Today was a wonderful day at Centauri Arts Camp. Such a feeling of joy across the camp. And such glorious sunshine… we really HAD to celebrate! So, to kick off the celebration of summer heat, we had a giant water fight in the quad! The campers came out of morning program to find giant buckets of water all over the quad, sprinklers and wading pools! Within minutes close to 100 people – campers and staff – were charging around, showering each other with ice cold water and squealing with laughter. The porches were filled with campers who didn’t want to get wet but still wanted to be part of the fun. When people headed into lunch, there was such a carry-over sensation of being in the midst of something special… we played Bohemian Raphsody and everyone danced. We had a guest on camp and it was lovely to watch the look of surprise and then delight on her face. Celebrations carried over into the late afternoon.
Supper was a ‘beach party’ in the quad, with fish ‘n’ chips to eat (and Kim’s fantastic roasted veggie stack with portobello mushrooms and goat’s cheese for the vegetarians). We slurped frozen juice from paper cups, played croquet, danced to The Beach Boys, threw more water around and enjoyed the party atmosphere. Within seconds of the beach party ending, though, dark clouds loomed. We got everyone indoors quickly. Tonight was Artsarama Night, which meant that campers had the choice of hanging out in the arts departments, working on their independent creative projects, with support and advice from our arts professionals. For the rest of the campers, it was Family Feud Night. We kept everyone indoors as strong winds gusted through camp and dark clouds loomed. There was forked lightning in the distance, but no rain, not for hours. I’m writing this blog at 10pm. Most of the campers are asleep, and now the rain is coming down in sheets. The good news is that it’s bringing in cooler air… though after today, I think we’ve all fallen in love with the sun and the heat!
Julie Hartley
Director
Centauri Summer Arts Camp