July 26, 2004
Soil from Armenia buried at Ararat Center during consecration
Dozens of priests and campers join Primate in Ararat Center consecration
July 22, 2004
July 21, 2004
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Whew-ee, what a day! Today started like any other day: breakfast at 8 a.m., and then clean up, then the split- teens to sports/swimming and juniors to classes. Lunch was even normal as we ate outside under the radiant sun! The day continued as the average day until 4:30 when the famous annual “C.I.T. Hunt” began.
As each group’s counselor read off his or her first clue to their groups, excitement and tension the same built up for who would be found first. The Fstughs (the youngest junior girls) were sent to the opposite end of camp and back again but were still able to find their C.I.T. before almost all of the other groups. This two-hour excursion of sprinting, shaving cream, and ice cold water was put to an end when the smell of a barbecue reached the little noses of the campers who, as a reaction, became very hungry.
After dinner we played charades in our Olympic teams, which used up the last bit of energy in the little ones. Once back in the dorm, the Fstughs got ready for bed, talked about the day’s highlights, and we made our evening prayers to God. “May God be with us all. Amen.”
(Filed on 7/21/04 by Fustughs: junior girls 8 to 10 years old)
July 20, 2004
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Today at camp started like any other, the only big difference was the immediate improvement in the weather. The pool was open today and the afternoon was continued with a cookout. Today was a very relaxing day with tons of time to practice for the upcoming talent show and sunbathe.
The evening activity was getting to know Maestro Khoren and singing songs for the upcoming Consecration. The evening ended with a campfire and afterward we all went to bed.
(Filed on 7/20/04 by Skidrav SSG’s: teen girls 13 to 14 years old)
July 19, 2004
Monday, July 19, 2004
On Monday the Ararat Avengers had a bunch of fun. It was a nice day so we got to go swimming. During Olympics we did a scavenger hunt. It was an alphabet scavenger hunt with categories, for example something that began with “A” that was Armenian, something that was blue that began with “B”, and so on and so on.
For our group activity we played wiffle ball. Later that day for the camp wide evening activity the oldest teens put on “Double Dare”. We split up into teams and had an exhilarating game. After, we went to sleep and had sweet dreams.
(Filed on 7/19/04 by The Ararat Avengers: junior boys 8 to 9 years old)
Friday, July 16, 2004
Today the Hreshdags decided to wake up at 6:30 in the morning to take showers. Then, we went to breakfast and then to chapel. Then it was time for clean up for room inspection. While we were all cleaning our rooms our counselor, Mary, had to gather all of our dirty laundry because today was our day to wash our laundry.
Then the juniors had to go to classes. In religion class, the juniors were given crosses and were taught about God’s gift, Jesus. During arts and crafts, the juniors made friendship bracelets and dog tags. In heritage class, the juniors learned how to Armenian dance.
Then it was time for lunch and sports. We played kickball. Sports was cut short because of a brief downpour. Then the juniors and teens had an Olympic competition, which was an Armenian dance competition where each Olympic team had to make up their own Armenian dance. Then it was time for dinner and after dinner the evening program was the dance, where everyone had fun.
(Filed on 7/16/04 by the Hreshdags: junior girls 11 to 12 years old)
July 18, 2004
Sunday, July 18, 2004
Since today was Sunday, we had Badarak this morning followed by brunch. Although the weather wasn't too great, we were still able to enjoy our Carnival Day. We had various game tables set up with prizes for the winners. Everyone had an awesome time hanging out by the pool and dancing to music provided by DJ Impossible. Following the carnival, the whole camp gathered into the recreation hall to sing some camp songs and dance the night away. Today was a very relaxing and enjoyable day and everyone had a great time!
(Filed on 7/18/04 by The Shish Kebab Sisters: teen girls 14 to 15 years old)
July 17, 2004
Saturday, July 17, 2004
Saturday began with a reveille at 8:15 in the morning. At 9 a.m. we were to arrive to the cafeteria for breakfast until 9:30am., which was followed by clean-up, inspections and chapel.
We reached the time when we were to wish luck to the people leaving and saying farewell until next year. As soon as the ceremony was complete it was time to begin our Country Club Day which contained a spa, aerobics, sports, a challenge course, and dance. An hour later, we received free time, pool and sports until the day came to an end. Later that night the oldest teens were to come up with an evening program for Monday, July 19. As the day ended we arrived in our dorms for lights out at 11pm.
(Filed on 7/17/04 by The Westside Boys: teen boys 13 to 15 years old)
July 16, 2004
Thursday, July 15, 2004
We have had a wonderful time here at St. Vartan Camp. We love our new home! The food is great, the classes are interesting, and the sports are fun. We cannot wait to participate in the CIT Hunt, the dances and the talent show, which is coming up tonight!
This is the "Year of Stewardship", so we are all going to try and provide entertainment at the talent show, help out and participate in classes! We look forward to the next week of camp!
(Filed on 7/15/04 by the Armericans: junior boys B 10 to 12 years old)
July 15, 2004
July 14, 2004
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Today was a great and eventful day, even though the weather was not on our side. After playing group games in the South Annex lounge, we took a hike on the “Spooky Trail”. It was not as scary as we thought it would be. We also got to make some yummy bourma, which we ate for dessert at dinner. We also got to spend some great group time discussing things we fear after reading a Dr. Seuss story. Before bed we played together and then prayed silently by ourselves. All in all, we had fun.
(Filed on 7/14/04 by the Fustughs: junior girls 8 to 10 years old)
July 13, 2004
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Today we woke up at 7:30 a.m. to get ready for breakfast at 8 a.m. After breakfast we went to the recreation room for chapel service. Today was buddy day so we were matched up with another camper that we had to spend the whole day with. This gave us a chance to meet know other campers. After we met our buddies we went to classes, Religion, Heritage and Arts & Crafts, with our buddies and then ate lunch with them.
Before dinner we cleaned our rooms. After dinner we got ready for the evening program, “Armenian Idol”, which was put on by the CITs. During the program campers showed off their talents to the judges, Der Simon (Fr. Krikor), Randy (Haighoui), and Paula (Chris), who judged them on their performance, attitude and consistency. Last year’s Armenian Idol, Alison, sang for us again and this year we had two Armenian Idols, Lisa and Liana. After the eventful program we went back to the dorms for lights.
(Filed on 7/13/04 by Basterma Lovers: teen boys 13 years old)
July 12, 2004
Monday, July 12, 2004
Today was not a very sunny day at St. Vartan Camp, but the overcast skies didn't get us down, because we were all enthusiastic and ready to start our camp experience. Some people were so enthusiastic they woke up at the crack of dawn to get ready for the first day of the second session of St. Vartan Camp.
Though the pool wasn't open, the campers were able to enjoy activities such as: volleyball, basketball, football, capture the flag, and even cheerleading. The campers enjoyed the perks of our Arts and Crafts, Heritage, and Religion classes.
Though a tiring day, nobody even needed to buy any snacks at the canteen because the meal prepared by our special volunteers felt so homemade. The campers even learned how special they are through discovering their talents in the evening stewardship discussion.
(Filed on 7/12/04 by Skidravs SSG’s (South Side Girls):teen girls 13 to 14 years old)
July 11, 2004
Sunday, July 11, 2004
Today was the first day of the second session of St. Vartan Camp. We arrived here around 1 p.m., went to our rooms and met our roommates. Then we had a group tour followed by a camp-wide orientation. After that we took our swimming test.
Later in the night we did some ice breakers. We had to meet with other people who had the same Bible passage, get in order by verse, and read our passages aloud. The last thing we did was choose a group name, ours is The Ararat Avengers!!
(Filed on 7/11/04 by The Ararat Avengers: junior boys 8 to 9 years old)
July 09, 2004
Friday, July 9, 2004
Today was the last full day of camp for the first session campers. We went through our normal schedule but that night we had our farewell dance. It was a Christmas theme. The CIT's decorated the recreation hall with Christmas lights, snowflakes, and stockings. They even put up a Christmas tree.
We had fun dancing with all of our camp fiends, new and old. After the dance we had a campfire then the teen girls had a pizza party. We got to stay up late and chat with our friends, it was nice. We are sad that it was the last day of camp, but we are looking forward to next year when we will get to be CIT's at this great new camp site!
(Filed on 7/09/04 by Lorie's Loligs: teen girls 15 years old)
Tuesday, July 6, 2004
Rise and shine at 7:30 a.m. on a hot and sunny Tuesday morning. We, the Little Munchkins, arose to another interesting day at St. Vartan Camp. Today's theme day was "Buddy Day". Some of us never experienced Buddy Day before and it was fun to get paired up with someone older that we never knew. We had to spend the whole day with our buddies. At night we had the CIT Hunt where we all got covered in shaving cream and water. We had to run around with our counselor finding clues that would lead us to our CITs. That was a blast!! All around, another fun day at St. Vartan Camp!
(Filed 07/09/04 by "The Little Munchkins": junior girls 8 to 12 years old)
July 08, 2004
Thursday, July 8, 2004
Today was our first "normal" day since Monday. Tuesday was buddy day, where a camper from a younger age group was paired up with a camper from an older age group to spend the day together. Wednesday was backwards day, the campers did everything backwards from the day's schedule to even walking backwards. The normalcy of Thursday was nice.
The evening program was the weekly talent show. There were numerous singing and dancing acts, along with a couple of skits. Our group performed a skit and everybody loved it!
(Filed on 7/08/04 by The Knuckleheads: junior boys 11 to 12 years old)
July 07, 2004
Wednesday, July 7, 2004
Today was backwards day. We had to do everything backwards! We got to spell our names backwards and we had to wear nametags all day with our "new names" on them. It was really hard to say Yn. Arpi's name backwards (Ipra Nigzterey).
We wore our clothes backwards and walked backwards, we even had to go through our daily schedule backwards! First we had dinner (which was really breakfast) then we had a campfire and our evening activity. We got to go through the meals backwards and ate dessert first!
The last activity of the day was Chapel (which we usually have right after breakfast) and then we went to bed. It was a weird day, but it was fun.
(Filed on 7/07/04 by Tccatamnatlas (with 2 silent C’s): teen girls 13 years old)
July 06, 2004
Monday, July 5, 2004
Today was quite an eventful day, even though the weather was an obstacle. After breakfast we were planning to play sports, but because of the rain we instead did some really fun team-building activities led by Karen Khatchadourian instead. Later, after the weather cleared up some, we spent some free time at the tennis court and on the swings. Free time is always a fun perk.
The evening program today was a great educational experience. Ani, a counselor-in-training, joined other staff to re-enact the life of St. Gregory the Enlightener. This was followed by a fun pageant competition, where our counselor group won the ice cream party prize! Yay!
(Filed on 7/5/04 by "Tccatamnatlas with 2 silent Cs": teen girls 13 years old)
July 04, 2004
Sunday, July 4, 2004
We woke up and went to Badarak. We were tired but the awesome smell of breakfast quickly woke us up. After breakfast we all cleaned our rooms until free time, which we spent hanging out with each other. Then we had the Carnival, with games and prizes, a pie toss, and face-painting. Haig and Ricky dressed up like clowns. After the Carnival we had dinner. Most of the teens were so bummed about the cancellation of the campfire, but the games we played helped us get over that. At the end of the night, we all watched the fireworks before heading off to bed.
(Filed on 7/4/04 by "NRM": teen Boys 13 to 14 years old)
July 03, 2004
Saturday, July 3, 2004
After being allowed to sleep in, breakfast and chapel started the day's activities. Although parting with our one-week campers was difficult, the hope of seeing each other next year renewed our spirits. The camp photo and water fight brought the campers together, and the camp Olympics and councilors-in-training vs. campers kick ball game gave us a sense of friendly competition. Later, the juniors and teens gathered in two groups to watch the films, Finding Nemo and Bruce Almighty respectively. A campfire ended the night, leaving yet another wonderful memory in the minds of the campers at St. Vartan Camp.
(Filed on 7/3/04 by "Talar's Hreshdagner": teen girls 13 to 14 years old)
July 02, 2004
Friday, July 02, 2004
Today was a very warm day. We went through our normal daily schedule, which was topped off by an extraordinary dance. In Arts and Crafts, all of the campers made keychains and we had a contest to see who could make the best drum. In Heritage class, we made simit and expanded our knowledge of the Armenian language. In Religion class, we wrote adjectives that describe Jesus. The day was topped off by the first dance ever at our new home.
(Filed on 7/2/04 by "The Knuckleheads": junior boys 11 to 12 years old)
July 01, 2004
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2004
Yesterday was Wednesday—and what an exciting day it was! It started with us waking up at 7 a.m., to the sight of TWO HORSES walking around the camp! They had walked onto the grounds the night before, and stayed until someone came to pick them up. We named them “Sahag” and “Mesrob.”
After a tasty choereg-and-cheese breakfast, we had three different classes. In Religion class we planted pumpkin and radish seeds to learn how to take care of Mother Nature.
The day ended in a 1970s theme-party, complete with a dance competition to the Village People’s song, “Y.M.C.A.”—making it a really dandy day at St. Vartan Camp!
(Filed on 7/1/04 by “The Little Munchkins”: junior girls 8-12 years old)
THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2004
We woke up to the sound of Haig’s radio station, went to breakfast and chapel (as usual), and then headed to our three classes: Arts & Crafts, Heritage, and Religion. After lunch came sports and swimming.
Then it was on to The Olympics: six teams competing in various mental and physical feats. Today’s challenges were to pass an orange among teammates using only your neck; to race while holding an egg in a spoon; and to walk with a cup of water on your head. Only the strong made it to dinner.
The day ended with the Talent Show, and afterwards we had time to relax and enjoy ourselves. At 10:30 p.m. we had to be back in our dorms; lights-out came at 11:00 p.m., and our day was over.
(Filed on 7/2/04 by “D-Bos”: teen boys 15 years old)