Summer is here and the heat and humidity are sweltering but there is nothing like a Friday night at camp to get your summer kicked off just right!
If you are a Camp Winnataska person you know Friday night is Grail night...everywhere you look campers, leaders, staff, and directors are all wearing white...talking about searching for the Holy Grail, wondering who will be Galahad and waiting for sundown for the evening to begin! It's the last night of a week of fun for the campers! When the bell rings everyone lines up in front of their huts...all lights are off except in the chapel and the camp processes up the center of camp to the chapel for the play...Holy Grail. This is the story of King Arthur and his knights searching for the Holy Grail...the cast is made up of staff and leaders who have proven themselves worthy with their week of service not only to their campers but to God first. There are always too many leaders worthy of these positions and many are disappointed when not chosen. The play unfolds as the knights come back one by one to report of their search, none of which are successful...the final knight comes back with the story of Galahad's search and ultimate success at finding the Grail...but alas as he steps onto the 7th bridge it bursts into flames and Galahad is bourne into Heaven bearing the Holy Grail in his hand. The final paragraph of the play is delivered by King Arthur and is my favorite making it worth all of the hoopla...
"Oh, campers of Winnataska, knighthood is not dead. The pomp and pageantry are mere symbols of the ideals that still exist in the hearts of man. In our troubled world, the flames of knighthood are burning low. Let us, like knights of old, go forth in search of our Holy Grail. Let us keep the purity and courage that are the ideals of knighthood, and dedicate ourselves to a Holy Cause. Let us so live that we may be worthy of attaining the realization of our dream."
With that, the campers file out silently, taking a lit candle and making their way to Hillside which overlooks the gorge, the waterfalls and the bridge. When everyone has entered the bridge bursts into flames and you see Galahad running across the bridge then disappear as the bridge collapses into the falls.
The campers file out silently to their huts singing "Follow the Gleam"...when everyone is on the steps of their huts...one hut at a time the campers sing taps and then blow out their candles...all of camp is now dark and in the round chapel is a cross (I call it the Cross a go-go) lights up and stays lit throughout the night...these are the only lights in camp. Campers go into their huts and into their bunks to ponder the evening...during the night they hear the sounds of the Blackfoot Tribe (college boys on staff) "rebuiding" the bridge...scary as it may sound it is actually a very comforting sound to campers who look forward to it every year!
Having been at camp as camper, leader, adult coordinator, weekly director and program director...I look forward to the 1st Grail of the summer. One of my favorite girls (Rachel) was chosen as Galahad this week so I loaded up my niece Jessica and we went to camp to see the bridge. We didn't attend Grail but sat on the dining hall porch to watch the bridge from there...Jessica had to hide her eyes many times because the Blackfeet don't want her to know all of their secrets...this is her last year as a camper. Here are some pictures for you to see a little bit of what we do at Camp Winnataska...enjoy!
1st pic: Kelly and Jessica waiting for the bridge
2nd Pic: Rachel/Galahad running across the burning bridge,
3rd Pic: the bridge falling
4th Pic: Rachel and Jessica
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