Well actually it came, and it was all that we hoped for and more! The Senior Girls truly outdid themselves this year. They worked secretively inside the Main Lodge all afternoon and the big reveal was definitely worth the wait – we went inside to find the ML transformed into a pirate’s paradise, complete with a huge treasure chest overflowing with booty and cannons that actually fired at the end of the most dramatic Cotillion skit we’ve ever seen. Dinner was as delicious as ever: sushi, smoked salmon canapes, bbq chicken and steak, greek salad, curly fries (of course), and homemade truffles and chocolate-covered strawberries for dessert.

After dinner we were treated to an equally amazing production of Rustic Lounge. The Curve Girls had clearly put their hearts and souls into this production because every line was delivered flawlessly, the dances were spectacularly choreographed and performed, and the songs were crisp as autumn leaves. The evening was capped off with a rocking dance party featuring plenty of ABBA, crowd-surfing, marshmallow roasting, and frisbee tossing.

I think my favourite part of the day though was seeing the outfits as people arrived at Cotillion dinner. I remember when I was a camper 20 years ago sneaking out of general early to shower and straighten my hair, spending an hour primping, and wobbling to the ML in platform shoes (ugh how sad). Nowadays, thanks to all the effort we put into creating a culture of authenticity and challenging the status quo, most of camp shows up in silly group themed outfits. This year some of my faves were: characters from Game of Thrones (including 2 Section Heads riding in on horseback), parts of a cell, cliche moms (soccer mom, PTA mom, hippy mom, cool mom, etc.), famous bears (Balloo, Yogi, Paddington…), and emo pop stars. It was a great reminder of how far we’ve come as a community and made me proud of the role models our staff are for our campers.