The first day of session two was met with thunder and rain, but that couldn’t stop the campers from smiling and enjoying their day. When the rain started falling, the campers began singing and dancing in the and around the Austin Lodge.
Music filled the lodge porch, where counselor Hagen Tatarsky taught a group of campers how to play the acoustic guitar. First-year Avery learned the chords to “Wagon Wheel,” a song originally written by Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor in 1973. The oldies didn’t end there, while second-year Brionna mastered the bassline to “Stand By Me,” a song written and performed by Ben E. King in 1961.
Inside the lodge, the Village People’s 1978 hit song bounced off the walls as campers sang “Y.M.C.A.” and danced along to the Just Dance videos. The few campers that weren’t singing, dancing, or playing instruments, spent their time shooting pool or holding ping pong competitions until the rain passed.
After dinner, Riverfest was hosted on the office lawn. Campers with faces covered in paint sent frisbees soaring, passed both kinds of footballs to one another, and danced under sun’s light that shined through the passing rain clouds. No amount of rain could wash away the spirits of those at Cheerio on the New River.