Webelos Arrow of Light Weekend

[GKlose]

Just got back from a Webelos Arrow of Light Weekend, sponsored by the council's OA Lodge. I was also at the prior year's event, because my older son was a Webelos then.

 

Does anyone else have a similar local event? What kinds of things do you do at the event?

 

One big improvement this year is that they moved it from a camp that has traditionally been a Cub camp to the council's Scout camp. I think there is a better chance kids will be excited about coming to camp next summer. Last year, all meals were den/pack responsibility, but this year they added a meal in the dining hall (which I also thought was a smart move). Big campfire at the council ring. A/V presentation (nicely done) about the summer camp.

 

Turnout was huge compared to last year. Over 450 Webelos and parents (mostly dads), which swamped this camp. The good part is that Webelos are supposed to operate fairly independently, so parents didn't have to participate much. But that's the bad part, too. There wasn't really anything for us parents to do.

 

My own son doesn't like large events with large crowds, so he would detach and sit with me from time to time (he's the only one from his den that signed up for the event). He said, and I kind of have to agree with him, that some of their events "are boring". That's why I'd like to hear from some of you...what kinds of events worked well?

 

Thanks,

Guy

[shortridge]

I've never heard of such an event, but it sounds pretty neat. Was it an overnight campout? What kind of activities were there?

 

It's especially neat that the lodge ran it.

 

Sounds like a great opportunity to "sell" the Webelos and parents on the virtue and value of Boy Scout camp next year. Yet you don't want it to be too much of a blatant sales pitch (boring! :-) ).

 

The trick would seem to be balancing the activities - you don't want the standard boring Cub stuff that they've been doing for several years, but you also don't want to do too much Boy Scout-level stuff. As with a lot of things in Webelos, it's a very fine line to walk.

[jtswestark]

Interesting concept... with recent talk about requiring trained adult leaders in many councils (ours too), might be a great day to offer some of the Fast Start/YP/Essentials/Specific/Outdoor. What a fantastic way to offer some training to folks already there that most probably will be involved in BS in some way after crossover. And gives the adults something to do away from their dens.

I apparently am returning chair of an event in our lodge and am considering setting these up for our next year's event.

 

Jack

[GKlose]

I didn't know if this is common or not, but...our lodge runs two Webelos-oriented events. A springtime day event called Webelos Woods, and a fall weekend event called the Arrow of Light Weekend. Although advancement isn't a focus, I think their intention is to offer the possibility of advancement (e.g., visit a Scout camp; overnight with your den, etc).

 

So this particular event was a Friday-Sunday AM campout at the council's summer camp. The scheduled events were a Friday campfire, with songs and skits by the lodge, Saturday programming (activity stations), a Saturday campfire with songs and skits by dens/packs. Tent camping in virtually every nook and cranny of the camp, food on your own, except for the dining hall meal Saturday night.

 

The Saturday program: divided into groups, circulate among 8 stations (about 50 minutes at each station, 10 minutes to get to the next). The stations included: craft boat building, knot tying, tent types and setup, first aid, Indian lore, Showmanship (they worked on songs or skits for the campfire), archery and BB range.

 

At the closing on Saturday morning, the lodge presented packets with patches and certificates. When I got home, I noticed the rather elaborate certificate awarded my son the honor of being "fully qualified to attend Scout camp next summer" (he may not think much of the award, but I think it is rather clever).

 

It was, I think, a better-planned event than last year, and was certainly a much better-attended event than before. In fact, one major drawback is that the camp has plenty of wood platforms for wall tents, but it doesn't really have good tent sites for 200+ tents. Most of the major campsites had lots of exposed rocks and tree roots. Our particular site was pretty much a "billy goat" site on a slope, but luckily our tent fit fairly well on a platform.

[GKlose]

Two major drawbacks were that the event was so well attended that parking lots were overflowing and cars were parked everywhere (450+ campers, 50+ OA and council people). The camp is fairly big too, so there was lots of walking back and forth. For example, station at one end of camp, then back to the campsite for lunch, then back to the other side of camp for the next station.

 

The cost was fairly minimal, I think. $12/per person, which included a patch, a certificate and dinner in the dining hall. I heard it said that this is the one major fundraiser the lodge has.

[jtswestark]

Tractor hayrides to shuttle around may help?