Camp Alameda luau brings tropical fun
Butler County Parks and Recreation's summer Camp Alameda closed out its second week of camp activities with an island-themed “luau” event for children ages 5 to 12 at the Odd Fellows Gazebo in Alameda Park Friday afternoon.
Camp counselors led groups of children in making crafts and playing four-square, sack races and limbo.
The event capped the last day in the camp's “Aloha” theme week. Earlier in the week, children built sand castles, bowled, ate slushies and played outdoor games.
Head counselor Kaitlyn Barnhart said the children seemed enthusiastic about the theme.
“Every week has a theme — we usually change them year to year, but we usually keep the big ones,” Barnhart said. “Today was our big luau day, so we tried to save a lot of activities for today.”
Children were separated into age groups — “cubs and bears” for 5 to 8 year olds and “lions and tigers” for 9 to 12 year olds. Counselors rotated the children through activities. The summer camp was full this week, with around 80 children participating across both groups.Barnhart said last year's program numbers were smaller during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the camp still had about 60 children participate. This year, the program was back to full strength — all but one week in August of the camp's programs have already sold out.The Hawaiian theme is a recent addition to the camp's schedule this year, but last week's theme, “All Star Sports,” and the upcoming “Get Soaked Week” have been popular in the past. Other themes for the rest of the summer include “Superheroes and Villains,” “Summer Olympians” and “STEM Science.”Butler County Parks and Recreation will continue to host activities throughout the year, including group swim lessons all summer long, the MTB Bike Camp for older children later in August and babysitting courses and deck hockey in the fall.
