Camp Green Lane 100th Summer Blog Post, August 5th

“Hey, say Color War’s (almost) over…”

Those are the lyrics to a Color War song written decades ago that campers and staff still sing today. Tonight, those words become reality.

After five unforgettable days filled with spirit, sportsmanship, competition, laughter, and memories, Color War 2026 will come to an end following tonight’s legendary Sing competition.

But before we get there, we had one action-packed day left.

The morning began with Campfire Skits, where both teams took to the stage with performances worthy of a Tony Award. The creativity, humor, and teamwork on display were incredible. Green earned the victory, but both teams had the audience laughing, cheering, and applauding from beginning to end.

Next came the always-popular Acorn Relay, where every single camper had a role to play. Some raced to pitch tents. Others tackled the low ropes course, completed Frisbee relays, and flew through a variety of challenges spread across camp. The relay all came down to one final event as the four captains attempted to toss Mentos through funnels into 2-liter bottles of Diet Coke. It was a dramatic finish, but White came away with the victory.

After lunch, it was time for one of Camp Green Lane Color War’s signature events: the Steeplechase.

This relay truly has everything.

It begins with the female captains eating an enormous bowl of pudding and ends with the male captains devouring half a watermelon. In between, campers and counselors leapfrog across fields, sprint from arch to arch, navigate obstacle courses, swim the length of the pool while holding a pizza tray, and complete countless other challenges that only make sense during Color War. It’s chaotic, exhausting, and absolutely unforgettable. Once again, White edged out Green in an incredible competition.

Tonight at dinner, the judges will score Picassos and Planks, the points from the week’s major events will be added to the totals, and we’ll see exactly where each team stands heading into the grand finale: Sing. With 250 bonus points on the line, everything is still up for grabs.

As amazing as the competition has been, that’s never what makes Color War special.

This is the week campers wait for all summer long – not just because of the games or the points, but because of the passion. It’s the cheers and songs echoing across camp. It’s teammates picking each other up after a tough loss. It’s hugs between friends wearing different colors. It’s captains inspiring younger campers to give their best. It’s learning that you can compete with everything you have while still respecting, encouraging, and celebrating the people on the other side.

That’s what Color War is really about.

And when the final song is sung tonight, the face paint will eventually wash off, the scores will be forgotten, and the song sheets will be put away. But the memories, and the feeling of being part of something bigger than yourself will last long after summer ends.

As hard as it is to believe, once Color War closes tonight, we’ll have less than a week left together between the Arches.

Let’s make every moment count.

— Aunt Robin