Has the Campfire gone out?

[Woodsmith]

Our Troop participated in our Camporee -- a good time was had by all, but I came away a little dumbfounded...

Instead of the traditional Saturday evening Campfire with OA Tapout -- the itinerary stated: 8-8:30pm -- OA Tapout in Pavilion 9, 8:30-10pm -- Live Entertainment in Pavilion 10

 

I asked the boy who was in charge of planning the event (a slightly overwhelmed 13-year old) why there wasn't a campfire program listed. He told me "Boy Scouts don't do campfires so much any more -- now they're more into 'shows'."

 

That evening, though there had been a chance of rain -- none was to be found -- neither was a campfire... The Tapout proceeded with respectable ceremony and then the mass of boys (34 troops were present) proceeded to the next pavilion where they were entertained by a PAID performer (who started off his performance letting it slip he thought he was to entertain Tiger Cubs -- BIG difference!). Anyway, by 9pm the boys started wandering back to their campsites -- the whole "entertainment" segment lasted 30 minutes instead of 90... No skits, no songs... no campfire.

 

Please tell me this was an anomaly! Campfires are really here to stay -- right??

[berkshirescouter]

They are still there. My son and a friend are planning the troops skit for summer camp now. They are rewriting a Monty Python Skit. Last year it was a bunch of shorts about throwing a case. We have had other troops do some very funny original stuff.

[Fat Old Guy]

We've started doing campfires with skits again. The adults thought that it was lame but the Scouts love it. Oddly, one of the biggest grousers about singing and skits went to the last year of the old style Scoutmaster School and came back with a passion for songs and skits.

 

Nothing wrong with shows either. Just a campfire without the fire. The important thing is that people are getting up and performing.

 

 

[Woodsmith]

FOG wrote:"Nothing wrong with shows either. Just a campfire without the fire. The important thing is that people are getting up and performing."

 

Right -- I was less concerned about the actual burning of stuff in the Campfire Program than I was the "Program" element!

I don't understand why Scouts would ever need to PAY a performer to entertain the kids -- from my experience, just asking the audience if anyone would like to perform a skit provides ample entertainment -- at least it used to....

[SR540Beaver]

I've never been on a troop, district or council outing where we didn't do a campfire. We did one indoors once due to really really nasty weather. I was disappointed at this year's camporee though. My son had just recruited his best friend into our troop and had told him all about campfires and how fun they were. We went to the campfire and there was all of two skits. The rest of the time was taken up with district personnel giving pitches for their various committees and activities. I kid you not. It was like watching an infomercial at 3 AM. Then the OA did their call out and I thought no one was going to be left in the audience. I didn't count, but there had to be at the very least 75 people called out. It was longggg and boringggggg. My son assured his friend that this was NOT a typical campfire.

[Eamonn]

As a District I'm pleased to say that Camp Fires are alive and well. They are planned and run by the SPL's. The first time we tried it the District Commissioner got in the way a bit. But a trip behind the wood shed soon put him right. Poor fellow spend too much time in the Cub Scout program.

Sad to say that the Parents Night Camp Fire at summer camp is gone,replaced by a anything that floats race. We did bring it back a couple of years back for the summer of the camps diamond anniversary, using guest MC's. I MC'd a couple. Great fun.

The Council has Parent Son weekends at camp during the summer each district takes a weekend. We have a great time.

It could be that I'm growing old or growing up, but the fires seem smaller now then they once did.

The Summer that I first came over to work on Camp Staff, we planned an opening ceremony where the Wicked Witch of the West set fire to the Scarecrow, this poor Lad had to run as fast as he could to light two big fires. Finding a suitable volunteer wasn't easy. As luck would have it the then Council Presidents son was also on staff - Need I say more.

(Please note this was 1977 and if the was a guide to safe Scouting we never seen it.)

Eamonn

[Fat Old Guy]

Gotta learn to read better. I missed the PAID part.

 

My old pack always had paid entertainment at the B&G. A magician. A science guy. A juggler.

 

Never thought much about it. However, I don't think that I'd be too happy to see professional at a camporee.

[fotoscout]

I would have to agree that our Campfires are turning into "The Camp Show". Lot's of skits, and not much song. Even then, the songs are not ones that everyone can easily sing along with. That's not to say that the campfires aren't fun, because they still are great fun. But it is different and not in the expected mold of a campfire.

 

Usually everyone on the property is invited to participate, CS, BS, Crew, Team, parents, sibs, friends, it doesn't matter. Some participate, most don't.

 

Having spent much time at camp last summer, the best part for me was watching the staff evolve the show. As the summer went on, the personalities and friendships emerged. The results were at times precious.

 

Going back to the original question, I have to wonder..... If WE stop singing the traditional American campfires songs around the campfire, then who will?

 

 

[KA6BSA]

Here in San Diego we are under very strict fire rules and often can't have a campfire with a real fire, but we always have the traditional way of the Scouts entertaining themselves with skits and stories... even if we have to gather around a battery powered lantern. Yes I have noticed a decline in the singing part of the event, but that is understandable considering the music the boys are interested in these days... they are not going to just spontaneously burst into a verse of "Cum Bah Ya." I am hoping the paid entertainer with a show for Tigers at the comporee was just the result of an inexperienced organizer trying to make it easy for himself and bungling it. What he didn't know is that it is much easier (and fun!) to have the boys take charge of the event and do the traditional campfire. Everyone participates and it is never too short!(This message has been edited by KA6BSA)

[dozer]

Campfires are a big part of the program here.During summer camp there are opening, closing, and the OA tapout on Wed. Real fires and all. the opening is run by the camp staff, The OA on Wed., and All the troops on Fri. It's a riot.

We even had opening and closing campfires at the district fall camporee. A lot of the opening campfire was a scouter telling of the native americans that lived on camp property at one time. It was so popular he continued the story the second night. after the boys had performed several skits.

Why would you pay people to perform at the local level when the boys like doing it, so much.

[Fuzzy Bear]

A few years ago, one of our experienced adults lead the district camporee but did not have the proper oversight during the planning process. I think the leaders believed that everyone understood what was to be included in camporee planning for no other reason than shear repetition over the years.

 

The night of the campfire, he walked out into the fire ring. Actually, there wasn't any fire and there werent any songs, skits, walk-ons, gags, stunts, or stories. He just stood there for ten minutes. While he was standing, people began to scratch there heads and began to talk to each other and some began to laugh. He just stood without saying a word. I thought that maybe he had a seizure or had been possessed by some kind of a who-do spirit.

 

I asked a couple of people if they knew who was in charge or if somebody had a list of the participants but none were forth coming. Since I knew the leader, I walked out to him and gently asked if he was alright. He was sweating and a little frightened. I asked him what we were supposed to do but he didn't have anything to say. I asked him if there were any awards to be given out and he pointed to another leader. I asked the leader to come out and give out the awards.

 

I asked who was in charge of communications with the OA Tapout group because it was to be held in a location up the hill from the campfire. I told him to find out what time we were supposed to be at that area. He told me they needed forty-five minutes. The presentations took about 5 minutes. I asked the crowd for volunteers for songs and we had a couple of songs that took another ten minutes. I noted the restlessness of the crowd and the many parents that had come for a fun campfire and OA ceremony. I knew that I can "wing it" when necessary and this was one time that I wanted to but thought better of it. I detected that everyone knew that we had been pulled into a void and truth was better than fiction. By the way, while all of this was going on the leader of the camp stood motionless in front of what I suspected was to be the campfire.

 

Since there was nothing more to do, I directed the crowd to follow in a long line in the opposite direction of where the OA ceremony was to be held. I figured that we could march the whole lot for ten minutes in the wrong direction and then fifteen back in the right direction.

 

By the time we arrived at the OA ceremony they were just about ready. I remember that particular leader getting an award at the District Dinner for his work at the Camporee. I felt like it should have been something like a small replica of a campfire. Nothing was ever really said about what I termed the "Black Hole" campfire. I guess there was more than one person that was struck with a lapse of time or maybe it was me.

 

I thought of this story when the question was asked about if the campfire was out. I have actually experienced such an event and it was not pretty. My warning is to not let this happen to you.

 

My challenge, as I see it, is to keep the same stories, etc. going. The real meat and potatoes for the same punch "old" lines are in how they are expressed. Use costumes, hats, props, and all types of extras to make for a novel presentation. I think you will then find the real fun of the campfire.

(and for Pete's sake, don't pay someone to do entertain such talented young people.)

 

Fuzzy Bear

 

[way_word]

During my Woodbadge we had a county wide burn ban in efect because of dry weather.

 

The first weekend the campfire (organized by the staff) was done using lanterns. The second weekend (in October) it was done by one of the patrols using large carved jack-o-lanterns. In both cases it was definitely a Campfire, with skits, stories and songs.

 

You don't need a fire for a Campfire. And you sure don't need paid performers!

[Proud Eagle]

I personally like both campfires and shows. I don't generally define one as a program with a fire and the other as one without. Usually a show has a different sort of program from a campfire. SR-6N usually does a show for conclave. NOAC has shows. Jambo more or less uses shows.

 

When I think campfire I think of those attending actually participating in some portion of the program. I think of traditional stuff like camp songs, patrol skits, and things like that.

 

When I think of shows, I think of those attending more or less sitting back to enjoy the program with only minimal participation. I think of things like slide shows, a theme show, or some sort of guest entertainment.

 

Often you will see shows incorporating campfire type program elements and campfires incorporating show type program elements. Really they are both just ways of entertaining. Maybe some of the old camp songs are being forgotten and replaced by a power point presentation recapping the days events, but I certainly don't think the campfire has gone out, at least not in the figurative sense.

[Herms]

Woodsmith,

 

The Campfire isn't dead. We have some great campfires (sometimes without a fire) with skits and songs. At first some of the new parents and scouts aren't much into the songs, but after a few they get into it. At our campout week before last our campfire lasted two and a half hours and could have went on a lot longer (S'mores finally won out).

 

It's a great opportunity to have boys get up and perform in front of the troop or pack.

[OldGreyEagle]

Just fresh from Hawk Mountain, Northeast Region Camp School. Attended a presentation there put on by Doug Fullman of the Northeast Region who could not have been more emphatic in his call to have as many boys and troops participate in campfires. The campfire has not gone out in the Northeast Region !