Camp Green Lane Blog Post
Happy Playday!
No booms yet, but the air is thick with anticipation and chants of “1, 2, 3, 4, We want Color War!”
Today was a beautiful sunny day with a gorgeous breeze that makes you want to stay outside all day – which is perfect, since there are plenty of outdoor activities for campers to keep busy. Today was our first morning with a 9:00 breakfast, a post-Visiting Day schedule change that will gift everyone an extra half hour of sleep. A half hour may not sound like much to folks at home, but in camp terms, it’s pretty golden.
There are some exciting things happening in camp today, too! Our Greeks spent the day in Ocean City on a nice little beachside getaway full of shopping, boardwalk food, and sunshine. For the next few days, everyone will have an evening activity of going to the movies! Inter Boys and Girls will be seeing the new Pixar movie Elemental tonight, Debs and Cadets will be seeing Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse tomorrow, Senior Boys and Girls will be seeing Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on Wednesday, and the Greeks will be seeing Barbie on Wednesday, too.
While we’re here sitting and waiting for Color War to start, I thought I’d take a moment to explain what it actually is, for those at home who may not know.
Color War is a massive 6-Day competition where the entire camp is divided into two teams: a green team and a white team. There is an exciting theme associated with each year’s Color War that will be revealed once it finally breaks, and the theme is always Something vs. Something (for example, last year’s Color War theme was White Arctic vs. Green Tropic.) Each team is led by two captains, a male counselor and a female counselor, who are chosen for their exemplary behavior, leadership, and camp spirit. We’ll find out who this year’s captains are at the break, too.
So what is the “break?” It’s the moment that Color War officially begins, marked by the sound of not one, not two, but three BOOMS that echo unmistakably throughout camp. In the past, “fake breaks” have been known to throw everyone off the scent, maybe only marked by one or two booms, leaving everyone hungering for the third. The official break is usually accompanied by some sort of show-stopping event or performance that really starts everything off with a big enthusiastic moment.
From there, campers and counselors rush to their supervisors to find their names on a sign that lists who is on the white team and who is on the green team. Then, the games begin!
The next several days following are full of games, competitions, and events that earn points for each team. Participants proudly sport their team colors while competing in athletic games, a spelling bee, and the Acorn Relay. Camper Captains, four boys and four girls from Alpha and Gamma, compete in special activities like The Amazing Race and the legendary rope burn.
There is plenty of tradition and honor woven into Color War, and once it begins, it’s easy to see why it’s the most eagerly anticipated event of the summer. As always, we’ll keep you posted on any Color War happenings, but until then, we’ll just be sitting here, waiting for those three booms…