THUNDER BAY – What a weekend!! 11 families and 25 volunteers got together to reunite as a camp family March 1-3, 2013. Camp Quality’s annual “Winter Reunion” is an opportunity for old friends to catch up and for new friendships to blossom, all while have fun.
Friday night kicked off the weekend with an “Ultimate Games Challenge” where families and volunteers alike competed in activities like sticking their unsuspecting hands into salsa mixed with cheerios to try and guess what they were feeling, and carrying Styrofoam balls from one end of the room to the other using only a spoon in their mouths. Lots of laughs were heard, leaving everyone in high spirits anticipating Saturday’s celebrations.
Saturday morning brought Paul and Boreal Journeys to the Best Western Nor’Wester Hotel (our home base for the weekend) for some on-site dog sledding. Paul and his team took everyone for dog sled rides around the hotel property (a first for many of us), taught us all some tricks of the trade, and let us play with his beautiful and incredibly friendly dogs. 18-year old camper, Jaimie Peace, had this to say, “It was my first time dog sledding and it was a really unique experience. And the dogs were so friendly! I couldn’t stop cuddling with them.”
Paul also brought with him a very enthusiastic crowd from the Advanced Heritage Interpretation Class, part of the Outdoor Recreation programme at Lakehead University, who ran activities indoors including crafts, teachings about dog-sledding, and a unique opportunity to send a letter to someone via dogsled!
After lunch, the CQ crowd headed to the hills for some skiing, snowboarding and tubing at Loch Lomond, driven by our full of smiles bus driver Edith Tivendale of First Student Canada. Braeden Fediuk, 13-year old camper, said “Skiing was fun and seeing everyone again was awesome.”
Also during the afternoon, many were pampered with spa-like treatment including massages by Everest School of Massage Therapy, manicures by Sherri-Ann White (A Beautiful New You), and updos by Tracey Brady (Hair Fever), Jayan Daviau (All Dolled Up), and Chris Rheaume (Nu-Wave School of Hair Design). Throughout the day, everyone filled up on some delicious baked goodies made for us from scratch by the lovely ladies of the Laureate Beta Alpha sorority, and some surprise homemade fudge from our fabulous bus driver!
Next up, we took a trip back to the 60s for a groovy dinner/dance followed by the world premiere of our 2012 CQ video (by Dave Repay Productions). Helium Highs accented the decorations with a couple bunches of psychedelic balloons, and Partie Sound blasted some happening tunes for our dance. Campers and siblings rocked an impromptu limbo and everyone danced up a storm. We ended the weekend with a bang with the help of an unbelievable fireworks display from Fireworks Unlimited.
All in all, a weekend filled with fun, laughs, memories, and friendship…I call that a hit! Camp Quality extends our sincerest thanks to all of our weekend supporters. See you all again next year! Peace out!
