From dragon boating to hula to lessons in swashbuckling, week three of Camp Villages brought Villagers and their grandchildren together for more exciting adventures.
Camp Villages is an intergenerational program sponsored by The Villages Recreation and Parks that offers monthly, summer and holiday activities for residents to enjoy with their grandchildren. The program provides year-round fun for everyone ages 3 to 103.
This year’s summer program runs through Aug. 2 and has a range of options for families to choose from, including sports, arts and crafts, scavenger hunts and outdoor adventures.
Here’s a rundown of some activities held during the third week of Camp Villages 2024:
Hula
On Monday, members of Hula Hands in Aloha guided children between ages 6 and 10 through the graceful movements of the traditional Hawaiian dance.
As grandparents recorded videos and cheered from the sidelines, the barefoot dancers and their eager pupils learned and performed several routines in the space of an hour.
“Sometimes we dance to these songs during a show, but these are the easiest songs we could do with the kids,” said Gayle Erskine, a Village of Springdale resident and the group’s co-leader. “We’re excited to keep enjoying it as long as we can.”
All of the dancers wore colorful leis, an assortment of tropical flowers and summer clothes, but some, like 6-year-old Ann Emigh, came prepared in a faux-grass hula skirt.
“That was all Joyce’s idea,” said Ann’s mother, Madison Emigh, as she gestured to her smiling mother-in-law, Joyce Emigh.
Signing Ann up for the class was also Joyce’s idea.
“I’m a big fan of Camp Villages,” said Joyce, of the Village of Osceola Hills. “As soon as we get the paper, we usually go through it and pick out anything we want to do.”
By far the most popular routine the Hula Hands in Aloha members taught the children was the Hukilau, which, like most traditional Hawaiian dances or dances done in the traditional style, uses a combination of music and sign language to tell a story.
“You know Hukilau if you’ve been to Hawaii,” Erskine said. “They do Hukilau at every luau.”
Some of the campers, like Ann, were a little shy when dancing, while others, like 6-year-old Avery Duffney and 7-year-old Charlotte Nunnally, were more confident.
Avery’s grandmother Pat Gill, of the Village of Lake Deaton, said her granddaughter’s confidence comes both from within and a history of gymnastics. Charlotte said it was the same for her.
“I actually do ballet and gymnastics, but I’m stopping for now because I just did my recital,” she said.
Both Charlotte and her grandmother, Gina Scott of the Village of Pennecamp, are new to Camp Villages. The pair wore name tags in the hopes of making new friends.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Charlotte said.
Dragon Boating
Not even the threat of rain could stop the fun during the just-for-teens dragon boating event. On Wednesday, teens ages 13 to 16 joined members of This Boat Rocks, part of the Grand Masters Dragon Boat Club, to learn the basics of dragon boating and try their hand at racing.
Rita Girou, a Village of Buttonwood resident and co-captain of This Boat Rocks, said the group loves teaching the teens. According to her and captain Linda Braun, of the Village of Amelia, it’s what the club does best.
“The Paddling Patriots and This Boat Rocks take beginners,” Braun said. “We’re the fun and exercise groups.”
Fun and exercise were exactly what the teens were after. They could barely wait to ride the dragon boats.
Hoping to beat the rain, Braun and the boat leaders took only 15 or 20 minutes of their allotted hour to explain the basics of dragon boating to the teens before giving them the go ahead.
The teens split into two teams, red and blue, with a few members of This Boat Rocks joining them to help paddle and serve as boat leaders. Each boat did a few practice laps before paddling out to the gazebo on Lake Sumter and taking their marks. Then, at the blow of an air horn, they were off.
The pair of scaled, serpentine boats cut through the steely water of Lake Sumter beneath a dark canopy of clouds. With the wind at their backs, they were neck and neck as the oarsmen rowed ferociously, but as finish judge Mary DeFranco, of the Village of Lake Deaton, said, “Races are won and lost by the hair on the nose of the dragon.”
Blue was the ultimate victor, winning 2 to 3 and with an end finishing time of 1 minute and 15 seconds. Nevertheless, all competitors received a gold medal, because winning wasn’t the point — improvement was.
Bob Kane, a member of This Boat Rocks, said as much to the campers after the lesson.
“On the first run, you were all over the place,” said Kane, of the Village of Piedmont. “Then all of a sudden as you worked together, you looked great — that’s what teamwork is all about.”
As soon as the race was over, grandparents rushed to the sides of their grandchildren to congratulate them. Cindy Lipinsky, of the Village of Virginia Trace, was among them. Every year, she lets her grandchildren — 13-year-old Mickey Lewis and his 8-year-old sister, Jackie — pick one activity for each week of Camp Villages.
Mickey told his grandma that he had a lot of fun and is considering joining a dragon boating team.
“I honestly thought it was really good, but at the end your legs and arms hurt,” he said.
Farrah Welp, 13, also is considering the possibility of joining a dragon boat team back home. She lives in Sarasota, right next to Nathan Benderson Park, the location of the annual International Dragon Boat Festival.
“My favorite part was the community,” she said. “Everyone was really nice.”
Swashbuckling
“I see land,” said 4-year-old Agnes St. Clair, cupping her hands in front of one another in imitation of a spyglass. “It’s over there.”
Yo ho, it was a pirate’s life for the 3 to 5 year olds in a special swashbuckling edition of Camp Buckaroos. The program’s littlest campers gathered at Savannah Center, where they transformed into fearsome pirates and uncovered buried treasure.
The pint-sized picaroons started their transformation by donning black tricorns and eye patches. Then, they moved on to a game of “Captain Says,” which bears striking resemblance to the children’s game “Simon Says,” but for pirates.
Recreation and Parks staff shouted out commands in the form of pirate puns that the campers hastened to act out. They mimed sailing a ship, dropping anchor, peering through a pirate’s spyglass, walking the plank, firing a cannon and raiding a treasure chest.
Within the treasure chest were doubloons aplenty, but the exact number changed depending on the age and attention span of the pirate asked. Ensley Corkery, 3, counted 12, but Drake Deering, 4, was pretty sure he got 40.
“I like the coins,” he said, holding up his skull-and-crossbones bag.
The next part of the adventure allowed campers to build their own pirate ships out of brown paper plates, black construction paper, glue, craft sticks and stickers.
Agnes chose a Jolly Roger sticker, which she already was familiar with thanks to her grandmother Cynthia St. Clair.
“We prepared before,” the Village of Sanibel resident said. “I was a teacher for about 37 years.”
As dozens of little boats set sail on the tables, the activity changed yet again. This time, the campers tried their hand at pirate bingo.
“I think I will win this bingo,” said Lucas “Luke” Alexander, 4, to himself.
Beside Luke was his grandmother Myra Alexander and his identical twin brother, Kaden Alexander. Both boys were quite proficient at bingo and needed little help from their grandmother.
“We play animal bingo with farm animals all the time at home,” said Myra, of the Village of Pine Hills.
Those at-home practice sessions seemed to pay off, because before Alexander had the chance to check Luke’s card, he and Drake won bingo. Together, the two boys walked up to the treasure chest to claim their prizes.
“I got glasses,” Luke said, proudly holding up a pair of swimming goggles.
Camp Villages continues with daily events through Aug. 2. Registration is open in-person at any At Your Service location or online at districtgov.org on the recreation page under the departments tab. For a complete listing of events, visit campvillages.com.
Senior writer Taylor Strickland can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5334, or taylor.strickland@thevillagesmedia.com.
