What a Greystone Banquet is Made Of
Banquet: a highlight of the Greystone experience. The culmination of the summer. The celebration of a session lived well. The sadness of leaving your home in the mountains. The delight of eating a well-cooked feast. The joy of hearing the team scores announced.
Banquet is all of these things and more. Every Greystone camper will remember Banquets from her years at camp (and many Greystone campers can even tell you their favorites, including which part their own counselor had in the play).
It is hard to imagine that today should have been Main Camp Banquet day. Throughout the summer, there have been different “camp milestones” that have hit us hard (Opening Day, 4th of July, Corn Roast, and more), and Main Camp Banquet day is one that definitely hits hardest of all. Oh, how we wish we were celebrating with you!
While nothing can compare to a true Greystone Banquet, we thought we’d take a walk down memory lane and celebrate the aspects of a Greystone Banquet that make it special.
The Wait at Flag
We all know what it feels like to wait at Flag for the big reveal! All dressed in white, trying to call out your “all here” as quickly as possible, waiting for the first sound of music or the first sight of a counselor. Gosh, how we miss that moment this year!
What was the most shocking way you’ve ever found out or realized the Banquet theme? One year in the 1990s, Mary Poppins rode into the Pageant Court on a Zip Line attached to the flag pole. #epic
The Banquet Play
The real “meat” of the Banquet is the play put on by the counselors each year. Have you ever guessed a Banquet theme as a camper? You may think all of the excitement is over once know the theme, but then you wait in great expectation to see what part your own counselor has in the show. That’s a favorite part of Banquet for sure - watching groups of campers squeal when their counselor walks on stage.
Best Banquet plays ever? Probably A Night on Broadway from Main 2019 - can’t imagine many plays beating that one. High School Musical, maybe. What do you think? Check out some of these pictures for highlights through some of our more recent years.
The Post-Play, Pre-Dining Hall Fun
What could possibly happen from the time you exit the Pavilion, walk down the Lower Road, and enter the Dining Hall? A LOT. First, it’s the cabin pictures…#classic. Then, it’s the run through the counselor “gauntlet” as our Program Staff cheers and celebrates every camper. Does anyone remember when we first started these Program Staff cheering lines? We have pictures from 2014…but may have been earlier. Any guesses?
And, who can forget the Men Staff Dining Hall entrance. Many a Greystone Men Staff has donned a dress for this big event. The question we all want to know - who wore it best?
The Dining Hall Festivities
The night ends with the Dining Hall extravaganza. First, it is the shock of seeing the Dining Hall transformed into our Banquet Hall. You then must weave through the tables to find your place before we sing our traditional songs as a group (and let’s hope you don’t hit your bum against your back-to-back neighbor when we sing Hail, Greystone, Hail together). If you have time, it’s fun to check out your cabin plaque! Then - we chow down. Fried chicken, mac-and-cheese…and finally chocolate stacks!
The night continues with toasts, celebrations, awards, and recognitions. Then…the heart-breaking counselor song followed by the announcement of the winning team. Tears are flowing but excitement is high. It is a night to remember!