by a traditional Australian sauce made of peppers and mint. We had sliced potatoes, carrots and additional treats on the salad bar, too – including chick pea salads, a fantastic kale and lemon juice salad, mixed bean salad, cheeses, olives, and more. Dessert was a pavlova… meringue topped with cream and a medley of berries and other fresh fruit.
While we ate, our two tour guides entertained us with slides of all the amazing sights that awaited us on our trip. Then we were told that because one evening wouldn’t be enough time to actually live the adventure, each family had 40 minutes to create a journal – in words and pictures – for a complete day of the adventure… including mishaps. Since there were 10 families and the trip was 10 days in length, this would create an entire record of the trip. Then, we met up in the theatre and shared all the hilarious photographs and stories. The evening ended with Craig singing Australian songs with his guitar, and a traditional Aboriginal folk tale with Julie.
For photos check out https://www.centauriartscamp.com/media/Galleries/2013/index.htm
Camp is peaceful today with the weather so, so gorgeous – puffy white clouds in a perfect blue sky. I wandered round after lunch. Stage combat campers, on the sports pad, were doing a drill to music, using the rapiers. In the art room, some campers were completing their soft sculptures while others were decorating mirrors with lovely mosaics. The dancers began the afternoon with a tea party then watched dance videos (they’ve been working hard on their choreography and needed a break), while the film campers were filming on location. Everything harmonious, and happy. We have an early-to-bed tonight and a sleep-in tomorrow so we can all catch up on sleep… then it’s off to a water park!
Julie Hartley
Director
Centauri Summer Arts Camp
+1 416 766 7124