Staff Christmas Party

Yesterday the staff from 2008 gathered for the annual Staff Christmas Party. We spent the afternoon tubing and enjoying the winter weather. Here are a few pictures from the afternoon.
Electra, Equator, Pacific, Algae, and Ocelot.

Marine and Guava on the way down the hill.

Forest getting ready for another turn.

Quasar at the end of a ride.

A reminder to everyone that program staff applications are due on Friday, January 9th.

Merry Christmas from Camp Kintail

Merry Christmas to all of Kintail's campers, alumni, staff, and friends!

Registrations are coming in, staff applications are starting to arrive, and we are looking forward to another wonderful summer at Camp Kintail. The camp office will be closed from December 23rd to January 2nd.

Enjoy your holidays!

Specialized Ministries Conference

This past week I had the privilege of attending the Specialized Ministries Conference of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Some incredible ministries of the church were there including refugee ministry, inner city missions, native ministry, and many others. Nine of the camps from across the country were also represented. It was great to be together and share our stories. The church does some incredible work, and I am glad that camping is a part of our church's story.

The Paddleshack

One of the maintenance projects this year was the build a new paddle-shack on the beach. This paddle-shack allows the paddles and life-jackets to be left on the beach rather than trekked up and down the beach stairs every time we go canoeing or kayaking. The funds for this project were generously donated by Knox Presbyterian Church in Listowel. Our maintenance director, Ben 'Yeti' Zavitz is from Listowel and did all of the planning. He worked with a crew for Listowel to get the shack started, and then finished the work with camp staff and volunteers in the summer. Beginning stages of the Paddle-shack.

Yeti and Platinum working hard in the summer sun.

Through the Year - Stump

At Camp Kintail, we are very proud of our amazing staff members. They work very hard in the summer to provide amazing experiences for our campers, but they also do incredible things throughout the rest of the year. Cory "Stump" Vos has been the program director for the last two years and has done a great job with imaginative and fun programs. This summer, he left camp a bit early in order to help plan frosh week for the first year Queen's engineering students. This left him a bit transformed!

Music and Art LITs Worship

For the first time in 2008, there was a third LIT program offered that focused on music and art leadership. It was an amazing group who had a lot of talent to share. As part of their program they learned how to prepare and lead worship services. They had the chance to practice their new skills at the Presbyterian churches in Ripley and Ashfield.

Camp Closing 2008

We had a great day yesterday for closing. It was cold but sunny. There were about 30 altogether that got the site prepared for winter. Lots of work was done and lots of laughs were shared. A big thank you to all the volunteers, staff, LITs, alumni, and board members who came out to help!

Getting the shutters ready for the Lodge.

Cleaning Glenview & Bluehaven.

Moving picnic tables.

Roto-tilling the garden.

Getting the brochures ready to send out to all the campers from 2008.

Cougar made lunch for everyone.

Getting the shutters up.

Out-trips 2008

Every summer Kintail offers out-tripping camps. This summer there were four canoeing trips and two hikes. These are amazing opportunities for campers to gain outdoor skills, explore God's creation, and live and learn in a small group. These trips are always an experience to remember.
Bruin with campers at Awenda Provincial Park on the K3 Hike Explorers trip.

Two campers on the K1 Canoe Seekers trip.

End of Summer

The summer season is now over for the year 2008. Everyone had a great time and we are already looking forward to next summer! Over the next couple of weeks, the summer brochures will be designed, the summer schedule set, and staff applications prepared. Check back into the blog and the website for all the details!

Throughout the summer, many campers joined the Polar Bear Club. These early risers went to Polar Bear Dip three mornings during their week at camp. Three staff members recieved their official membership at the Staff party at the end of the summer. Tree, Bacon, and Monsoon are being congratulated by the waterfront team of Flare and Wombat.

Our newest camper - Anna Katherine

Theresa (Trillium) McDonald-Lee and Johnathon (Mercury) Lee welcomed a daughter, Anna Katherine into their family on August 2nd. She was back at Family Camp the next day. Anna weighed six pounds, eight ounces, and she and mom are doing great. Big sisters Ella and Lucy are enjoying their new sister.

K8 - Kintail Express

The vocal group.

The drama group at the theatre in the woods.

The percussion group at the Meadows.

One of the guitar groups at Harvest's Circle in the Celebration Tree Garden.

K7 - Day Camp

Scenes from Day Camp.

Scenes from Kintail Players at Family Camp 2008.

K5 - Sprouts

Lots of campers have come and gone. Here are a few pictures of the summer.
Yeti and Matt

Dress up parade!

It has been quite a while since the last update... Camp has been very busy! We are now into our third week with campers and are enjoying the Explorers. Here are a few snapshots of the summer so far. Our theme is "A Living Sanctuary" and we are learning about creation as a sacred space and camp as a safe and welcoming place.

Staff busy discussing during Staff Training Week.

Building a giant hole in the sand at the beach.

Tree in the water with his campers.

Campfire during the first week.

LITs doing a session with former staff member Reuben "Roots" St. Louis of Youth in Mission.

Canoeing on beautiful Lake Huron.

Program Staff at Camp

All of the program staff are now up at Camp and working hard! As I write this, they are all out working on maintenance on the site - weeding the garden, moving picnic tables, mulching trees, and cleaning the maintenance shed. As well as working on the site, they have been busy preparing their programs and getting everything ready for campers.

They are a hard working and talented group who will offer wonderful leadership and fun this summer.

Throughout the spring we have been helping to lead worship services across the Synod. This past Sunday we were at Glencoe Presbyterian Church to help celebrate the end of their Sunday School year. We were glad to stay for the picnic and games afterwards!
Stump and Wombat being pelted with shoes in the shoe kick!