A Whirlwind of Circus
Editor’s Note: This post was written by Head Coach Doug Stewart
Greetings from Greensboro!
This week has been a whirlwind of circus, filming, dinner dress-ups, capture the flag and of course, Halloween.
The week began with our “No Beach – Beach Day” on Saturday. After sleeping in until 8:30am we started the day by watching cartoons and lounging in our PJs. (Some people stayed in their PJ’s all day!) After a day filled with phone calls home and resting, we gathered in the Big Tops for Movie Night. Not only did we watch the Smirkus Classic, “The Majestic Yak,” but we witnessed the world premier of “The Majestic Doug,” a full length motion picture coming soon to a theatre near you!…..maybe.
On Sunday, we got right to work preparing for our filming days. Every day, we film a different tent to showcase the skills and exercises we have been training. We have filmed tumbling passes, juggling feats, aerial tricks and clown gags. The campers have all gotten the chance to share what they have learned and are very excited for you to watch it!
To keep things funky fresh, we added Choice Time into the mix. Choice Time is when coaches offer different classes and campers get to choose the ones they go to! They get to choose from activities like Spanish Web, Trampoline, Stilt Walking, Unicycles, Fabric Drops, “Is Hard Looks Bad” (creative juggling), and more!
As you know, on Monday we received the news that we were Covid-free and we were able to remove our masks! After a joyous celebration during breakfast, we headed to the tents to do warm ups and conditions all together for the first time this year!
This session we have also been communicating with our circus penpal, Prescott Circus! Prescott Circus in Oakland, CA sent us a wonderful video introducing their campers and their circus camp. We spent the last few days filming and editing a video that we will send back! We are also going to zoom with Prescott Camp so that we can meet our penpals in real time!
Apart from all the circus we’ve been doing, we’ve been keeping busy with all of our camp activities. On Sunday night, our campers performed individually at the camper talent show and in their counselor groups in the Lip Sync Battle right afterwards. There were performances ranging from Hamilton to Shrek. The groups did not disappoint! We’ve also played gold rush, staff hunt and my personal favorite, capture the flag. But no camp experience is complete without trick or treating. Today (Wednesday, June 30) we will dress up in our Halloween bests and go on a scavenger hunt, not only for treats, but to try to find the right doors to knock on!
We’ve been having a blast this session and can’t believe there are only a few days left! Over the course of the past 10 days I have watched the campers re-enter society after a difficult year. Kids that arrived at camp a little shy have opened up. Campers have made new friends, learned together, laughed together and have helped each other stand a little taller. There’s something to be said about the magic of this place, and I think these campers have all gotten a taste of the Smirkus Magic. I wish I could stick around and tell you all the magical moments, but we have the staff show tonight, and I have to go practice my juggling!
See You Down the Road……or on Friday between 11:00 & 1:00.