I am looking for ideas on camp traditions. What do you do, or have heard of, that is fun and engaging and something that campers look forward to year after year?

Im looking for more than just "color war" or "themed meals". Let me know what works!

Friendship dinners-- an adult camp I volunteerd for in the past, had campers ask volunteers for dinner on Friday nite-- the last full day of camp

opening/closing campfire, all camps, camp songs, secret pals(Camp staff) theme days

At my old 8 week program we celebrated a few holidays in the summer every year. Halloween, New Years, and thanksgiving.

Many of our kids where internationals and it was fun for them to see how we celebrated each event.

For Halloween the older kids created a haunted trail with the staff. It ended in the theater for some spooky Halloween candy and different Halloween party games.

Thanksgiving was a big traditional dinner late in the year. Each cabin made a centerpiece for the other sex table of the same age. We tied it in with some activities having the kids talk about what they where thankful for.

New Years was a blow out party/dance. Everyone got dressed up and we even had a ball drop at 10pm. Sparkling water and finger foods at the dance.

Having about 40% international campers and 60% international staff made it fun to show them what American holidays where like.

A lot of my camp's deeper traditions are actually Camp Fire traditions from way back when. Although my camp also has 5, 10, 15, 20... year presentations. The 5 years get a different colored badge/emblem of the camp symbol (everyone gets one at the end of the week) and a chance to say their name and why they come back to camp each year. The 10 years and up ask a few people to present their 10 yr (or whatever increment it is) and they typically give them sentimental or funny inside joke type gifts they make or buy and tell a little story about them. All of this is at our Council Fire (traditional Camp Fire closing campfire). We also have a camp legend of how the camp got its name that is written on a scroll and read by one of the directors.

Of course we have all the other things like all camps, PJ breakfast, etc. But the deeper ones are mostly in Council Fire.

OH! And we have a banquet dinner the last night. We all get dressed in white shirts and blue pants/shorts including the campers and have a candlelit dinner with a special grace and the CITs go around to light each table's candle. Each unit stands up after we eat and clean up to sing their unit's slow song.

Also, every Wednesday after all-camp and Friday after Council Fire the staff without direct camper responsibility go around to each unit, starting with the youngest and serenade them. We sing 3 slow songs and then their unit slow song. As we walk away we sing Linger. Wednesday it's the unit counselor's song choices. Friday night it's the camper's choice. The kids are all in bed, the counselors join in the singing for their unit, and the other staff move on to each unit. It's one of my favorite times at camp, especially when I get to go around to all the units. The CITs also join us when they aren't with kid groups.

We also had a banquet for the last dinner of each program.

Honestly anything can be a tradition if it catches on. Ask yourself what is popular at your camp and keep doing it.

Events are not traditions. Something special to your camp is a tradition.

Agreed. At my last camp we talked a lot during staff training about the difference between policy, procedure, traditions, and something we do sometimes. Policy is pretty obvious- no drugs or alcohol or abusing children, etc. Procedures- things we do to make camp run, like how the dining hall is run or check-in process (though some of that is policy like parents signing to take their kids back,etc)

Then there is the more relevant to this thread part of the discussion of the differences between tradition and things we do sometimes. Traditions have to go on for years upon years while things we've done off and on or only for a few years are not tradition. Usually I think of tradition as something deep or sentimental. Brownies for dessert with bbq dinner would be something we do sometime, even if it happens 95% of the time.

The definition from google for tradition is "the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way."