Every Friday campers at the Lawrence Woodmere Academy summer camp have a special event. They had a wet and wild day in mid-July, are planning a carnival day in mid-August, and on July 27 they held their messy day.
Cheers, gasps and cries of “I need a hose,” permeated the schools campus as campers and counselors took part in some particularly messy activities. There were kiddie pools full of Jell-O and slip-and-slides coated in non-irritating dish soap, chocolate syrup, ketchup and cereal, as well as various games where campers got to cover counselors in shaving cream, pancake mix, maple syrup and more. According to boys’ division supervisor Doug MacConnell, everyone has a ball. “The counselors are such good sports,” he said with a pile of shaving cream atop his head.
Messy day has been a camp institution for several years. Ryan Young, who has been a counselor for four years, and was a camper for eight before then, said that, “It’s definitely one of the kids’ favorite days,” before sitting on a tarp called a griddle for the day and allowing campers to dump pancake mix and maple syrup on his head. “I enjoy it too,” he said, “I like getting a little messy and having some fun alongside the kids.”