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Winter Camp Provides Fun
For 95 winter campers, spending a week at camp is fun no matter what the weather. For two weeks in late December and early January, winter enthusiasts came to Camp Friendship to explore, have fun and enjoy all that winter has to offer.
Even with little snow on the ground, staff made sure that all who attended had fun. Campers enjoyed sledding when staff hauled in snow to create a sledding hill, played broomball and swam at a local community center. Snuggling up with a warm cup of cider or cocoa, fresh popcorn and friendly conversation while playing a board game was just one of the fun indoor activities.
A special feature this year was the addition of a special art session, led by SoHo Artists, a group of artists with disabilities that specializes in exploring creative expression in the arts. They taught basic drawing, helped participants paint a design, which they covered with a watercolor wash and made a scratch art picture. They took participants’ favorites and had the artwork screen-printed on a t-shirt as a special souvenir.
Another favorite was the puppet show presented by Dianne Gasch, a Camp Friendship staff member in the 1980’s. Today, Dianne is a special education teacher and also a puppeteer. She brought her 12-foot puppet Ragamuffin the Raccoon and performed a show for participants. Everyone was treated to the workings of this giant puppet and how Dianne wears Ragamuffin like a backpack.
Friendship Ventures is a non-profit agency that creates unique educational, recreational and social opportunities for people of all ages with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. We also offer conference and retreat services and professional team-building programs to the communities we serve. Friendship Ventures operates Camp Friendship near Annandale, MN and Eden Wood Center in Eden Prairie, MN.