The Best of Mt. Hope Chronicles ~ Camp Avonlea

In honor of the passing of Jonathan Crombie, it is only fitting that I re-publish this post from the archives. I first shared pictures from my sister Shannon’s Camp Avonlea back in August 2008. Shannon now lives at Camp Avonlea and has a daughter named Rilla.  

Shannon, you do know that I fully expect you to re-create this for Lola, Rilla, and baby girl, right?!

 

~Camp Avonlea~

Artistic Camp for Young Ladies

You've all seen what Boy Camp looks like in our lives. Drake (my nephew) has tagged along for the last two years. This time, it was his sister's turn. Ilex was one of four girls attending Camp Avonlea this week. (Heather's daughter was also in attendance!)

I've bragged about my sister Shannon before. Her shop. Her entertaining. Her home. She's done it again, hostessing the camp she wishes she could have attended as a young lady (and as an Anne of Green Gables-obsessed, artistic/creative girl).

Camping (4 days) in a large white tent, nestled in the garden. Poet's Garden, reinvented. Shannon as camp counselor. Dreamy, is it not?

I swear, I wish I was 12 again! (Who in their right mind would wish that?!)

While the original music score from the Anne of Green Gables movie played through outdoor speakers, the girls chose camp names for themselves: all characters from the Anne of Green Gables books. [P.S. If you’ve never seen the first two movies (Anne of Green Gables and the sequel), stop whatever you are doing and watch them. They are my most favorite movies of all time.]

And what to do for four days? Why, art, of course: living an artful life. Multiple classes each day including watercolor, scrap booking, jewelry making, gardening, and flower arranging. A nature hike at McDowell Creek Park providing collections for nature art. The girls created cards in the first few hours of their first day at camp, invitations sent to their mothers for a tea party on the last day of camp. Artful baking, decorating, and hostessing.

What do you think of the art room?

You might well ask what *I* had to do with any of this. (Particularly with a house-full of boys.) Other than the fact that I am a girl who is starting to feel that side of me ebb slowly from existence...... I (you may call me Miss Stacy) was asked to teach a two-hour photography class on the first afternoon of camp.

We sat on a quilt in the garden discussing photography tips. We then hunted through magazines (Victoria and Real Simple), cutting out pictures that inspired us. After that, we were ready to practice taking pictures!

What do you do at Poet's when you want to take a picture from a new perspective? Climb a tree!

I had just as much fun taking pictures as the girls did!

 

Ilex, above, snacked on an apple off the tree as she practiced her photography. The girls, below, intent on their watercoloring:

A couple snapshots of the end of camp tea party. The girls created place cards and party favor bouquets. They picked wild plums and blackberries to add to a fruit salad, cherry tomatoes from the garden, and herbs to flavor the cucumber sandwiches. Lavender lemonade was delightfully refreshing. The girls served scones with Devonshire cream and blueberry tea for dessert. We ate while they recited The Lady of Shallot. (They each chose portions to memorize.)

The art work created during camp (watercolors, scrapbook notebooks, and jewelry) was on display in the art room.

I think the girls had a wonderful time!