Tag Archives: Qwanoes

Events, Summer Camp

Escape To Summer Now!

On the Rocket at Qwanoes Beach during summer 2012!

Summer is coming to Camp Qwanoes, and registration begins on January 3rd. We’re planning to have our greatest summer ever! Just imagine it… blue sky, hot summer days, kids laughing, boats cutting through glassy seas, Moose Tracks cones, the music of Q-Town… we can’t wait.

How about you… can’t wait for the heat of summer? Then let us fly you to into a hot spot for FREE right now!

ANNOUNCING: Qwanoes “Escape To Summer Now” Contest!

You could win two round-trip flights on WestJet  to Hawaii, Mexico, Florida, or Jamaica!

How Do I Enter? Register for a Qwanoes summer camp in January and you’ll be entered for your chance to win!

Want to increase your chances? Register during the first week of our registration (Jan. 3 to 9) and you’ll receive THREE ENTRIES in the contest for each registration you make.

Register during the second week of registration (Jan. 10 to 16) and you’ll receive TWO ENTRIES in the contest for each registration you make.

Register during the last two weeks of January (Jan. 17 to 31) and you’ll receive ONE ENTRY in the contest for each registration you make.

Contest Prize Draw: The prize draw will be made on Feb. 1 during our Qwanoes “LiftOff Getaway” event in Campbell River/Mt. Washington. We’ll announce the winner on Facebook and Twitter by posting a video of the big draw! (Be sure to follow us on Twitter and ‘like’ our Qwanoes Facebook page).

How Do I Register For Camp? It all starts on January 3rd @ 9:00 am. You can register online, by phone, fax or email! To enter the contest you must register someone for a 2013 Qwanoes summer camp. If you register more than one child, you will be entered for each one you register.

Can't wait for summer? Enter our Escape To Summer Now contest!

You Can Choose Your Sun Spot! Hawaii? Jamaica? Mexico? It’s up to you! (Can you fly somewhere else if you like? Sure – in fact, you can actually choose to fly ANYWHERE in the world that WestJet flies – even Winnipeg or Fredericton. We kind of thought you’d prefer a sun spot – though it’s your choice!)

Why Are We Doing This? We love our campers and their families – and this is a way for us to say thank you to everyone who registers! We also love having fun – and helping others have fun. We are SO EXCITED for summer 2013 at Qwanoes, we just HAD to do something special to help kick things off.

EVERY CONTEST HAS TO HAVE FINE PRINT – EVEN THIS ONE!

  • This contest is for two free round-trip flights to anywhere WestJet flies.
  • You can only choose flights where WestJet has space available. There may be some blackout periods, likely mid-December to December 31. You can choose your flights during the year.
  • WestJet tells us that there are no taxes involved.
  • All those who enter the contest agree to have their name announced if they win.
  • If a registrant desires to opt out of the contest, please let our Registrar know at time of registration.
  • Register for a Qwanoes summer camp in January and you’ll be entered for your chance to win. Winner must be age 19 or over. Winner will be the person who made the registration… but of course you can decide how you want to use your flights!
  • Sorry Qwanoes year-round staff and board members… we can’t enter you in the contest. But we can provide free suntan lotion!
  • Questions? Feel free to contact us at 1-888-997-9266 or email life@qwanoes.ca.

~ Written by Scott Bayley, Qwanoes’ Executive Director

 

 

Camp Staff, Leadership Training, Q-Town & Music, Summer Camp

It All Begins TODAY!

Here at Qwanoes we’ve just completed Staff Training and we can’t wait to welcome our first campers of the summer this afternoon!

Welcoming campers to Qwanoes in summer 2011 - 1st summer 2012 welcome happening today!!

Jr. High #1 begins today and campers are on our their way to camp right now.

Some Facts About Staff Training 2012…

• About 185 leaders have been part of Staff Training this past week. Those in attendance included a full range of ages from high school students and 2012 grads to our much-loved Food Purchaser Norm Cardiff (who turns 80 today!!).

• The staff team bravely got in the water at Qwanoes Beach last Saturday (on a not-so-nice weather day) and learned how to do a water search in case someone ever goes missing at the waterfront.

• Staff training included taking everyone to Central Baptist in Victoria on Sunday morning followed by an afternoon of team-building in a park by the ocean.

• Randy Carter, a long-time speaker at Qwanoes, was our speaker for Staff Training. Randy was a big part of our week and he could be seen in afternoons working with crews painting where needed during Camp Prep!

• Sessions included Capturing A Vision, Activities In Action, Risk Management, Providing Quality Health Care, and much more.

Learning dryland training techniques during the Waterski/Wakeboard instructor training clinic.

• Over 25 activity clinics were offered over the course of the week – training staff how to lead everything from Challenge Course to Artrageous Crafts to Skateboarding to RC Speedway to Waterskiing/Wakeboarding and the other activities we offer.

• Our Quixotic music team led by  Russ (the Squirrel) spent much time practicing Q-Town songs and getting ready for our first Surf-O-Rama Concert of the summer happening at Jr. High #1! What’s Surf-O-Rama?

• Our staff team this summer includes people from the United Kingdom (Ireland, Scotland, England), Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, Brazil, France, the United States, other countries, and of course Canada – all united for the purpose of loving kids to life!

Special Highlight Of Jr. High #1

Speaking of Canada, it’s Canada Day tomorrow and a special highlight of Jr. High #1 is a giant Canada Day party! We’ll be celebrating the day with all our campers and staff and look forward to blasting tunes from the qrok Tower, eating cake, and hopefully even seeing the sky light up!

School’s out and summer’s here… so let the fun begin!!

~ Written by Julie Bayley, Qwanoes’ Associate Program Director

 

 

Activities, Summer Camp

What…?

With 75 activities in the summer at Qwanoes, it’s a challenge to choose what to do! But it just got even harder!

Yes, it’s true – we’re already adding LOTS for this summer. At Qwanoes Beach… Paddle Surfing, a Freefall Slide, a brand-new Super Slide and Super Totter, an Aqua Rope Swing. Plus even more fun in Club Coco. There’s tons!

But now – there’s one more brand-new choice! …Ready? 

Debuting summer 2012 is Qwanoes RC Speedway!

What…? Yes, we’re adding high-end, high-action outdoor super-sized RC car racing! Join a friend and race against four other teams at the same time! Each car is over two feet long – “this ain’t no Mario Cart video game” – these cars are real, fast, and built for racing!

Think you have the skills? Well – put them to the test against all your friends and the rest of the camp. Don’t even think of googling for the cheat codes… ’cause there are none. Just you, your pit-crew partner, and the track.

At Qwanoes we always seek to make a week at camp one of the greatest weeks ever in the lives of our campers! Around here there is always more fun and always new adventures every year. No summer is ever the same at Camp Qwanoes!

Come and experience Qwanoes’ RC Speedway for yourself. We can’t wait to welcome you!

See more about our new activities for summer 2012 here.

~ Written by Scott Bayley (Qwanoes’ Executive Director) & Julie Bayley (Qwanoes’ Associate Program Director)

 

 

Activities, Camp Staff, Events, Leadership Training, Social Media, Summer Camp

Summer Is Almost Here!

It’s June! That means that school is almost out and summer camp is about to begin! Lots is happening at camp every day at this point as we gear up for summer. Staff in every area at camp are hard at work getting ready – setting the stage for the adventure that is going to be lived out in the weeks ahead!

Enjoying the sunshine in a session on the Guest House lawn!

Last weekend, we had Staff Leadership Orientation with almost 40 leaders on our staff team. It is an exciting thing to see staff come together from diverse backgrounds and unite for the common purpose of helping kids discover, live, and share life like no other! Our team of Advance Crew staff is growing every week and we look forward to the arrival of many others on the summer staff team on June 22, the first day of Staff Training.

Now we’re only one week away from our annual Open House and everyone’s invited! Our brand-new Qwanoes Beach activities for summer 2012 will be available for the very first time including the Aqua Rope Swing and Freefall Slide… or be one of the first to try Paddle Surfing at Qwanoes!

The latest surf sensation... get ready to glide and explore!

Find out more about what’s new for summer 2012 here.

Speaking of new activities, another new activity is coming to Qwanoes this summer – in addition to the ones already announced earlier this year! We’re always seeking to make a week at camp one of the greatest weeks ever. Around Qwanoes there is always more fun and new adventure every year. No summer is ever the same! If you want to be one of the first to know what new activity is being introduced, be sure to follow Qwanoes on Twitter!

We can't wait to welcome everyone!

 

Just under 30 days until the camp buses and many cars roll down the road filled with campers and summer 2012 at Qwanoes begins!

~ Written by Julie Bayley, Qwanoes’ Associate Program Director

 

 

Adult Retreats, Leadership Training, Q-Town & Music

For The Very First Time

LIT’s Invading Qwanoes This Weekend!

Summer '11 CIT's with leader Andrew MacDonald (top right wearing hat)

Qwanoes is alive with activity as we are getting closer and closer to summer! This weekend, we’re holding our first-ever LIT Pre-Summer Training Weekend led by Andrew MacDonald, Qwanoes’ CIT, LIT & Kaléo Program Leader. All incoming LIT’s for summer 2012 have been invited to come for a weekend of reconnecting with each other, diving into God’s Word, stretching their leadership abilities, and preparing for the summer ahead. Saturday will even include venturing out to the Horne Lake caves at Qualicum Beach to do some caving together!

Also on Saturday, Qwanoes will be running a Music Team Workshop led by Russ Smith, our Music and Media Coordinator. In addition to all the training happening, a camp board meeting and summer work weekend will be going on. This all means that summer is coming quickly at this point!

Young Adults Invited!

Wish you could still be a camper at Qwanoes but you’re over 18? Are you wanting to connect with other young adults and with God? In just one week, from May 11 to 13, Qwanoes and Ethos are partnering together to offer a retreat specifically for young adults! If you’re wondering what Ethos is, it is a ministry to the young adults of Metro Vancouver that meets every Sunday night at Coquitlam Alliance Church.

It doesn’t matter where you’re from… all young adults are invited to take part in this retreat! The theme is “Under The Sun” and our speaker is Chris Throness, the pastor of Ethos Young Adults, who has been involved in speaking to students and young adults all over Western Canada, United States, and in Israel.

For more details, to register, and to take a look at past young adult retreats at Qwanoes, please see Young Adult Retreat. We look forward to welcoming you to Qwanoes!

~ Written by Julie Bayley, Qwanoes’ Associate Program Director

 

 

Activities, Social Media

An Iceberg On The West Coast?

Last Friday people across Canada saw a photo of people climbing on an iceberg on the front page of the National Post. The iceberg is floating in the icy water close to St. John’s, Newfoundland… on the east coast of Canada.

Icebergs on opposite Canadian coasts!

Apparently this is a rare feat and takes great skill, the right gear, a lot of courage, and willingness to be VERY cold!

Well – we invite these guys to come to the WEST COAST of Canada and dare to scale OUR iceberg! Our water is a lot warmer and there will be many people ready to join them to reach the summit!

Yes – a giant iceberg will be floating at Qwanoes Beach ready for all brave campers and staff this summer!

We have tons of fun on our iceberg and look forward to seeing you there!

Follow Qwanoes On Twitter!

If you don’t want to miss any updates from Qwanoes, make sure that you follow us on Twitter! Because Twitter is simple and efficient (140 characters max. per post), we can share the latest on Qwanoes as it happens as well as some fun, encouragement and interaction.

Often our tweets have helpful links, and you can decide what you want to read or watch. Twitter is a great way to get the latest real time news and info, to connect with us and others, to share your questions and ideas, and to see valuable content you may not have otherwise seen.

Feel free to tweet us – we’d love to interact with you this way! If you want to communicate privately on Twitter, you can do it with a direct message (DM).

“Until you use it you will not understand the power of Twitter to provide a rich kaleidoscope of news, people, connections, content, videos and images in real time….”~ Jeff Bullas, Social Media Expert

Here's a quick peek at Qwanoes' Twitter page!

~ Written by Julie Bayley, Qwanoes’ Associate Program Director

 

 

Camp Staff, Summer Camp

What Makes A Week At Camp So Special?

In just 4 more days, Qwanoes is going to be gearing up a notch as we get ready for summer! A number of summer staff will arrive at Qwanoes to be part of “Advance Crew” and more will be arriving on a weekly basis as summer approaches. We are so excited to welcome all of them!

We love to welcome people to camp!

What Is Advance Crew?

From late April to the start of Staff Training, Advance Crew summer staff join with the year-round staff team to be involved in all aspects of preparing Qwanoes for the summer, running Qwanoes spring events and retreats, and working with pre-summer guest groups. Together this vital group of leaders will be part of laying the foundations for Qwanoes “Live It Up” summer 2012!

So Much More Than Just Fun & Games!

To many people, a week at summer camp may seem like it’s all fun and games.

Playing some All-Star Games!

That is definitely a big part of camp – playing games in the outdoors with friends, trying new activities, singing songs around the campfire, experiencing parties and concerts – but camp is so much more than that. Camp is a place where kids gain hope, feel true acceptance, and make life-changing decisions.

Check out what some Qwanoes campers have to say for themselves…

“I came here because of the skiing and wakeboarding and stuff…but I discovered so much more. I found hope! I discovered a vision for my life. It’s been amazing.”

“I could see that you REALLY love kids here!”

“This was the best week of my whole life. Can you be my counselors forever?”

“This camp has really changed my life. I’d like to thank everyone who made this happen, who made this camp happen.”

“I used to be worried about everything and then I came here. Here I’ve been myself. This week has been the best.”

Enjoying summer together at Qwanoes.

Experience camp for yourself this summer! Or do you know someone that would benefit from being at camp this summer? Click here for more info about summer and how to sign up!

~ Written by Julie Bayley, Qwanoes’ Associate Program Director

 

 

Adult Retreats, Leadership Training

Congratulations To Our Students!

Kaléo Program Grad

There’s a lot of excitement mixed with sadness at Qwanoes today as the Kaléo program for 2011/12 is coming to a close! Today is the last full day of the program and the graduation ceremony and banquet is happening tomorrow. It is a beautiful blue-sky day outside as parents and friends of the students are arriving. Take a quick peek into the last week of the program in the latest post – “Scaling the heights of truth” – on the Kaléo 2012 program blog. At Qwanoes, we’re very proud of our students and are very excited to see what’s ahead for each one! Time to celebrate!

Pausing for a group photo on a rock climbing adventure!

Women’s Retreat

Coming up in just two weeks is our Spring Women’s Retreat! Many are already signed up, but there’s still room for more. Women are invited to escape to the great outdoors and connect with God and others.

Krista Penner

Features include music and our guest speaker Krista Penner, Saturday morning workshops, excellent meals including a banquet, great free time options, activity options including the Challenge Course, an on-site hot tub, and even a special Chemainus Theatre option. Click here for full details on this weekend and to register.

In the words of someone coming to the retreat: “I am so excited to attend my second ladies retreat at the end of April! The 2011 Spring Retreat was soooo much fun!”

Challenge Course Workshop

The same weekend as the Women’s Retreat, we are going to be running our Challenge Course Workshop  – part of our pre-summer training series – for anyone at least age 17 (by the end of the year) that would love to serve in this dynamic high-adventure setting.

There's nothing quite like the SkyScraper!

Those attending will learn to lead rock-wall climbing and ropes course activities, while having lots of fun and making new friends.

It is truly rewarding to offer challenges to people of all ages that will build their self-confidence, communication, problem-solving, and team-work abilities. No previous experience is necessary! Please contact the Staffing Team if you’d like to take part.

~ Written by Julie Bayley, Qwanoes’ Associate Program Director

 

 

Events, Youth Retreats

Early Spring Happenings

What a fun week it has been here at Qwanoes!

Trying out the new Giant Connect 4 in Club Coco!

This past weekend, about 125 kids ages 8 to 11 were at our Spring Juniors Retreat. The weekend was filled with many highlights including…

• the introduction of Qwanoes’ brand-new Giant Connect 4

• a birthday celebration on Saturday at supper for our Music & Media Coordinator Russ Smith (a.k.a. The Squirrel)

See Stevie G bringing out birthday cake to Russ!

• challenge course, archery, skateboarding, ricochet,  an evening pool party & more activities and events

Getting ready to go in the Challenge Course on Saturday!

• hearing from our speaker for the weekend Paul Olson of Burnett Fellowship Church in Maple Ridge

• the “Unstoppable” theme and much more

It was great to have kids back at camp and we are filled with anticipation for what lies ahead this summer!

All ages are part of what’s happening at Qwanoes!

One day there were Junior-age kids at camp – the next day we held our annual Senior’s Luncheon. On Monday, we welcomed over 100 seniors representing 10 different churches from up and down the Island. Scott Bayley, Qwanoes’ Executive Director, spoke to the seniors as well as Lindsay Anderson, a pastor from Saanich Baptist Church. The seniors enjoyed music by a chorale from Parksville Baptist Church and a “superb” meal provided by Qwanoes’ food services team.

Now as we prepare to go into the Easter long weekend, we want to say Happy Easter to everyone!  After celebrating Easter, we look forward to next big event that will be happening at Qwanoes… the Kaléo program graduation!

~ Written by Julie Bayley, Qwanoes’ Associate Program Director

 

 

Social Media, Youth Retreats

A Taste Of Summer

As summer is getting closer we’re enjoying more hours of sunlight in each day, it’s getting warmer, the scent of spring-time is in the air, the birds are chirping, trees are budding, and flowers are appearing… Spring is officially here! Pretty soon we’ll be having newborn fawns appearing again around Qwanoes – a rare but beautiful sight!

Spring Juniors Retreat Is Here!

Having fun together at Qwanoes!

Here at Qwanoes tonight, we can’t wait to welcome about 125 campers to our Juniors Retreat! Along with the staff already at camp, leaders are coming from all over and all of our students in the Kaléo program will be involved in running the retreat! Whether campers are coming for the very first time, or have been to a retreat or camp in the summer before, we are so excited that they will be part of this action-packed weekend.

Everything’s ready to go from the rooms, the food, activities, events, music, and everything else that makes a visit to Qwanoes so special. It may not be summer yet, but we look forward to experiencing a small taste of summer together this weekend!

Qwanoes On Facebook

The new cover photo on Qwanoes' official Facebook page!

If you haven’t done so already, we’d like to invite everyone on Facebook to ‘like’ Camp Qwanoes’ official Facebook page. Here you’ll find frequent updates including inspiring content, thoughts and follow-up, fun stuff, questions, and the latest happenings at Qwanoes. Looking forward to you joining us and the – as of today – over 1,900 others on our official page!!

The new cover photo on the Staff-Alumni account!

Qwanoes also has a Staff-Alumni Facebook account that is meant for people who are or have previously been Qwanoes staff members in any capacity. If you are staff-alumni, you can receive updates specifically relevant to you here, but we’d also love for you to be part of the official Qwanoes Facebook page that includes campers and everyone.

Thanks to everyone who has joined us on Facebook so far!

~ Written by Julie Bayley, Qwanoes’ Associate Program Director