There is a silence that falls over camp in the half-second after the first firework pops, before anyone has decided what it means. Tonight, the entire camp lived inside that half-second together — and then, all at once, there was no doubt.
Let me back up, because the night didn’t start with fireworks. It started, like most nights at Camp Highlander do, with an EP.
Tonight’s Evening Program was Counselor Hunt — a camp-wide game of hide and seek turned all the way up. Staff scattered across Old Forge Mountain, tucked behind trees and buildings, each one worth a different number of points. Cabins set off in search of as many staff as possible, flashlights in hand, whispered strategy passed between cabinmates, the thrill of the hunt pulling kids further and further from the Assembly Court with every counselor they found. One by one, cabins returned with their captured counselors in tow, points tallied, bragging rights on the line. By the end, Cabin 25 had out-hunted everyone else on the mountain, and they reigned champion of the hunt.
On the surface, it looked like a completely ordinary, wonderful night at camp. The kind we’ve had repeatedly this session. The kind that leaves us all feeling satisfied with another GREAT day at Highlander.
Just as cabins were gathering their belongings and about to leave the Assembly Court, Riley stepped up to close things the way he does at the end of EP every single night: “Goodnight everyone, and don’t forget your night meds.”
It’s a line campers recite along with him at this point — one of those small, steady rituals that tells you a day is over and a good night’s sleep is next. Nobody was listening for anything else. Nobody was waiting for anything else.
And then came the fireworks.
I watched as everyone stopped, turned to a friend with that look on their face that said, “Did you hear that or was that just me? Is that what I think it is?” It was a combination of confusion and disbelief. Then another firework. And almost simultaneously, green smoke began pouring in from the tree line, curling low across the assembly court and up through the crowd. Almost out of that smoke came torches — dozens of them, carried by the Green Giants, closing in around the Assembly Court from every direction. For one full second, nobody moved. Nobody screamed. Nobody breathed. It could have been a fake. Until… then the speakers cut in, O Fortuna played at full volume over the mountain, the lights went black, and every single person at Camp Highlander understood in the same instant: this wasn’t a fake. This was REAL.
What followed was pure, glorious chaos — screaming, cheering, kids grabbing each other by the shoulders in excitement and disbelief, counselors who had been hiding in the woods twenty minutes earlier jumping up and down with zeal. And somewhere in the middle of it, through the noise and the green haze, the chanting started - “Blue Knights are #1 and don’t you forget it!” “Dragons are dynamite, don’t mess with dynamite!”
With every name that was called, the team grew; the energy mutliplied. Counselors were cheering for their campers who were announced for their team and others were holding their campers’ hands to lead them to the tunnel. It was a beautiful site to see!
TEAMWORK personified before the first competition began.
Riley’s line after EP is predictable, even unremarkable — and that’s why the moment was so perfectly unexpected. You can only be truly surprised by something once you have learned to trust it completely. Our campers trust their routines at camp: my morning send off to have a GREAT day, don’t forget your night meds line at the end of EP, the walk back to the cabin, the same steady rhythm day after day. Tonight, that trust is what made the surprise so enormous. And by tomorrow, that same trust will be what lets an entire camp throw itself into a full-blown rivalry without ever once losing what holds us together underneath it.
Make no mistake —we do not stop being one family just because half of us are about to wear red and half of us are about to wear blue. If anything, Color War is where that family shows itself the loudest. Cabins that have spent all session finding their rhythm together will now compete against their best friends with all their heart and soul. Counselors will coach with everything they have their camper’s opponent, and then run to rescue their camper on the opposite team up off the ground five minutes later when they lose. The competition gets fierce during Color War. But the kindness never goes away.
Red Dragons. Blue Knights. Two teams, one mountain, and days of competition still ahead of us. Stay tuned for scores, stories, and everything in between — because Color War 2026 has just begun.
Favorite Details of the Day
- Weather: We had quite a bit of rain today on camp, but it did not slow us down or keep us from having a great day with friends at activities.
- Meals: For breakfast we had french toast sticks, scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, yogurt and granola. For lunch we had baked ziti and breadsticks, salad and sandwich bar. For dinner we enjoyed fried chicken, mashed potatoes, sensation salad and cheddar biscuits. We also enjoyed a salad bar and a sandwich bar. When the disco ball went off, everyone went crazy! Dessert was ice cream sandwiches.
- Reflect at the Rock: This morning Morgan talked to us about being thankful. He reminded us to be thankful for what we don’t have, not just the things we do have. Be thankful when you don’t know something because it gives you the opportunity to learn. Be thankful for difficult times, because it helps you grow. Be thankful for mistakes because they teach you valuable life lessons. Be thankful for being tired and weary, because it means you’ve done great things. When we choose gratitude, we turn any negative situation into something positive.
- Evening Program: Counselor Hunt across Old Forge Mountain — followed, minutes later, by the Color War break
About Melissa Fitzgerald
