March 10, 2023
Skylark has a super fun and awesome program and it’s why campers love it so much! We captured an interview with John Burgundy, one of the hosts from our (in)famous Goooood Morning Show, speaking with Skylark’s Director of Programs and Partnerships (yeah, that’s a mouthful), Josh Fortney. They discuss what makes Skylark’s summer camp so fun! Here’s how that went:
Transcript:
John: Hey, it’s John Burgundy here on a special edition of the GOOOOOOOOOD Morning Show! Today we’re speaking with Josh Sportney about what it’s like to go to camp at….
Josh: Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, that’s Josh Fortney, although I must say, I kind of like “Sportney”. Siri, set a reminder for my assistant to trademark “Sportney”.
John: We’re here to talk about Skylark’s program and what makes it so rad. Could you maybe give us a picture of what a day in the life of a camper looks like?
Josh: Well we start each and every day with lots of jumping and yelling. As campers arrive, they are greeted the way every kid dreams of. Even adults love being celebrated like a celebrity when they roll up! From there campers gather with their cabin group and hang out with their counselor until it’s time for Rally. And that’s where YOU come in.
John: Yeah! It’s the BEST time of day. We do the Good Morning Show and tell the campers all about what’s happening at Skylark that day and of course we cover the weather. Because it’s summer time, we always talk about the HEAT DOOOOOOME!!!
Josh: From there our campers finish Rally with Bible Study, breaking up into their cabin groups to learn more together using our really cool Bible Study theme for the Summer. We’re super excited about it.
John: So Josh, what happens next at Camp?
Josh: Well next, we roll right into Activity #1. This is a rotation of activities so all the campers get to try everything at camp throughout the week. Each week campers experience the X-TOURS, which are our X-treme X-periences packages that go on tour and change up every few weeks all summer. We’re talking about a rock wall, a dunk tank, waterslides, rip sticks, and other fun inflatables.
John: Inflatables?
Josh: Yeah. I mean.. This isn’t your grandma’s moon bounce, ok. We’re talking lots of big, fun, exciting activities and unique experiences that campers get to play on all summer during activity periods and SKY ZONES.
John: Hold up, I’ve been part of Skylark now for 10 months, 2 weeks, 4 days and 76.5 hours and I’ve never heard of a SkyZone. Can you tell me more?
Josh: Well, technically it’s classified, but let me just say…have you ever had so much fun at an activity and then it’s time to move on (Wuh-woh)? Well, Skyzones prevent that from happening! We bundle 3-5 different fun games and activities together and allow camper groups to decide which ones they want to spend their time on. Campers get to choose! It gives them more time doing some of their favorite things, time to shop at the Skylark Swag store, and allows for more variety in the games we play.
John: I must say, it’s all fun and games and until someone gets hungry. Do campers get to eat? When’s lunch?
Josh: After experimenting with intermittent fasting involving summer campers in a clinical study done by a famous university several decades ago, research has concluded that feeding campers is a really important part of camp.
John: Makes sense. I’m hungry just talking about it. And this PBJ is really hitting the spot!
Josh: Lose the sammy, John, because we are actually a PEANUT FREE facility. Safety first, even at lunchtime. Speaking of lunch, we actually provide a hot lunch daily for our campers at no extra cost for parents, along with a snack later in the afternoon.
John: Wait, free?
Josh: Yeah, free.
John: Like… provided for free?
Josh: I speak the truth, John. Nothing in life is free except for the love of Jesus and lunch at Skylark, which are both, indeed, free. But campers are always welcome to pack their own lunch, too.
John: So lunch is actually free?
Josh: Yes John. It’s free. Hey, let’s move on, buddy. After lunch we do SIGMA, which stands for The Skylark Institute for Getting More Awesome. Our counselors and campers read books together every day and cover things like comprehension and character development. We love slides at Skylark, but we DO NOT like the “summer slide”… and we want to make sure our campers practice reading while school is out and they’re spending time at camp. We even send info to their parents about what we’re reading and other resources they can use at home!
John: I feel smarter just talking about SINGMA!
Josh: That’s SIGMA, John, and I don’t blame you. The rest of the day at Skylark is filled with more activities, like our SkyZones and all-camp rec! Our all-camp games are when everyone at camp gets together to play games and laugh and throw Cheetos at their counselor’s faces which are sometimes covered with shaving cream.
John: That would be my other favorite part of the day.
Josh: Yeah, me too. Then we go back inside, drink some water, eat a snack (once again, provided for free!) and get ready for AFTERNOON RALLY!!! Let the crazy get even crazier, because kids should be tired by now and guess what?
John: What?
Josh: They’re not! Haha! Instead, they’re somehow even more ready to dance, sing, yell, and just let loose in a giant party that we call Afternoon Rally at the end of each day. Which we love! Because getting the wiggles out is what we do!
John: Is that it for the day? Do they sleep at some point?
Josh: No one sleeps at camp, because there’s no time! Right after the Afternoon Rally, campers head back to their tents and play games with their cabin group while they wait for their parents to pick them up. Then we do it all again! Every day! All Summer!
John: Ok, I think the only thing we haven’t covered is Theme Days! What’s that all about?
Josh: I’m glad you asked! Back by popular demand, each week has a different theme! There will be hints of it here and there all week, building up to FRIDAY, which we also like to call FRIYAY, because YAY! It’s our dress-up day! Campers come wearing costumes on Fridays to go with that week’s theme and the afternoon all-camp game and rally is a SUPER DUPER special themed out activity and party time.
John: That’s so fun!
Josh: SO FUN.
John: Funner than Fun!
Josh: Right! So, here’s one of the themes for this summer! It’s called, “Highway to the Manger Zone” and it’s the week of July 25th. Every year our Christmas in July celebration has its own little twist and this year is no different. We’re celebrating Jesus, who is in fact the reason for the season, with a little classic rock and leather jacket flair.
John: Wow, that’s really unique! So you can come as a Top Gun pilot or dressed up as Mary and Joseph?
Josh: Well, John, that’s the beauty of it. Seems a little confusing at first, but believe me, it just works. You can learn more about the weekly themes on our website! There’s a whole calendar for this summer’s list of equally exciting and slightly befuddling theme days.
John: Is there anything else camper families need to know about Skylark’s program?
Josh: Family Rally!! Each week at 3:45pm on Fridays, we invite families to attend an Afternoon Rally with their campers and see some of the program their kids have been talking about all week come to life right before their eyes!
Jacob: Great! Well, I think that wraps up our interview for today. Josh, thanks for joining us here in Skylark Studios at the GOOOOOOOD Morning Show! That’s a wrap, folks!