The Moments You May Not Know about from 2022

Summer 2022 was EPIC in so many ways. Through Jimboy’s summer blogs, it is easy to stay in the know on what is happening in camp. But, some of the best parts of camp are the happenings going on behind the scenes that you wouldn’t normally know about. If you were a camper this past summer, some of these highlights will be new to you too, as many were session specific. And, if you’re an alum reading this blog (welcome!), you can learn about some camp updates that are unique to this generation of campers. Let’s see what happened this summer…

The Return of Gutter Sundaes. While many alumnae may remember gutter sundaes as a staple of the Sunday post-lunch camp experience, we haven’t done them in years. But this year, we brought them back for some post-EP fun. The girls were delighted!

Fish Fry at Fishing Class. What’s better than catching fish at camp? Frying them up in your class! Welp…this is a little bit of a stretch, as while some camp fish were actually eaten, the girls really chowed down on the hushpuppies. A memory for sure.

Birthday Cookie Cake Delivery. What’s better than having your birthday at camp? Having a cookie cake delivered to your table for your cabinmates to enjoy with you. A true celebration!

Busting a Watermelon with Rubberbands. Battle of the Bands was an amazing Main Camp event, and one of the favorite activities was slowly adding rubberbands to a watermelon to see when it would bust. Well, joke was on us when we ran out of rubberbands. Never fear, throwing that watermelon off the Dining Hall porch to see it shatter still provided great memories.

Counselor Talent Weirdness: Camp has always embraced the weird. Full body morph suits? Definitely weird…and perfect for camp. The staff really upped the Counselor Talent game with their costumes at every session.

Chris Gibbs Dancing: While she’s the queen of the pool, you may not know that she also knows how to dance. Program Presentations will never be the same.

Tadpoles at the Fort: As it rained this summer, we quickly found out that we had a drainage issue down at the Fort, where a small river of water would sit for days after a rain. In no time, that Fort river turned into one of the most popular locations in camp as tadpoles were thriving and swimming everywhere! Instead of letting that river dry up, we kept it watered the rest of the summer so that girls could enjoy the tadpole farm. And, don’t worry girls, we have no plans to fix the drainage issue. Tadpoles in 2023!

TacoCat Tuesdays: Did you know that Jimboy wears a polyester TacoCat shirt every Tuesday? It’s a vibe.

Carnival Dance Contest Madness: The Carnival dance contests have been a BIG deal for a long time, and it’s worth noting that these haven’t lessened in intensity. Staff sometimes work together to start the event, making their performances even more monumental.

Irish Potato Decorating: What do you do when you have an entire Group Night planned outside, and it starts pouring down rain? Pivot, of course! Thanks to our Irish-gal Deirdre, we didn’t miss a beat with the fun, including Irish potato decorating.

Mural Painting on the Tennis Court: Let me tell you about something cool going on right now - we are painting an amazing camp-themed mural on the main tennis courts using the large wall that girls typically use for hitting balls. Girls started on it this summer, led by Lydia and Cate, and the project will be finished before next summer. It is next level.

Post-meal Dining Hall Singing: A highlight of any week is our stand-on-your-chair Dining Hall singing. Alums, don’t worry, we still sing the Greystone classic Dining Hall songs, but every once in a while, we turn up the beats, playing popular or themed songs for the girls. It is SO loud and everyone sings SO enthusiastically…so pretty much, it’s SO perfect.

Lip Sync Age Group Themes: Now, this has been going on for years, but did you know that our oldest age groups have their Lip Sync dances coordinate around a theme? So for example, all of the Junior Seniors will sing songs from the same artist or movie (Mamma Mia, Hannah Montanta, Lady Gaga, Pitch Perfect). Long gone are the days of starting your Lip Sync once you arrive at camp; these are usually planned pre-camp.

Car Decorating: One year in our Parent Handbook with our Opening Day information, we showed a picture of a decorated car, and low and behold, the number of cars that pull in decorated has exploded in numbers. It is so much fun.

Garden Party Delight: All of you Alums who remember Derby Day would LOVE the new revamped Garden Party. It’s a post-church lunch picnic on Sunday, complete with decorations, bite-sized delectable food morsels, and of course, chocolate covered strawberries.

Birthday Serenades: When it is a counselor’s birthday, the Men Staff serenade her in the Dining Hall. Now, these often include multiple instruments, dramatic entrances, and solos on the microphones.

Diana Revamp: Who doesn’t love a Laura and Sandi performance of Diana’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” This year, add in a little Katherine Robinson, and it was such a delightful shock to many campers who had never seen it before.

Animal Fun: Farm animals have become the RAGE at camp, and this year we added in ducks and alpacas. Truly, nothing is cuter.

Tortilla Slap: No surprise here, but Jimboy and Laura were called on stage to participate in the Tortilla Slap game against each other. Two things to know: 1. Jimboy knows how to slap with a tortilla (it was the smack heard round the Pavilion, for sure), and 2. Both Jimboy and Laura have impressive skills in not spraying water.

Nametag Wearing: At Main Camp, campers wear their nametags everyday. At church, during the Five Year ceremony with their white dresses, while doing Zumba - it doesn’t matter. It’s a status thing.

Newsies Dancing: Our Senior Play this year was Newsies (phenomenial!), and the dancing was incredible. It’s expected that girls will know how to sing to be in the musical, but this show included amazing dance skill. We’ve never seen anything like it from the Greystone stage.

Fort Possibilities: The Fort is now a multi-activity space that we put to good use this summer. Did you know it can transition into a full-sized tennis court? On Do Nothing Day, we played a camper vs. counselor Around the World game and a Dodgeball game.

Confetti Poppers: At Program Presentations during Main Camp, we had a Homecoming theme, with the staff all wearing Greystone-branded baseball shirts for the night. At the end, our hosts (who were dressed as refs) welcomed all the girls “home” to Greystone, and we shot off confetti cannons. What a way to start the session!

Team Meetings Revamp: Anne Hayden turned Team Meetings into a true team pep rally. Girls made so many banners, signs, Dining Hall placemats, cowbells (more cowbell!), shakers, buttons, and more. With Challenge Day the next morning, it was the perfect way to prepare for the fun to come.

It was truly an EPIC summer. Campers, what are we forgetting? Until next year…