Dance Parties, Alpenolympics & More
Celebrate your fun, inner Adventuress! Alpengirl camp sessions are filled with spontaneous games, activities, competitions, dance parties, and costume fashion shows. All activities are by choice, but we do encourage you to participate in any way you feel most comfortable.
Music
Alpengirl loves music! At camp, music can be the foundation for many fun activities from skits, to talent show acts, to trail games. We encourage you to write down a list of songs you like and bring it to camp, from this list the Alpenguides can create a playlist for group use in the vans. Driving from place to place is the only time we listen to recorded music during camp, and we make sure we enjoy those times with good tunes!
Roadside Dance Parties
“This Vehicle Stops for Roadside Dance Parties” is a bumper sticker that adorns our Alpengirl vehicle trailers. It broadcasts to the public the fun we are having at camp! At anytime, the Alpenguides may feel the groups dancing energy rise up they'll seek a safe wide, pull-out, away from traffic and exit the van and initiate a spontaneous road-side dance party. Dance parties provides girls (and staff) with an opportunity to learn new dance moves that are sure to impress friends and family back home! An optional activity, you do not have to jump out and dance, but if you like, you could be the dance party DJ or ribbon twirler.
Alpenolympics
Alpenolympics are the Olympics of Fun! Comprised of Alpenguide-inspired amusements, they utilize fun, low-key competition as an avenue to motivation and education.
Alpengirl believes in the importance of healthy development - not just in mind and body - but also in character. We believe that Alpenolympic events provide opportunities where you may win or lose based on strength, endurance, natural ability, intellect, intuitiveness, creativity or by the shear chance of luck - AND we believe, you can have fun doing it. Via Alpenolympics, you’ll gain awareness of success and failure and learn to be a fully engaged participant, developing excellent sportswomanship. Special considerations are made by Alpenguides to choose events, which allow each camper an opportunity to ‘showcase’ their special skills or abilities while providing accessible and appropriate challenges for all campers. An Alpenolympic “gold medal” is allotted for winning an event and is awarded by humming the Olympic tune as a group, is accumulated as camp progresses, and is celebrated nightly with a painted nail for gold medal winners of the day.
9:15 Activity, Leader Appreciation & Nails
At 9:15 at night at summer camp in the mountains, everything near and far turns to a different shade of blue and the day slips away to become a peaceful star lit evening. 9:15 pm is a magical time for Alpengirls and nightly at 9:15 (or close to it), we have a group fun activity (possibly an Alpenolympic event) or personal reflection time where campers can have a break from the group activity that they have been engaged in all day. By 9:15 pm, we aim to have campers almost ready for bed with camp cleaned up and gear stored. After 9:15 we award the daily “nails.” Campers receive a painted fingernail for different things during the day such as winning an Alpenolympic event, or being awarded a karma point or early bird point by the Alpenguides and for being Leader of the Day (LOD). 9:15 always ends with the LOD appreciation circle – a popcorn style event with all campers and leaders stating one unique leadership trait they appreciated about the LOD that day, concluding with the LOD giving themself a verbal appreciation and they will select a new LOD for tomorrow and pass on the torch and LOD notebook. After 9:15 and LOD appreciation campers should have time in tents with lights on before calling for lights out and sleep.
Costume Parties
Sometimes as an Alpenolympic competition, sometimes as a birthday celebration, and sometimes just for fun, costume parties encourage you to resourcefully create costumes from items in your backpack and from items responsibly borrowed from your natural environment. Costume contests are an expression of ingenuity, resourcefulness, creativity and humor.
Games
Games could happen at any moment during any day of any camp session. Usually a few ‘name’ games occur on arrival day at camp but most games happen on the spur of the moment. Sometimes the games are "every one for themself" games, while others are team development games. Ultimate Frisbee, Who Let the Dogs Out and Giants, Wizards, and Elves are popular games at camp. Even though our game resources are vast, we always delight in having the campers teach some of their own games, further expanded our game repertoire.