THUNDER BAY – LIVING – Today marks a wonderful day! We, at Camp Quality Northwestern Ontario, not only had our first day of camp for 2015, but we also launched our very first Facebook and Twitter accounts. Don’t forget to go to Facebook.com/CampQualityNWO and @CampQualityNWO to like and follow our pages for posts and tweets about all our adventures and upcoming events!
Now, after that little plug, back to business. It was hard to miss the excitement on everyone’s faces as Edith and Kathy, our drivers from First Student Canada pulled the bus filled with companions up to all the campers waiting to start their camp week. This year, 19 children are attending our camp for a week filled with fun, food and friendship. After hugs, kisses and goodbyes from their parents, the campers and their companions set off to Camp Duncan on East Loon Lake.
Upon arriving at camp, the campers settled into their cabins, unpacked their gear for the week, and found some awesome CQ swag prepared by Sportop Marketing, including water bottles Sportop donated and backpacks provided courtesy of the Pack Sack Gang. Camp has every possible water toy, piece of sporting equipment and board game you can imagine, so the campers quickly disbursed in all directions. Laughing is a frequent sound at our camp, and we couldn’t be happier about it. Soon, the kitchen bell rang letting everyone know that it was lunchtime and we were treated to tacos in a bag – a camp favourite!
A camp tradition is the Best Decorated Cabin Award, which is highly coveted and brings about fierce competition. Campers plan ahead and bring decorations from home, many with different themes and colour schemes. The Camp Director and her team of panelists chose the winning cabin, the teen girls of our camp, who had decorated with tons streamers and balloons. The cabin theme was “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and included a balloon drop, music and a choreographed dance. Honourable mention went to Team Aloha, with their Hawaiian theme, and Team Minimalist, with their undecorated cabin (they say they did this on purpose…we think they just didn’t feel like decorating).
After the decorating and judging was complete, campers were given free time to do as they please. The sun was shining, so many took advantage of our beautiful beach and the warm water. Kevin, Trevor, Shawn, Carol, and Roy, fellow Loon-Lakers, were kind enough to donate their time and boats to bring our campers tubing. Tubing is always so popular and the children really love it, so we are truly grateful for their generosity.
Just after most of the campers, companions and volunteers were out of the water, the clouds started forming and a few sprinkles of water fell. Within 30 minutes, it was what felt like torrential downpour. This meant that most campers were either relaxing in their cabins, catching up with old friends, or playing board and card games under our gazebo.
Two of our campers flew into Thunder Bay from our western region courtesy of Bearskin Airlines. We are so happy to be able to include the entire region and are grateful for Bearskin’s ongoing support.
Our dedicated kitchen staff barbequed steak kebabs in the rain. Even though we were still full from lunch, the smell was intoxicating. The sound of the kitchen bell had everyone filling their plates with kebabs, chicken wings and salad. Yum! We also had a celebratory “Welcome to Camp Week” cake with ice cream.
As it got darker, everyone gathered under the gazebo for an outdoor movie and popcorn. A few strays were playing basketball or football and painting ceramics in the Craft Shack thanks to a donation items from Edith Black. After such a busy day, Lights Out is called and everyone got ready for bed! We’re probably going to hear giggles and chatting into the night, but we’re okay with this because even though we want them to be well rested, most of all, we want them to have fun! Stay tuned for tomorrow!
This is the fourth year that NetNewsLedger.com has hosted the Camp Quality Northwest blog. We are pleased to support the work of Camp Quality, and the ongoing battle to beat cancer. On a personal note, cancer has taken both of my grandparents, it tried to take my mom. There are few people in Northwestern Ontario who are not impacted by cancer. When cancer takes on children, it is time for us all to rally to help them.
