Camp Drizzle

A Tale of Two Camps

Soggy weather leaves camps high and dry on outdoor activities

Ryan Quigley

Journal Pioneer

Driving by summer camps on P.E.I., you may not see any kids outside.

The bad weather the Island has been experiencing this summer has forced some summer camps to take their activities for the children indoors.

Camp Triumph, an adventure camp for kids living in situations where a member of their family has serious medical condition, located in Lot 18 is one of those sites.

The camp, which opens at the end of July and ends at the end of August, has been forced indoors for much of the time they’ve been opened so far.

“I don’t think I’ve ever adjusted the scheduling as much as I have been for the last couple weeks,” he said. “We can really take the risk of people getting hurt so when it’s raining we can’t really be outside.”

The camp still holds activities for the kids indoors, but Sheriko said he’s disappointed the weather hasn’t cooperated for their activities outside such as kayaking, trips to the beach and archery.

“Inside we do drama, arts and crafts, some table sports, lots of board games… if we have more we do more creative things,” he said. “It’s definitely disappointing because you want (the kids) to do what you’ve planned because it’s going to be the most fun for them but we still make it fun for them when we’re inside, we make the most of it.”

Meanwhile at Oak Acres Children’s camp in Point Pleasant the weather though rough at time, hasn’t been terrible for them, said camp program director Patrick Richard.

“We’ve actually been pretty lucky. This is the first week where we’ve had a couple rain days,” he said. “The weather’s been not too bad for the summer, the warm temperature just hasn’t been there.”

Oak Acres’ outdoor activities include hiking and biking on their property and days at the beach.

Though the camp, opened from the end of June to the end of August, has had good luck with weather, with about 70 children per nine-week session and with limited space, rain days can become hard on the children.

“(Inside) we have some drama orientated games and mind puzzles and little games like that,” he said. “Day after day inside is not so enjoyable for the kids.”