What does SPEV mean at FLC?

One of the most anticipated events of the camp session is Special Event (SPEV). SPEV is a full day of activities based around one central theme that staff work hard to bring to life each summer. In the past, SPEV has been centered around themes such as aliens, pirates, the Hunger Games and time travel.  Last summer we chose to bring the campers back to medieval times in their own Knights of the Round Table.

This past summer, in the weeks leading up to SPEV, counselors slowly began to transition into their characters as knights by reverting back to old english- jousting in the mess hall, throwing other counselors in the stocks, and hinting at the complex relationships between good and evil in this medieval realm of ours. On the day of the event the evil witch Morgan Le Faye entered into the mess hall and cast a curse on the counselors. The campers were then brought to the gazebo on Girl’s Camp to be briefed about the current situation: Morgan had turned all of King Arthur’s knights against him, and it would be the campers’ job to break the curse.

Campers were divided into groups and sent on their way to complete a variety of tasks that included retrieving a sword with the help of the Lady of the Lake, learning the art of manners and chivalry, training in hand to hand combat, an archery challenge, meeting with Merlin, sword fighting, and much more. In the end the campers broke the curse on the knights and gathered around as the Knights of the Round Table worked together to defeat Morgan Le Faye once and for all. And then, as all knights do at the end of a quest, we celebrated with dancing and music on the girls softball field!!!

SPEV is a fantastic way to pepper in bits of added excitement into the camp experience, which culminates into a day of unique, hands-on, inclusive activities for the entire camp. It is an extremely special tradition at Forest Lake Camp that will continue to create new and original activities and memories for years to come. The question is, what will SPEV bring in summer 2017!?

Every summer it takes many hands to come together to make SPEV a truly special event. This past summer, under the leadership of  Katharine Mulberry and Thomas Reny, SPEV was another smashing hit. Special thanks to Katharine Mulberry for her contributions to this article.