August 10, 2006
August 9, 2006
Although the day started off chilly and cloudy, by noon the sun broke through the clouds and we were blessed with a glorious day. After spellbinding games of ultimate Frisbee and tennis, lifeguard Lauren graciously opened the pool to the many sweaty campers.
In arts and crafts, campers painted and signed a parachute to be used in future activities. A much awaited activity, the CIT hunt finally arrived and campers used clues to track down their Counselors-in-training. The evening program was led by our directors to answer the hot topics in the minds of our campers.
August 8, 2006
Here at St. Vartan Camp each day is jam-packed with fun and new experiences. The much beloved Maestro Khoren arrived today to teach campers about their Armenian heritage through songs.
In arts and crafts, campers used their imagination and creativity to design their own door signs. An intense game of capture the flag was strategically planned out by our Athletic Director, Ara. We wound down for bed by watching The Incredibles outside under the moonlit sky.
August 7, 2006
It was another great start to a new and exciting week here at St. Vartan Camp! Our day was filled with fun sports, swimming, and a special evening activity, “Skit in a Bag.”
Campers were split up into seven groups each with a brown paper bag filled with random objects. Campers used their imaginations to create a short skit using all that was in the bag. The creativity of the groups was outstanding and they had everyone laughing.
In arts and crafts, campers wrote and decorated letters to their loved ones at home. Now campers sleep peacefully and wait for another fun and enjoyable day at St. Vartan Camp.
August 08, 2006
End of Hye Camp
As much as we don’t want it to happen, all good things must come to an end and this morning marked the conclusion of Hye Camp 2006. As is typical, move-out morning is a hectic and emotionally dramatic event. Our record numbers of campers, 147 in all, have to move their luggage from their cabins to their respective staging areas according to their destination. At the same time all the cabins need to be cleaned and left as we found them, and of course everyone has many goodbyes to attend to. Parents began arriving after 8:00 AM and shortly after the Detroit bus occupied its customary spot on the main driveway. By 9:00, the Detroit bus had been accompanied by the Cleveland bus and luggage was being stowed while old friends looked forward to their next meeting and new friends exchanged email addresses so they could keep in touch. The exemplary staff on hand for Hye Camp 2006 proved themselves one last time, quickly and efficiently closing down and cleaning up all traces of Hye Camp. The busses departed, the last cars drove off, and another great year at Hye Camp is complete.
Reflected by the steadily increasing attendance, Hye Camp continues to grow both in numbers and in quality of staff and programming. As the wishes and dreams of campers and staff continue to become reality, Hye Camp continues to hold a special place in the hearts of many from around the midwest and around the country.
Before we wrap up our 2006 season, special thanks are in order to a number of individuals who contributed time, money and resources to the success of Hye Camp. Oscar Isberian Rugs always assists with the transportation of materials from the Chicagoland parishes to Hye Camp, Gators Pub & Grill welcomed the Hye Camp staff for their pre-camp dinner, and Adam Abajian directed the lifeguard staff through the week and also assisted on night security with Raffi Hazarian and Tony Diorio. Our Easter dinner could not have happened without the assistance of a number of people, including John Paklaian of Supreme Tamale who donated the shish kebabs, Haig Pedian Jr & Eddy Klujian and the Kights & Daughters of Vartan Avarayr Lodge who traveled to Hye Camp with the kebabs and their grill and expertly cooked for us, the St. Gregory’s Womens Guild who made our Easter choreg and eggs, and the St. James Womens Guild who made the pilaf. Finally we need to thank Camp Hickory for being such kind hosts and cooperating with our schedule most graciously. Our strong and trusted relationship with the Camp Hickory administration is vital to the preparation and overall success of Hye Camp.
We also need to thank those who donate their time and talents to Hye Camp. First and foremost, the very special counselors who volunteer their time to our beautiful children, along with the Hye Camp Board of Directors led by co-chairs Emily Rabjohns and Kenarr Chiodo, our Staff Director Lisa Mardigian, our Programming Director Jenni Morris, and last but not least Hye Camp Director Fr. Aren Jebejian. See you all next summer!!!
Friday @ Hye Camp
Every year at Hye Camp, we are blessed and honored to receve Archbishop Khajag Barsamian as our guest to interact with campers and staff and celebrate Badarak. Surpazan arrived at Hye Camp on Thursday night and enjoyed an overnight stay, allowing the opportunity to lead our faithful in worship on Friday morning. The service was the spiritual highlight of the week.
The theme of Hye Camp 2006 is Easter and Surpazan spoke to the camp about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He highlighted the important role that women played in spreading the good news of the resurrection to the world, and he also spoke about hope and how it is fostered in the spreading of the news of the resurrection. At the conclusion of the service, everyone gathered for a camp group photo.
The Friday schedule at Hye Camp is always a little different. The class schedule is suspended and campers received a significant amount of free time in the morning and early afternoon to work on cleaning their cabins, packing their belongings, and finishing their Olympic team flags.
In the afternoon, the last Hye Camp Olympics athletic competitions took place. A basketball tournament, volleyball tournament, relay races and a shoe-kicking contest all offered team points. Going into this final day of competition, the Purple Hyes, led by captain Maria Palaian, had a strong lead over the rest of the field, but soon found themselves in a tight race after quickly bowing out of the basketball and volleyball tournaments. Basketball was eventually won by the Teenage Khentes Ninja Turtles, captained by Ryan Patino, and volleyball went to The Hye-erarchy, captained by Chris Sarkesian.
The individual winners of the shoe-kicking contest, earning points for their respective teams, were Hunter Muckel of A Hye-er Calling in first place, Nick Mikaelian of the Khentes Turtles in second place, and Arthur Nigoghossian of Hye-way or the Highway in third. In the relay competitions, the sprint relay was won by A Hye-er Calling, the crab walk relay went to Oujheen Shounshuh, and Team Hye-dration took victory in the wheelbarrow walk relay.
After all athletic competitions were completed, the Purple Hyes found themselves running a close second to Team Hye-dration with the Khentes Turtles in hot pursuit occupying third. The Hye Camp Olympic champion would be decided by the team flag competition later in the evening.
The atmosphere around the camp following the Olympic competitions was electric. There was a lot of anticipation regarding the upcoming flag competition, plus the farewell dance would be following dinner and everyone was looking forward to celebrating with old and new friends another great year at Hye Camp.
As dinner began to wrap up, Olympic team representatives began to assemble for the parade of flags. Under the scrutiny of our wonderful camp Godparents, each flag was displayed for to the camp. When the judging was complete and the scores were tallied, Team Hye-dration, led by captain Matt Derbabian, had secured Hye Camp Olympics victory by creating what was judged to be the best team flag in the competition. Despite being accused of having tested positive for excessive levels of basterma and sujuk, the Purple Hyes maintained second place and the Teenage Khentes Ninja Turtles kept third.
After dismissal from dinner, all the campers raced back to their cabins to get ready for the farewell dance. After a couple hours of showing of their dance moves and steps learned in Armenian Culture class, it was finally time to wrap up the final full day of Hye Camp 2006.
Sunday @ SVC
On Sunday morning the reveille was not the typical sound of trumpets signaling us to rise and shine, instead we were pleasantly surprised to here a beautiful song reminding us to praise God before our day begins and to give ourselves to the Lord. Once awake, we prepared ourselves for the day by attending a Jashou Service led by Dn. Ryan Tellalian.
After chapel was over we raced to the dining hall for a delicious brunch followed by a day of leisure and relaxation. All of the campers and staff had an opportunity to spend the day hanging out and enjoying the beautiful campgrounds. Later in the day we splashed around and cooled off in the pool under the supervision of Lifeguard Lauren.
After dinner, the campers took on the staff in the ever-so-famous “mattball.” Despite the efforts of the campers, the staff managed to take the lead and win the game. The evening ended by joining together around the campfire for some fun and games, and scrumptious s’mores. A perfect end to a perfect week!
August 04, 2006
Thursday @ Hye Camp
A steady rain greeted Hye Camp this morning, but the cloud cover soon turned to blue skies and the rain didn’t have much of an affect on our daily schedule.
Fr. Tavit Boyajian led our morning service and spoke about the meaning and symbolism of making the sign of the cross. When we make the sign of the cross, we have much to think about. We are reminded of the crucifixion, and subsequently the resurrection, and of course we are reminded of the Holy Trinity and God’s love for us. As we make the sign of the cross, the forehead, chest and shoulders remind us of the four books of the Gospel, and they also remind us how we need to love and accept God into our lives with our mind, our heart, our soul, and all our strength.
Finally, we think about Simon of Cyrene who, when compelled to carry the cross of Jesus, was told by Jesus that to carry his cross he must bear it everyday and not just this one day. Fr. Tavit’s words were inspirational and thought provoking about a ritual that many of us may perform on a regular basis without offering much consideration to its profound meaning.
With classes underway, what seem to be generating the most excitement was the Armenian dancing being taught by Yn. Patty Dagley and Debbie Der Asadourian for Armenian Culture. With our farewell dance fast approaching, all of the campers were eager to learn some new steps to show off on the dance floor tomorrow night. The Tamzara, Halleh, and Michigan Hop seemed to be the most popular line dances.
In Arts and Crafts, campers received their Hye Camp 2006 t-shirts which they decorated and personalized in preparation for tomorrow’s camp picture.
As the schedule shifted to outdoor activities, Hye Camp Staff Director Lisa Mardigian laced up her hi-tops and set the score to beat in the 4th Annual Lisa Mardigian Shootout. It was tough but a small group of boys and girls were able to beat her daunting challenge.
There were no Hye Camp Olympic competitions today, but tomorrow will be very busy with a basketball and volleyball tournament as well as team relay races. Team Purple Hyes currently has a sound lead on the rest of the field, having won the scavenger hunt and been on the winning capture the flag team, but the rest of the teams are hungry and ready to put up a strong fight.
On the evening schedule was the Hye Camp Talent Show, where each cabin had the chance to showcase their performing ability by creating and acting out original and unique skits. In the audience for the Talent Show was our very special guest at Hye Camp, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian. All of the skits were funny and unique, leaving everyone watching highly amused. Another installment by the WHYE News team completed the evening activities and everyone started making their way back to their cabins to get some rest in preparation for a long day tomorrow.
One of the highlights of the week will take place tomorrow morning when Surpazan celebrates the Badarak in the Fr. Harootiun chapel. We are all looking forward to sharing our love for God and each other with Surpazan tomorrow morning.
Thursday @ SVC
With every new day comes new excitement and activities, which the kids can enjoy and learn from as well. The day started off with a special dance class given by Vrej Pilavjian, who patiently taught the kids all types of Armenian dances. However, that was not the highlight of the day.
The big event was the Talent Show, where everyone from the campers to the staff showed what makes them stick out of a crowd. Everybody displayed great effort. It turns out that we have some of the most talented kids around. Some sang and danced, some told jokes and performed magic, making this one of the most successful and entertaining talent shows. As the campers are counting sheep in their sleep, they await a new day full of fun, games and learning.
August 03, 2006
Hye Camp Directors
Jennifer Morris, youth outreach coordinator for the Diocese; Hayr Aren, Hye Camp director; and Lisa Mardigian, youth coordinator from St. John Church of Southfield and Hye Camp staff director.
Wednesday @ Hye Camp
After a second exhausting day under the hot sun, our hardy campers and staff awoke this morning looking forward to Easter celebrations, Hye Camp Olympics competition, and the promise of cooler weather for the remainder of camp. All points held true, including a significant reduction in temperatures that made our Wednesday much more pleasant.
Following breakfast, Fr. Tavit Boyajian led our morning services and spoke about the desire to seek peace with God. As we seek our peace with God through Jesus Christ, we spread the light of Jesus everywhere we go. He also stressed the importance of embracing one’s faith and the glorious gift of God during our lifetime, and encouraged everyone to explore and challenge our spiritual thoughts. Of course, the refrain of “Krisdos haryav ee merelotz!” - “Orhnyal eh harootiunun Krisdosee!” resounded throughout the Easter morning as we celebrated the resurrection of the Jesus Christ.
As all of the campers rotated through their morning classes, one of the highlights was making crosses in arts and crafts. Cousins Maria and Brent Palaian, as well as Paulina Reizian, helped all the campers form clay Khatchkars. Not only did they form beautiful and exquisite designs, but they were also able to inlay various decorative pieces to make their Khatchkar sparkle and shine.
Lunch was a special time, with a home blessing ceremony performed complete with spectacular choreg handmade by the St. Gregory’s, Chicago Women's Guild. As all of the campers gathered around the head table, Fr. Aren, Fr. Tavit, and Fr. Yeprem blessed the bread, water and salt, as well as the dyed Easter eggs that were laid out before them.
After eating lunch, the blessed dyed eggs were distributed to all the cabins to start an Easter Egg cracking contest. The little hint of Armenian food was only a teaser to the bountiful feast we would be consuming in the evening.
Following lunch, after all the classes were over, the 4th Annual Closest to the Pin contest was led by camp Godparent John Nercessian. Fun prizes went to the boy and girl winners from each age group. As the afternoon sporting activities began to wind down, a new presence was felt on the camp grounds. The Knights & Daughters of Vartan Avarayr Lodge from Chicago brought shish kebab dinner, along with salad and pilaf made by the St. James Women’s Guild from Evanston, and treated the camp to an amazing Easter feast that no Armenian could resist. A special thanks is due to everyone from the St. Gregory’s and St. James parishes from all of us at Hye Camp.
Immediately following dinner, the eight Hye Camp Olympics teams were combined into two opposing forces for a game of capture the flag. Led by the current Hye Camp Olympics leading Team Purple Hyes, the combined Red team managed to find, capture, and recover the Blue Team flag and earn first place points for the event. The next Hye Camp Olympics event will be the relay races run on Friday afternoon.
The evening activities continued with a “Hot Topics” session with Fr. Aren. Campers got a chance to get their burning theological questions answered. A broad range of topics were covered, including differences between the Armenian Orthodox faith and other major religions as well as other concerns of sin, punishment and praise in the eyes of God.
Following Hot Topics, everyone gathered around a big bonfire, with smores and the Hye Camp Band led by Fr. Tavit and including Harry Kezelian as well as brothers Dan and Jeramiah Newman. Many smores were eaten, many songs sung, and many tales told as the night grew old. Finally, as the embers of the fire began to simmer, Hye Camp went to sleep and Easter at Hye Camp had passed.
The memories of this celebration will last a lifetime. In concluding his remarks at dinner, Fr. Aren announced he had some good news and bad news. First the good news, we had already experienced over half of Hye Camp 2006. However, the bad news was that over half of Hye Camp 2006 had gone by. The last three days have been amazing, and we don’t want it to end. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the week has to offer!!!
Tuesday @ Hye Camp
“Krisdos haryav ee merelotz!”
“Orhnyal eh harootiunun Krisdosee!”
The theme of Hye Camp 2006 is Easter in the Armenian Church, and today we celebrated the traditional Armenian Easter Eve Service of the Light (Jurakalooytz).
Preparations for this evening’s glorious feast began yesterday during our Armenian Culture class. Fr. Aren Jebejian and Yn. Patty Dagley spent time with each class discussing the context of the Armenian Quarter within the physical geography of Jerusalem, and narrated a movie taken during the Service of the Light in the Holy Sepulcher Sanctuary in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.
Then, this morning, as each age group attended their arts and crafts class, they worked on dyeing eggs for our Easter celebration tomorrow. Maestro Khoren also added his personal touch, teaching sharagans from the Badarak during the Armenian Culture classes.
After dinner all of the Hye Camp Olympic teams gathered and competed in a camp-wide scavenger hunt. As each team completed their hunt for clues outside the Fr. Haroutiun Chapel, they were under the impression they had reached their destination. They would soon find out that the final step of the activity would take them inside of the chapel, where they would witness a reenactment of the Service of the Light.
The chapel was completely dark, with only clergy with candles helping the campers find their seats. Fr. Yeprem Kelegian spoke about being in the dark and related to the campers the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and how the light of Christianity had seemingly gone dark to the many believers of Jesus. At that point, symbolizing the deliverance of the light from the tomb of Christ, Fr. Tavit Boyajian stepped forward with a bunch of lit candles (which were actually used during the service this past year in Jerusalem) and passed the flame to Fr. Yeprem, who then passed the flame to senior staff members who then rushed to get the flame up to the chapel balcony, where Fr. Aren awaited the word that Christ had risen from the dead.
Fr. Aren blessed the campers and staff, proclaiming the resurrection of Christ, and Fr. Tavit continued with an impassioned cry of “KRISDOS HARYAV EE MERELOTZ!!!” to which the congregation would reply “ORHNYAL EH HAROOTIUNUN KRISDOSEE!!!” It was a very powerful atmosphere, unforgettable in the minds of everyone in attendance.
On the athletic front this afternoon, campers tried to hit home runs farther than Fr. Aren in the 4th annual “Hayr Soorp Home Run Derby”. Boy and girl winners from each age group got great prizes.
In the first competition of Hye Camp Olympics the Purple Team, “Team Purple Hyes” led by Maria Palaian, took first place in the scavenger hunt. Maria’s team was edged out of first place by just a couple of points during the 2005 Hye Camp Olympics and she is extra motivated to lead her team to victory this year. Tomorrow will be Team Purple Hyes next opportunity to extend their points lead when we have a camp wide Capture the Flag competition.
Tomorrow, the Hye Camp family will participate in a home blessing ceremony, followed by an egg breaking competition and a big feast of Shish Kebabs. There is also promise of a break in the heat wave that has been hanging over the camp. Excitement is in the air and we’re all looking forward to our third day of Hye Camp 2006.
August 02, 2006
August 1 @ SVC
The heat wave was a major concern because we didn’t want our campers to be dehydrated and feel sick. However, it didn’t stop the campers from enjoying the day.
For our sports program, we played dodge ball. Everyone participated. We also had our first Olympics of Session C. The yellow team grabbed hold of the victory with their astonishing sun dance. The rest of the team showed a great amount of effort in performing and creating the routines.
The campers had a special evening program; silent swimming. It was very releasing. Now the campers are asleep anticipating all of tomorrow’s activities.
August 01, 2006
Hye Camp begins
When the going gets hot, the hot go to Hye Camp!!!
The 2006 sessions kicked off with staff training on Saturday afternoon. Junior and senior staff from around the country descended upon Camp Hickory for team building exercise, safety training, camp setup and a special night out in thanks for what will surely be a dedicated week of guidance and mentoring. During orientation, Fr. Aren Jebedjian stressed the importance of caring for and loving each and every camper, and illustrated the point by referencing (Matthew 18:10-14). In the passage, the sheppard loses one of his abundant flock and is consumed by the process of finding his one lost sheep. It is not until he has recovered his lost sheep that he can feel at peace.
On Sunday we welcomed all of our 147 happy campers, first-timers and long-timers, with a cookout. With parents, campers, and counselors in attendance, the afternoon started with the opening prayer service in the Soorp Haroutiun Chapel, followed by the 4th annual open house. After lunch, at the beginning of camper orientation, parents said goodbye to their excited campers as the counselors began to get acclimated with their new cabin mates. Record temperatures in Northern Illinois required significant reinforcement of the necessity to drink plenty of water throughout the day, and Fr. Aren coined the term “Hye-dration” to help remind everyone to beat the heat.
Monday was our first full day of Hye Camp 2006. The temperatures remained high, but the excitement in the camp was even higher. A revised class schedule was explained and implemented for the first time, which featured a rotation through six classes. The classes consist of religion, Armenian language, Armenian heritage and culture, arts & crafts, and two free-time sessions. Four class periods run between breakfast and lunch, with the final two periods following lunch. Each rotating group consists of the boys and girls from a certain age group, and they attend all classes together.
Our religion classes will be taught be a large collection of Midwest priests who spend the week at the camp. Included amongst our on-site clergy are Fr. Tavit Boyajian, Fr. Yeprem Kelegian, and Dn. Levon Kirakosyan. Our Armenian language curriculum is being presented by senior staff member Talin Hitik, who comes to Hye Camp straight from our sister diocesan camp in New York, St. Vartan Camp.
Time sure flies when you’re having fun and, before we could even blink, it was time to eat dinner. After dinner, Hye Camp Olympic teams were announced and each team had time to gather and create a team name. Sitting under the hanging banners of decades of previous Hye Camp Olympic teams brings out the creative talents of everyone.
Yet, no sooner had the teams finalized their new names it was time to move on to the evening activities. A staple of Hye Camp fun over the years is Maestro Khoren, who spent some time teaching melodies of some sharagans to the campers, as well as leading some lively choruses of Armenian folk songs.
Our very own beat journalists, senior staffers Karen Dardarian and Sevan Sultanian, concluded evening activities with their WHYE Hye Camp news of the day.
Before turning in after a fun and exciting first day of camp, everyone concluded the day just as we started, in the chapel thanking the Lord for all of his gifts. The Gospel reading was from (Luke 1:26-38). Following the reading, Fr. Aren spoke about the conception of Jesus and the nature of the gifts we receive from God. He encouraged everyone, campers and counselors alike, to open our minds and our hearts and our souls so that we may all receive the perfect gift of love from God.
Following the evening service and a little bit of free time, the air began to cool and the pace of camp began to slow. All the campers and counselors retreated to their cabins to get some rest while dreaming of the many surprises in store at Hye Camp.
July 31
The campers were so excited to officially begin camp that they woke up before 7:30 AM; instead of the staff waking up the campers, the campers woke up the staff! Arts and Crafts, Heritage, Armenian Language and Religion classes all went smoothly. The participation was outstanding.
After free time, the campers were ready for sports and swimming. With this week’s heat wave, swimming ended up being the highlight of the day’s activities.
Our evening began with a visit from our Primate, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian. After dinner and a group photo, he spoke with our campers about the uniqueness of Armenian heritage. Also introduced to us this evening was Father Shnork Souin, who is going to be with us for the whole week. After our talk with Srpazan, the junior and teens each got to play a game of Scattergories.
The official first day of camp was full of humor and memorable moments, and it will only increase each and every day.
July 30
THE KIDS ARRiVE!!
Wow, what a day! The campers finally arrived with their anxious faces, ready to have the best two weeks of their lives. A lot of the campers are here for the first time, so they didn’t know what they were going to do, and they also didn’t know the staff. However, we all “clicked” very well and made them feel very comfortable.
The orientation went very well. Playing icebreakers really helped the new campers get to know a little about their fellow campers. The campers settled right into the camp routine so easily that you wouldn’t have known that it was the first day at camp. We’ re looking forward to a great two weeks!