Ready for a throwback?

Let’s compare our past with our present! What were the banquets like back in the day and how do they compare to Alpha Games?

Camp Foley Banquets

The Camp Foley banquets were quite the affair! Each one had it’s own theme, and this would be revealed in the spring newsletter. This was always a very exciting time for me as child, because once you knew the theme it was time to PREPARE. Every camper and counselor came to camp with a costume that fit the theme and if you were staying for more than one session you brought two costumes, as the there would always be two banquets. This was back in the day when we just did 2 and 4 week sessions, and 4 sessions a summer. So sessions 1 and 3 would have 1 theme, 2 and 4th session another.

The banquet, like alpha games now, always occurred on the last full day of camp. All morning was spent playing games and attending events that went along with each theme. The whole camp played these games until lunch, then we would head back to cabins to pack bags. It was always important to remember to leave out your banquet costume, I’ve definitely repacked a whole bag because my mad scientist costume was at the bottom of it. Then the flurry to get ready began, and everyone donned their costumes and headed down to the dining hall for mingling time! This was time carved out in the schedule where everyone just gathered to admire everyone’s costumes and take loads of pics.

Some of my most memorable banquets are below!

What about Alpha Games?

2019 was the first year of the Alpha Games. We divided the camp into four teams and competed in multiple challenges around camp. We built boats out of cardboard and milk cartons, and the day ended in an epic race on Whitefish Lake. Campers were all assigned to one of four color teams, and this team placement will stay with the camper for the rest of their time here at Foley. This gives campers the opportunity to deck out in their team colors every year. They pass down songs and cheers through the years to create new traditions too! The winning team of each session will have a trophy adorned in their team colors to honor their accomplishment. These trophies are displayed on top of the piano in the dining hall for all to see.

The 2022 Alpha Games was an all-session affair this summer! We tested campers’ strength, wit, agility, creativity, and teamwork in a variety of stations set up around camp. The teams that earned the most points at each station got the opportunity to pick tools that would help them in the grand finale relay. A simple task of moving water from a full bucket to an empty one, using the whole team an assembly line. Tools earned from the different stations could make or break a team’s victory. 4 versions of each tool were available and the team who had earned the most points assigned all 4 tools out to the teams. There were cups in a variety of sizes, teaspoons and ladles, Ziplocs with or without holes, and even some ways to sabotage other teams, like a blindfold!

Check out some 2022 Alpha Game Highlights below.