The Sari Diaries- Wednesday 7/31/24

Dear Chippies, Parents, Family and Friends,

Woahhhh- that was quite an end to Realm Season 8: Burn! This morning began with Cliff calling everybody to the waterfront where Dylan Grossmann, Senior Dev Team Member, informed the camp that something big had happened before the game paused last night. The White Team had found the golden dragon egg. Sitting atop a pole in the middle of the sand, we saw this huge golden egg. Nobody was exactly sure what it meant but we were all eager to find out. Dylan let us know that this dragon egg is the last egg that the Yellow Dragon had laid, and that if we preserved it, the species would live on…if not, it would go extinct. The White Team had a choice to make- they could go the “good” route, and earn morality points along with the Yellow Dragon itself (which they weren’t sure the benefits of). Or they could go the “bad” route, lose morality points but gain a whole lot of other tools including a Puffer Fish Cannon, which is super dangerous. The Round Table had two minutes to make a decision, and they decided to go the route of morality.

Once that was decided, teams had meetings at their Castles before heading off to their houses and other designated locations around camp. The morning was full of action- the Tans created a Fire Cannon, there were houses that were taken down, and some that were defended fiercely. Ivy R tried to enter the Tan Castle, which is a bold move…but the Tan Chiefs protected their Grand and made sure Ivy didn’t enter.

After lunch, we got what we always hope for in the final moments of Realm- a Castle Attack! The Whites found out that despite not having all twelve houses, their possession of the Yellow Dragon allowed them to attack the Tan Castle. The teams were called back to their Castles to strategize, and we set the stage for the final moments of Realm Season 8: Burn. Castle Attacks are very involved, and include multiple phases…the attacking team has to achieve certain markers in order to proceed to the next phase of the attack. The first phase involves a Catapult. There is one Chief- in this case Milly F- who tries to catapult cannons at the Castle’s catapult targets (there are two). Meanwhile, the Sheriff of her team (Jillian W) is hustling after the cannonballs after they are shot to bring them back to her. The Catapult also has two targets on it and two of the defending team’s Long Bowers (Laney K & Cate M) are trying to hit those targets to stop the attack. Laney K hit the first target and not two seconds later, Milly F hit the first catapult target…it was insane. It all came down to the final target on the Catapult and the final catapult target on the Castle. It was intense and it took great perseverance, but after about 100 catapult shots and probably 150 shot arrows, the Tans took down the final target on the Catapult, which ended the Castle Attack. Quite a heroic display of defense!

The game ended there, and it was a fantastic finale. The scene at the Tan Castle was amazing…every single member of the Chippewa Sisterhood was present. And while not every single person actively participated in the attack or defending of the castle, it was a true moment of unity. The cheering coming from both the Tans and Whites was full of spirit and passion. And we had a group of counselors who cheered for the strength of women…which was definitely on full display today.

This evening we learned that the Tans won Realm, and that the top individual scorers included Sadie S in third place, Sydney J in second place, and Sophie B in first! Of course, there was some disappointment from the White Team that they didn’t end as the victors, but it was fleeting…the experience of Realm is way bigger than the actual result. And not surprisingly, the Grand & Chief Sachems of the White Team (Sydney L and Maddyn C) led their team beautifully following the announcement. It was really something special!

So that was Realm 2024…or at least as much of it as I can explain/recount. That said, I do want to take a moment to thank the group of people who made Realm happen. Realm is a program that excites campers, entertains campers, engages campers, unites campers, it provides campers with leadership opportunities, growth opportunities, moments of disappointment, moments of great joy, and it allows campers to feel like they are a part of something unique and wonderful- a world within our world that only we understand.

And none of this is by accident. Realm was born out of the insanely creative mind of Cliff Lissner- when I say insanely creative, I want you to know that I am way under-exaggerating. The fact that he not only created the game but also has enough vision to implement each and every little complexity is beyond my comprehension. Working with Cliff is the Dev and Production Teams. The Dev Team is comprised of six counselors who have put an immense amount of time and effort into making this game a reality. Sydney Goldman, Abby Cyrluk and Dylan Grossmann are all Senior Dev Team members, Jordyn Valfer & Mia Barnett are Junior Dev Team members and Marni Schneider is a Founding Dev Team member who supported this team throughout most of the Realm planning process. As for the Production Team, each member has an element of the game that they focus on and take to the next level. Luke Bailey was responsible for the amazingness of Chippindel, Charlie Kabaker leveled up the economy- specifically the Chippendel Exchange, and Summer Weitzman focused on providing aide to the Dev Team while also being the czar of all things Realm Points. Basically this group of ten Chippies created an experience like no other over these past forty eight hours. I know I speak for the entire Chippewa community when I say thank you! For their efforts, commitment, late nights, early mornings, creativity, teamwork, genuine care, attention to detail, and more and more…we appreciate all that went into Realm Season 8: Burn…it was simply the best!

As the Realm vibes simmered, we pivoted quickly to High School Musical Mode. About 100 campers put on two performances of this awesome show under the direction of Lily Zirin. The productions were fantastic, and displayed the impressive talent that some of our campers possess. It was also an excellent demonstration of confidence and empowerment…and naturally, Sisterhood. It was very cool to see Lakeview campers taking such pride in this musical production, and to see them on stage alongside the Colt Village campers was quite sweet. Overall, the CRC production of High School Musical was outstanding…a huge congratulations to all Chippies who performed tonight- you all rocked it!

Alright, that’s all from me for today…thanks for reading…goodnight, Chippies!

Happy Camping and Love,
Sari