All about Our 2023 Great Day Alumnae Weekend
It’s been a little over a week since we waved goodbye to our alums after our 2023 Great Day Alumnae Weekend, and we’re still basking in the glow of how special it was!
Any time you get our alumnae group together, you can be sure that we’re going to have a LOT of fun. There will be DMCs, hugs, and singing our favorite camp songs (probably all within the first hour!). But this year’s Great Day Alumnae Weekend was extra sweet as it was the first Reunion we’ve hosted since our 100th Anniversary Reunion in 2019.
Alums, we wish ALL of you could have joined us, but if you missed this one, keep scrolling to hear about some of our favorite moments from the weekend. We’ll remember this one for a long time!
Rainy Arrivals and Shepherd’s Gazebo Reception
A little bit of liquid sunshine couldn’t dampen the party that happens when our alums are back in the same place! Friday afternoon, alums picked up their nametags, moved into their weekend cabins, and gathered in the Shepherd’s Gazebo for lots of hugs and laughter. It wouldn’t feel like camp without a bit of rain, but those clouds cleared in time for us to have a full Flag ceremony, complete with cabin rollcall!
Meals in the Dining Hall
We were well-fed throughout the weekend, thanks to our Kitchen crew! We could have eaten sun butter and jelly all weekend and been happy, but we enjoyed homemade pizza, ham and apples, steak, bread pudding, grit bowls, and big salad and fruit bars at every meal. Conversations and singing around the tables were a highlight for everyone!
Morning Assembly
The next morning, we warmed up by dancing and singing our hearts out in the Pavilion to some of our favorite Morning Assembly classics (can you remember your favorites?). Then came a true highlight of the weekend! We heard from our weekend speakers for the first time: alums Elizabeth Madden Pehrson and Heather Brown Holleman. We laughed and teared up as they shared some of the ways God has used Greystone and each other in their lives and how we all have a light to take back out into the world.
Saturday Activities
After Morning Assembly, it was time to try our favorite camp classes again! Alums could choose from Archery, Canoeing, Glass Beads, High Adventure, Printmaking, Riflery, Tennis, Ring Tennis, and more. Highlights were Jimboy’s tour (where he shared updates on camp now), Greystone Groove, and the War Canoe race. There was also plenty of time for catching up with friends on the dock, a long picnic lunch in the sun, and of course, Rest Hour!
Banquet, Vespers, and the Talent Show
You read that right - we squeezed all of your camp favorites into one epic night! After a reception on the Dining Hall porch and decade pictures, we enjoyed Banquet together, complete with “Hail Greystone Hail,” the clap, awards, and announcing the total team scores for all 104 years of Greystone (just in case you’re curious, here is where it stands: Odds: 277,129 and Evens: 276,795). Jimboy also gave an update on the Great Day Fund (all registration fees from the weekend went directly to the Fund to provide scholarships for future campers!).
After Banquet, we headed to Council Fire to reflect on God’s light and raise our candles high together. It’s rare to be in that space in total darkness, and the candle ceremony was stunning! The night wasn’t over yet, though; it culminated in a huge, crazy, Talent Show full of camp classics and creative new acts. We laughed until our stomachs hurt and even squeezed in a final dance party before bed!
Stumblers and Church:
It wouldn’t be a Sunday morning at Greystone without Stumblers, and our alumnae group loved exploring the River Trail on a misty morning just like campers do now. T-shirts were given to those who “paid the price for the promise of the prize!”
The final event of the weekend was church in White Hall (by this point, it was CHILLY!). We sang some of our favorite hymns and heard again from Elizabeth and Heather, rejoicing that we have a seat at the King’s table (#seated, anyone?). It was the perfect way to end the weekend!
Our Alumnae Reunion flew by, and we wouldn’t have traded a minute of it! The events were wonderful, but the best part was catching up with these women who we love so dearly.
Now we’ll just be counting down the days until we can be together at camp again. Will we see you at the next one?