If you were to walk the grounds of Qwanoes right now, you would notice a few things going on around you that aren’t quite the same as all the other weeks in the summer. It’s Family Camp at Qwanoes and what a special time to see dad’s playing soccer with their kids, mom’s taking a ride on the screamer with their daughters and families growing closer to each other every day! Camp is a special place where activities, games, Q-Town and just being outside as a family, brings families closer to each other in a very special way.

A story about a dad and his kids… I was just outside a moment ago watching a pretty “intense” game of soccer with a bunch of dad’s and their boys.  I had a good visit with one of the dads on the side lines as I had a chance to ask him what made Qwanoes so special to him and he simply said this:  “I don’t get to be with my kids very much during the week, and this time with my boy right now at Qwanoes brings us together in a way like nothing else quite does, we just love it.  At the end of the week my relationship with my son is way closer, and as a dad that means the world to me”. As we we continued to watch the soccer game unfold in front of us, he paused and then said: “I have a daughter who I took on a double biscuit ride behind the boat yesterday…and I will never forget her face when she looked up at me from where she was sitting, water spraying all around us and she said… daddy is this real? Is this really happening?  She was having such a an amazing time she couldn’t believe it was real!! And I got to be a part of that moment, I didn’t miss it! That’s what I love about being at Qwanoes… moments like that”. With that… off he ran back into the soccer game to make more of those memories that will last a life time with his son.

At the other end of the field I saw Ben Reynolds checking out the action in the challenge course. Ben was on summer staff in 1998 and 1999 as our Q-Town music leader and we are glad to have him back all the way from Nashville to be a part of leading Q-Town for the adults this week! Ben always looks like he is contemplating something as I often catch him looking off into the distance with a coffee in hand. I of course had to ask him what he was thinking about and he had this to say “It’s been really neat to come back as a former staff member after all these years and see how the camp’s activities change, facilities change and the summer staff change, but the heart of the camp still stays the same… Christ has remained at the centre of everything and that’s what makes this place so special”.  As a former staff member myself from 1998, it’s surreal to see Ben on the stage of the old Q-Town stage in Club Coco singing “It’s a Good Life” … It is so neat to hear all the changes that have happened in Ben’s life, but one thing just like Qwanoes has remained the same, he too has kept Christ at the centre.

Tonight is a special night at Qwanoes! Well to be honest, every night seems like a special night to me! The gong  just went and that means it’s dinner time for the kids, that’s right just the kids!  Later tonight there will be a special banquet just for the adults, it’s covered in secrecy and I can’t even tell you what to expect, but I know it’s going to be good!

Looks like I got ahead of myself!  Before the banquet everyone will come together at the fireside for another great time together. We have silly skits, funny songs, and a really rich time together praising God and talking about how God’s love is out of this world!  You never know what’s going to happen at a Qwanoes fireside, sometimes we even have special guests who show up from other countries like Lunksvia! So far we’ve met their bobsled team and seen a cooking show that involved cooking & aerobics at the same time!

There are still two more days left of Family Camp and it’s going to be awesome! And then Junior High #3 starts on Sunday!

Junior High #2 is in high gear and the classic Qwanoes water games are happening right now!  Just before the games began, the clouds parted and the warm summer sun broke through and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect for a giant, massive all-out water fight!!!

The week wouldn’t be complete without an all out battle of the teams with water guns, shields and shaving cream! I just asked a camper what his strategy was and he had this to say “I love sneaking around the edge, then darting in before anyone sees me, that’s the best way to really get him… or if that doesn’t work I just rush in quick and look for the holes so I can get him really good!”.  The “him” he is referring to is the lucky counselor covered head to toe with shaving cream! Why is that you ask? The other team is sworn to defend and protect him of course! The counselor with the most shaving cream on at the end of the game wins!

While the battle continues on one side of the playing field, if you look over to the other side you will see BIG BLUE! Campers absolutely love BIG BLUE, and why wouldn’t they… there is nothing like staring down 130 feet of smooth plastic, rushing water filled with slippery soap!  Campers love lining up with a good amount of grass (aka runway) to run on just before launching themselves down the water slide!  A group of girls from Cabin 7 just went down – let’s hear what they had to say about it: Sienna ” I love going down on my stomach and reaching up to give high fives on the way down! You go soooo fast!” Laura had this to say” It’s super fast, I love going down with a bunch of friends and bumping into each other all the way down, it is so FUN!”

WATCH THE VIDEO – Qwanoes campers enjoying Big Blue and even our speaker Storm couldn’t resist!

Our camp speaker’s name this week is Storm and he came all the way from Calgary to spend a week at Qwanoes and all our campers.  He loves Qwanoes, especially when campers dare him to go on the activities like the Sky-Scraper or behind the boat on the rocket! Today he joined in the fun and took a turn down Big Blue! I asked the Cabin 7 girls what they thought of Storm and Caylin & Paig had this to say, “He is so awesome, he really gets your attention…one minute you are laughing and the next he really has you thinking hard.  He’s stories about himself are so funny, he definitely can get your attention by telling you things straight up… he doesn’t sugar code it, he just tells it the way it is and I like it that way”.

The Cabin 7 girls are having a blast at camp and one of the reasons is because of Mel their counselor! Mel had this to say ” I love being a camp counselor, I think my girls are awesome… I love telling my girls about God and having fun all at the same time!”

There is still lots of time left in Junior High #2 – after dinner there’s Q-Town and then onto the “Rock Your World Concert & Kick Flip Cafe!”  It’s going to be a great rest of the week and then onto Family Camp starting on Sunday!

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It’s tuck time at Qwanoes right now and that means the “Squirrel” (Russ Smith) is in the nest at the qrok Tower blasting the tunes!  What’s playing right now? It sounds to me like it is “Out Of This World” our theme song for summer 2010 – what a great song! Campers are hanging out on the field enjoying tuck, listening to music and soaking in the rays. Later tonight we will all come together for a giant BBQ on the main field! Burgers, hotdogs, chips, watermelon and all the fixings! And then right after dinner it will be carnival time with “Greylocks Magical Extravaganza”! It is such a great day to be at Qwanoes!!

The challenge course is a great place to hang out on a nice hot summer day, the trees tower above you and provide a canopy of shade to play in.  I started off my walk through the challenge course at the “Sky Scraper” as three girls were being raised to 80 feet up in the air! Once at the top, they were motioned to pull the cord which releases them to fly through the air, 1 pull, 2 pull, 3 pull and then SWOOSH! The girls flew past the ground and back up again! The screams were pure excitement and a memory that will last well past the summer I’m sure.

I then made my way to the screamer just in time to see two girls jump off the platform and soar through the trees! From the expression on their faces it sure looked like a lot of fun… as the two girls (Samantha and Kiera) were detached from the screamer, I heard them exclaiming in the distance to their friends “It’s so FUN, you totally have to do it, it was scary at first, but it was sooooooo FUN!”

As I was making my way out of the challenge course, I ran into Jesse, Elise and Sydney who were enjoying watching their friend go through the “multi-vine” element. I asked them what their favorite activity was and Jesse and Elise said the Screamer! And Sydney said the Sky Scraper!!  The three of them are having so much fun at camp! We got to talking about Ben our speaker and what they thought of last nights time at the fireside… Elise said that “Ben is so funny, and his stories about Jesus were so cool!”  Yes, last night was a good time to be at the fireside for sure! Ben, our camp speaker for the week, shared some incredible stories about Jesus and how He healed a blind man, touched someone with leprosy  and took it away and so many other great stories! His enthusiasm is contagious! Later that night many campers wanted to hear more stories, so all over Qwanoes the stories of Jesus were being told from walking on the water, to feeding the 5000! What awesome stories!

Juniors 2 has 2 more days left, and they are going to be amazing! And then Staff Development Day on Saturday and then onto Junior Hight #2! Summer at Qwanoes, there’s nothing like it.

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Junior High #1 is going great!!! The campers hit the ground running on Saturday with many coming by car and our biggest group ever coming over by ferry!

Before we knew it the campers were on the registration deck, getting their pictures taken, meeting their camp counselor, doing swim tests, doing tricks on the skateboard park, in Club Coco, playing carpetball and moving into cabins! The Squirrel was in the qrok tower playing the new OUT OF THIS WORLD theme song and it was summer once again at Qwanoes!

Every day has been filled with adventure, friends & discovery! There is so much going on all over Qwanoes right now as I write this blog post. I just got back from Qwanoes Beach and boy oh boy that is the place to be on a hot day like this! The campers are loving Castaway Castle & the whole Aqua Park. As I was heading up the stairs I saw all three boats pulling campers behind them, what fun! I also saw a group of campers enjoying “Beach Discovery”, it was really cool to see the campers touching and holding a REALLY, REALLY BIG star fish!

I just ran into Stevie-G and he had this to say about the week, “This week is so cool! And I’m not meaning the temperature – it was crazy today with water flying everywhere, campers were all soaked with water and having a blast on our first really hot summer day!! I love wide eyed and liquified!”

The GONG just went! That means it’s time to head to the dining hall for a tasty meal together. The evenings are such a great time together as we head into Q-Town for an awesome time watching QTV, singing with the Quixotic band and listening to our camp speaker for the week, Randy Carter.  Randy really gets everyones attention with his funny stories and powerful lessons about life & Jesus. We are all learning and growing so much together and having fun all at the same time!

Two more days left of Junior High #1 – it’s going to be awesome!

The countdown is getting closer and closer to the first day of the first camp of summer! Junior High #1 starts this Saturday and I can tell you one thing for sure being here walking around Qwanoes today…WE CAN’T WAIT!!!!  Everyone is talking about it, everyone is preparing for it and we just can’t wait!

The start of Staff Training was last Friday, June 26th, and from that first day until now, we have been preparing ourselves for a summer like no other! Q-Town has been awesome with Marv Penner helping us all prepare our hearts to welcome thousands of kids to camp. Yesterday we had a training session on the new games for this year…I don’t want to give it all away, but I can tell you that the night game is going to be a very BIG adventure! The staff are out there right now, preparing on the challenge course, practicing in Q-Town with the Squirrel, the archery range, the skateboard park and I even hear the boat drivers making sure everything is ready to go for Rocket Plus!

It’s been great to see the formation of the staff team come together as we are all getting to know each other and growing closer together. There have been a lot of laughs, good times and meaningful times together with returning staff and those that are experiencing Qwanoes for the very first time.  So far I have met staff from Ireland, Brazil, United States, New Zealand, South Africa, UK and Australia! I love hearing all the fun accents and different way of saying things from all the countries represented.

With the first summer camp coming up in just days, there is a feeling at Qwanoes that is hard to explain, an anticipation, an excitement for all that is going to happen. I can just see those smiling faces coming at me, those faces with expressions of pure joy as they run off the buses and out of the cars towards a week that will be unforgettable & life-changing. A week that will not only be pure, raw fun, but a week that will give campers a chance to unplug from the every day, discover things about life, make new friends and escape into a place that is built just for them, a place where kids can be kids!  We love kids at Qwanoes and we can’t wait to have our cabin villages and all of camp  come alive with the voices and faces of our campers once again!

Bring on summer! Bring on the campers! SUMMER 2010 “OUT OF THIS WORLD” is almost here!

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The summer staff team 2010 will be uniting on Friday at Camp Qwanoes! We have staff traveling from as close as Vancouver Island to as far away as New Zealand, Brazil, UK and other parts of the world!

Why do kids love Qwanoes so much? One of the reasons is our staff team love kids! And our desire is to provide one unforgettable week for them. Our staff make such a difference – our campers love them!! We can’t wait to welcome all our campers this summer!” says Scott Bayley, Executive Director here at Qwanoes.

We have about 200 trained staff serve each week on staff…with about 80% of these here for the entire summer. Our staff absolutely love kids and that’s why they have chosen to join our summer staff team…and that’s why we have chosen them!

This is what our staff have to say about what they are looking forward to this summer…

Stevie G   – “I’m excited to help kids be kids and enjoy God’s creation through games and pure fun outdoors!” Laura – “I’m stoked to hangout with kids and be a good role model and bring some light into their lives!” Nathan – “I’m excited about having fun with kids and telling them about the fun God who loves them!” Derek – “Seeing kids come alive in a whole new way!” Keerstin – “I’m excited about having fun with kids in a fun environment and being a part of their “Out Of This World” adventure!” Amelia – “Getting to watch campers challenge themselves and conquer fears!”

Our first week of camp is a Junior High Camp and it begins on July 3rd! We can’t wait!!

Staff training starts this Friday and runs for a whole week as the countdown gets closer and closer to Junior High #1. Training time will be used to bond together, put all the final touches on camp and training sessions that cover a wide variety of topics that prepare the staff team for this summers program!

It’s not too late! Summer is just days around the corner – and we still have a few spots left for our Juniors Camps! Imagine days filled with endless adventures, making new friends, great food, Q-Town… the sun will be out and smiles will be everywhere! Although most camps are full, we have just a few spots open in Juniors #2 and Juniors #3 for female campers.  Register today! Call 1-888-99-qwanoes (9266) or register online.

You can come to camp with your whole family! That’s right – we still have some room left in our summer Family Camp. An experience like this is where family memories are made that will last a lifetime! Truly a family vacation that brings refreshment and closeness to a whole new level. Go online to our website to find out more info!

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Last Friday was a big day at Qwanoes as we were getting ready for some very special guests who we knew would be arriving in just hours! The camp was buzzing with activity with staff from every area of camp working together to make sure everything would be ready to go.  If you walked the grounds on Friday you would have seen somebody on every corner of the camp getting ready for Open House… cleaning tents, cutting grass, painting, finishing the expanded carpetball hut, moving the battle top arena, prepping food, hanging banners, weeding and cleaning, the list could go on and on!! You could just feel the energy and excitement around camp as the countdown to the Open House had started! We couldn’t wait to have everyone here soon!

And then Saturday hit! If you were on the main field, it would have been quite an experience for you to see many, many, MANY people roll onto the grounds of Qwanoes! Everyone was ready for a day filled with adventure, and you could see it on their faces!  Qwanoes Open House had started and summer weather was here and we were ready to go!

From the main field people spread out all over camp with many heading right down to Qwanoes Beach. “Castaway Castle” and the “Roadster” are NEW additions to Qwanoes beach… so new in fact that Castaway Castle had just arrived 2 days before! Within moments of people arriving at the beach they were behind the boats on the Roadster, on the Blob, all over Castaway Castle, in the Kayak Frenzies…Qwanoes Beach was officially open for summer 2010!

The expansion to our Carpet Ball Hut was another great addition to our activity line up that was unveiled during the Open House. The Carpetball Hut was DOUBLED in size and it was so much fun to see all 7 tables being played on! I saw many parents challenging their kids to a game! This will be a hot spot for our campers this summer.

Club Coco is always a nice cool place to hang out during the summer to enjoy a milkshake and play some games. The newest addition to our Club Coco game line-up is the Battle Top Arena! There is only one Battle Top Arena in all of Canada and it was played on for the first time right in Club Coco, at one point we had all 12 tops going at the same time!

The day of course included so much more…like tours, delicious food, great music and of course Q-Town! We ended our day with everyone packing out Q-Town and enjoying video highlights of the day, new Q-Town music, and rejoicing in all that God is going to do during Qwanoes summer 2010! As quick as the day began it came to an end with cars leaving and 7 busses heading to the ferry – it must have been some party on that ferry with over 300 people from Qwanoes heading back to the mainland!

Thanks to everyone who came out as our special guest, we loved having you here and we hope to see you again soon! A big thank you goes out to the staff team who did an incredible job in all areas!

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