Centennial camporee final campfire ideas

[kahits]

Hey, everybody... it's been a while since I was last visiting here. We have a Fall camporee this coming weekend in which we are looking for ideas and some scripts to use for the closing campfire. The Baden Powell speech from Wood Badge would be wonderful, but that is not available and way too long for a youth to deliver. I'm just curious if anyone has some ideas of what we can use, that brings this last district event to a close, in the Centennial year. Feel free to send some ideas to my email (kahits@comcast.net).

[PeteM]

WHATEVER you do, don't have what a new council in the East just did.

For their campfire they had a brief mention of a local scouter getting a national award, mentioned (didn't hand out, but mentioned), winners of the gateway contest, a hour long slide show explaining the history of the two councils, another slideshow explaining their weird name, a slide show with pictures of the youth during the days events and a fireworks display. I mean, I saw entire troops get up and leave during the campfire, the youth were so bored. Not one song or skit. Just a big "look at us as a new council" history lesson.

 

Please don't do that!!!!

 

I told my friend that invited me, "don't bother the next time this event happens".

 

Pete

 

[Kudu]

I've never used it as a closer, but consider Baden-Powell's "Eengonyama" War Song. It was sung and acted out all week at the very first Boy Scout campfires on Brownsea Island in 1907.

 

So this is how Baden-Powell did campfires:

 

http://inquiry.net/outdoor/campfire/songs/war_songs.htm

 

If anyone could send me sound files for "The Scout's Rally" and "The Scout's Call," so I can make them available, I'd appreciate it!

 

Yours at 300 feet,

 

Kudu

 

[SSScout]

Find someone who can do a Campfire Ashes talk. Done well,it links the prehistoric taming of fire and our use of it to heat our homes, light our night, scare away the big hungry sabertooths, fuel our travel and discovery, with the need to just sit around a basic fire, stare into the flames and tell stories. Fire is a powerful servant and a hard master.

Our church camp has as it's motto: "A Fire At The Center"

The talk is also about the connection we have with Scouts and campers long goneby. How BP took a bit of ash from his last campfire and mixed it with the next fire, and then took a bit of that fire's cool ash the next morning to add to the next fire (or didn't. This is an apocrophal story and some say it never happened. But "a Scout is Trustworthy" and I believe the Scouters that told me) The speaker tosses his bit of ash and cinders into the Campfire and the watchers are reminded of the "pedigree" these ashes have. Last years Camporee, the Woodbadge course, the National Jamboree, gone to the moon and back, so many countries, so many states and other camps.

And then remind the Scouts that a box of plastic baggies will be there in the morning, if anyone would like a unique souvenir of this wonderful weekend, never to happen again. And Sunday afternoon, when mom asks "What's this bag of dirt doing on my kitchen counter?" ,you can tell her it's making history. All the way back to the stone age...