Twice per session (once in session 4) we have a festival day at Centauri. All regular programs are suspended, and instead, campers have the opportunity to do something different – to take part in a day of themed fun and festivities that builds community, solidifies friendships and often uses the arts in a whole new way. In session 1, our first festival of the summer was Classics Fest – campers chose from six day-long projects that took recognised classics and gave them a whole new twist. One group took Shakespearean plots and soliloquies, reimagining them in a contemporary setting – Romeo and Juliet’s relationship playing out on social media and in texts, for example. Another group explored the Dada art movement, and campers created original art pieces inspired by what they learned. Classics Fest was a great opportunity for campers to focus on an art form that might be new to them, or explore their favourite art form from a new perspective. The day culminated in presentations, and an ice cream celebration.
Our second festival of the summer centred around board games, and while it was more focussed on team building and fun than the arts, campers still had the opportunity to get creative, as they designed and pitched original board games, then played the games designed by other groups.
Now that we’re into session two, we have more festivals to offer our campers, and the first of these took place two days ago. This was the Centauri Book of Records fest. This has become an annual event in which campers set new records, and attempt to break records set by groups and individuals in previous years. The first heat took place after a sleep-in and a camp wide clean-up. Campers could elect either to host a record-breaking activity, or to rotate between activities and attempt to break records. Activities included ‘the fastest sprint around the sports pad while flipping a wrap on a plate’, ‘the greatest number of balloons to be carried between two buildings in one minute’ and ‘the fastest recitation of Shakespeare’s To Be or Not to Be’. All records were based on actual Guinness Book of Records activities. Campers moved from the individual round into free time, then into attempts to break dorm records such as, ‘the shortest time taken to flip a tarp while the whole dorm stands on it’. At dinner, we attempted a camp wide record – singing a song in the greatest number of languages – and thanks to all our bi-lingual and international campers, we managed 19 languages in total! The festival finale was a counsellor record-breaking attempt that took place in the theatre while the whole camp cheered. The counsellors competed to pick the greatest number of jube jubes out of jello in one minute, using only their teeth. The entire festival was a huge success, and ended with ice cream and a camp-wide storytelling performance.
Our second festival of session two is still a few days away. The theme will be the 80s, and the festival will be run by counsellors from previous summers, returning to help us celebrate 2018.
More photos here centauriartscamp.com/media-and-more/
Julie
Director
Centauri Summer Arts Camp