Campers Unite Through Carnival Fun at Hale

Kids from Hale Reservation's several camp programs met in full on Thursday, greeting one another and enjoying a day of a different type of fun through Hale's first series of carnival-like events. 

"This is our first all-camp carnival," said Steve Larsen, director of programs at Hale. "We've been talking about it for years."

About nine camps at Hale participated in the carnival, including Hale's own Camp Hale. Normally, each camp - which comprises kids from Westwood, Dedham, Waltham, Watertown, Newton, West Roxbury, and elsewhere - go about their day-to-day activities as individual groups. But Thursday, all of those camps were able to intermingle for the first time.

"For us, the great thing about it is we've been looking for a way to integrate the camps, and this was a great way to do it," said Hale Executive Director Eric Arnold. "I think we'd also like to see if we can create a theme (on a more regular basis), if this model works nicely." 

Activities at the carnival included a potato-sack relay race, large-pin bowling, bean-bag toss, and face painting. But the activity that brought the most praise was the dunk tank, at which campers had the chance to dunk their favorite counselors in ice-cold water. 

The event was funded in full by Needham Bank, which also supplied plastic water bottles as gifts to campers - a perfect remedy for the heat and humidity. Additionally, food was supplied by 21 Nickels Restaurant in Watertown, which gave out hot dogs to the hungry campers.

Arnold made a brief appearance after the events began around 11 a.m., driving through on a motorized cart with Hale Development Director Paula McLaughlin. The two had been giving a tour of the Hale grounds to local State Representatives Mike Rush and Paul McMurtry, who also made a brief appearance. 

"This is really nice, because it's a time when we can get them (campers) all together and that's what we've been striving for," McLaughlin said.