Illustrations by Ballibay art counselor Allison Rich

SAMPLE CAMPER SCHEDULE

KAI: THE DJ WHO PLAYS TROMBONE - SATURDAY

While Kai still chooses to live in the "up the hill" cabin area, he identifies as a boy. His cabin-mates accept him as a full member of the U8 cabin, and as a friend.

Morning, 7:45:
Kai listens daily to the morning radio show, broadcast live to the campus via low-power FM. He tunes it in on his headphones in bed while the rest of the cabin gets up and gets ready; he wouldn’t miss it! Such different shows every day: talk, music, art, news… He’s a dedicated DJ, but getting up at 7:30 to get dressed and then head down to the dining hall by 7:45 to do a live show? No way. But: the shows are such a pleasure to listen to, and he still has his headphones on to hear the end as he walks out of the cabin to go to breakfast at 8:25.

Morning, 9:00-12:00:
Kai is recording a radio show today. He spends the first hour of activities organizing tracks and preparing his show, and heads to the radio studio at 10:00 to meet Kallie, the radio instructor. They go over the show’s structure in detail, make a few changes, and by 10:20 are ready to record. They lay down the 45-minute show without a hitch, and plan to broadcast it the same day, at Rest Period. By 11:15 Kai is free, and he heads down to the music building to practice trombone. At 12:00 he goes back to G8, and lets his cabin-mates know they will be listening to his show on WBAY during rest period. Everyone eats Lunch at 12:30, and after, when they head back to the cabins, they'll tune in to Kai’s show.

Rest Period, and Kai’s show, 1:30-2:30:
Kai’s show is today! The whole cabin wants to listen, as do many campers across the camp. Everyone gets back to the cabins at about 1:30 after lunch, settles in, and tunes their radios to WBAY, the campus-wide low-power FM station. Rest Period is for rest: shoes off, feet up, and, most days, writing letters, reading books, or studying lines. Today though, Kai’s cabin is all ears: they enjoy Kai’s show, making the occasional comment, but mostly just listening.

After rest period the whole camp gathers for the One-Minute Performance at 2:35 and a recap of afternoon offerings. Today it's a short, haunting violin solo. The notes echo of of the side of the theater building. Beautiful.

Afternoon, 3:00-5:00:
Kai has his trombone lesson from 3:00-3:30, and then has a half-hour free to e-mail home and read a little of his book. He’s been asked to be part of a horn section for a rock band, and agreed, so 4-5 he'll be joining a few other brass players to attend a rock rehearsal, and is going to be part of the band night next week! To make a busy day even busier, he’s performing in the “5:00 special” today, doing a solo trombone piece he’s been working on all year at school. He’s totally got it down, but still: performing for 200 people…? Stressful. He nailed it.

Free time, 6:30-7:00:
Camp Director John has been known to play tennis with campers after dinner, so Kai approaches him for a game. “Sure!” says John, and they head to the courts to hit the ball around. Fun!

Evening Activities, 7:00-8:00:
Seriously, it’s time to chill. Kai listens to music, hangs out with friends, and enjoys a totally relaxing evening at camp. At 8:00 everyone goes back to the cabins to put on long sleeves and long pants, grab a flashlight, and then go the evening program.

Evening Program, 8:40:
Tonight is Movie Night! What could be better? Kids and staff spread out blankets, and settle back with popcorn and a good flick. What an awesome day, what an awesome week!

SEE MORE CAMPER SCHEDULES:

Jack: THE EXPLORER
Sara: THE ACTRESS
Clara: THE DANCER
Sonia: THE ROCKER who loves TECH
Daniel: THE ARTIST who loves HORSES