Fresh air, clean water and old movies
Lindsay Lohan, the Christmas Grinch, the Guardians of the Galaxy and rampaging dinosaurs would make a very strange combination for a movie.
At summer camp, however, the combo is as natural as clear air and cold lake water, if you’re talking about the movies that kids like to view under the stars.
Kids go to camp to get away from the routines and cares of the big city. The Toronto Star’s Fresh Air Fund, through generous contributions from readers, supports 102 overnight and day camps to give children a chance to experience the wonders of the natural world.
Sometimes, though, campers just want to kick back and watch a good movie. And the selection can be as eclectic as the flowers and wildlife that surround them.
At all-girls Marygrove Camp in Tiny Township, on the shores of Georgian Bay, the cinema fun begins even before the 1,150 annual summer revellers arrive at the facilities sponsored by the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul.
Campers all ride together on four buses, says Marygrove director Louise Coutu, and they carry with them a camp registration bag that includes not only important documents, but also a selection of favourite movies, as chosen by campers over many years. There are multiple copies of each film.
“The No. 1 favourite is The Parent Trap, the Lindsay Lohan edition,” Coutu says. “We play it on the bus on the way up to camp; it gets everyone in the mood for the adventure ahead. It is a camp classic and holds everyone’s attention from start to finish.
“Another bus favourite is Cheaper By the Dozen 2, with Steve Martin. The family (in the film) rent a cottage that reminds us all of the great times ahead on Georgian Bay.
“And always in the top three is Jim Carrey’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We celebrate Christmas in July, so that is how it started being included in the ‘camp bag.’ The fastpaced action and hilarious lines — ‘Blast this Christmas music, it’s joyful and triumphant!’— always gets the girls giggling and the staff love the lines. Why save a great favourite until Christmas? It’s always great to see a heart grow three times in one day — isn’t that what we all need?”
The Parent Trap is also a favourite for participants at LOVE National Leadership Camp, a summer retreat for at-risk youth operating out of Camp Kinkora in SaintAdolphe-d’Howard, Que.
It’s run by Leave Out Violence (LOVE) Ontario, a youth advocacy organization.
The camp has the tradition of holding a movie night on the third day, says Dena Henry, program manager for LOVE Ontario.
“Last year’s movie was Guardians of the Galaxy,” she says. “We played Grease on the bus on the way there, but most of the youths just watch their individual movies on Netflix, since the bus has Wi-Fi.”
Other LOVE Camp favourites are American Pie Presents: Band Camp, Troop Beverly Hills and The Baby-Sitters Club (“A personal favourite — not sure how the youth feel about this one,” Henry says).
And the LOVE crew can’t go wrong with “anything that is new or from Marvel Comics,” she adds. But, for obvious reasons, they try to steer clear of camp-themed horror movies, such as Sleepaway Camp. At the Bob Rumball Camp of the Deaf in Parry Sound, the campers don’t just watch movies; they act out parts from them. Popular movies include Jurassic Park, Star Wars and Star Trek.
“Clips from movies are used to support the (camp) program,” says camp director Derek Rumball. “For example, today is Jurassic Camp themed day. So last evening, for a teaser for today, we showed selective clips that would support the activities today.”
Camp staff also get involved in the fun of playing famous movie characters. “We may have a Luke Skywalker, or characters from Serenity. We have go-to clips that support themes of the program, so our favourite movies change from year to year.”
Seems that sci-fi is very popular at the camp. However, when I asked Rumball what a classic camp-themed movie would be for his group, he replied Heavy Weights and Meatballs, where not a spaceship nor lightsabre is in sight. The latter film is a Canadian classic, directed by Ivan Reitman and featuring an early starring role for Bill Murray.
The version of Meatballs shown at the Rumball camp is an edited one, since it has a few bits that are too raunchy for the camp’s younger set and since the words must also be seen on the screen.
“We are very conscious of language, especially because we open-caption all of the films we watch,” Rumball says.
“We may not always view an entire film in one sitting. And may watch it over a couple of nights. Action sports adventure, extreme sports are always a favourite.”