camp winnarainbow

on saturday, july 9th, my eldest daughter and i cruised up and over the mountain to get her little sister from camp winnarainbow, after her two weeks of folly there. she is a seasoned veteran now, after four summers. this camp is just amazing. it's been around for close to thirty years. wavy gravy is the man-in-charge. he is a part of early san francisco sub-culture, and prior to that, he was in greenwich village doing spoken-word stuff, back when dylan was just getting his start. in fact, dylan mentions his name in his book ("chronicles") which came out this year. his name back in the village days was hugh romney. after migrating to san francisco in the mid-sixties, he became wavy gravy the clown. he got that name, according to legend, at one of the early "tests" at longshoreman's hall in s.f. oh sure, he's a fun-loving dude, and has emceed many a musical event, including his most famous fifteen minutes of fame, when he spoke to the crowd at woodstock, announcing breakfast-for-all.

but beyond that, he and his wife jahanara have spent much of their collective lives together by enriching the lives of countless children, at their performing arts/circus camp in laytonville, california. oh sure, there are plenty of kids-of-hippies in attendance, but they also provide scholarships to lots of inner city children, many who have never been outside of their cities. so there is great diversity. the place itself is incredible. after turning off the highway, you wind your way down a dusty dirt road, across the creek, passing several of wavy's ancient school buses with "nobody for president" painted on the sides. everywhere there are ancient oak trees and manzanita. when you reach the parking area, you are greeted by a young counselor of the juggling variety. after parking and loading the stuff onto the transport-truck, you walk to the registration area where you sign in, and verify that all paperwork is complete. then it's across the creek and up a little hill, where you find rolling, grassy fields, trapezes and cloud-swings, shade-and-water stations for stilt-walkers, and "downtown camp." this consists of about 15 huge teepees, all in a circle. each teepee sleeps about 10 children and their counselors. all of them have "skylights", with a view of stars at night. there is a campfire circle in the middle of all the teepees, and the rainbow stage is nearby. there is also a massive costume tent, filled with anything you could imagine needing for a performance. and the kitchen tent, with it's long, welcoming tables out front. after fetching q's bags, etc. from the drop-off point and getting them into her teepee, we wandered around some, and met her counselors. there is always 1 adult counselor and several teen counselors for each teepee. many of the adults and teens were once campers themselves, as nobody ever seems to want to leave winnarainbow! you can be a kid camper there until you are 14, so next summer will be q's final year in that respect. however, she is thrilled at the idea of returning as a teen staff member. also close to camp is lake veronica, their own little lake, complete with a waterslide they purchased from the old marine world in redwood city, as well as several stationary rafts for relaxing, diving, and so on. this is a performing arts camp, in every sense of the word. the choices available are many. there is dance, singing, clowning, improv comedy, unicycling, stilt-walking, trapeze-flying, and on and on. all of the instructors are so well-trained, and incredible with the children. nobody is forced to try anything if they don't want to. it is such a self esteem-building place! there is also plenty of time for just having fun, as well as relaxing. you can write and fax your camper as often as you want, and send care packages, but no candy-they get treats and desserts regularly there. the food is always nourishing and fun. music is playing almost all the time-either live, by the counselors and kids, or over the impressively wired-for-sound system. q says they sometimes played the star spangled banner by hendrix, among many other great tunes. (i love old hippies!) it's the kind of place any kid (or grown-up kid!) would love. so clean and well-maintained, and even accredited. so this time, she went for the two-week session. we got only one postcard from her-a good sign! it read: "sorry i haven't written, but please know: i am having a BLAST!"

when m and i arrived, we were just in time for the "big show" which the campers put on for the parents. first was the parade out onto the meadow. dozens of kids on stilts, in lavish costumes. and unicyclists all around. some just dancing along, in colorful, crazy clothing. we saw q in the crowd of dancers. she looked SO happy. pure bliss on her beautiful face. and she remembered to sunscreen-she looked great!
after the parade, patch adams led everyone in a sing-along, with a most appropriate song. "all we are saying... is give peace a chance" that made me all bleary-eyed, for several good reasons. it was powerful to sing that song in a large group like that. yes, patch adams, the m.d. that robin williams played in the movie of the same name. he is a friend of wavy's, and he always attends session b, and teaches clowning to the children. what a sweet and funny man.

after the parade, everyone breaks off into their groups and parents tour around, seeing their kids in all of their performing glory. we watched q do improv and then got to visit with her for a bit, while she changed into different clothing for her singing performance in "experimento", which involved all of the kids writing an amazingly powerful poem, that they turned into a song. my "baby" sang the most incredible solo. in perfect spanish! it was one of those perfect moments as a parent, where you just feel so much love that it's almost unbearable-in a good way! all the kids looked and sounded magnificent. when she came and sat with us, people were approaching q and telling her how lovely she sounded. this girls can SING. i knew it way back in pre-school, truly. and it just gets better, thanks to chorus, chamber singers, voice/piano lessons, etc. it did not come from me, that is for certain. i sound like froggy on "the little rascals" when i attempt to sing! but i sing, nonetheless. her voice is her gift, and she deserves it. after the song, she returned to the stage with a group of dancers, and they did a thing they titled "pretty much awesome", and it was indeed. lots of hip hop dancing, and more singing. beautiful.

we then gathered up all of her stuff and hiked out to the car. once out on the highway again, it got quiet in the back seat. m and i turned around, and q was crying those huge, silent tears. she was grieving because she was leaving. and she so loves it there, where she can be all the things she is, without fear of judgement, pettiness, or negativity. and at the tender age of 13, those are things that are not easily avoidable. we both told her we understood how she felt, leaving a place where you felt so much joy. we stopped and hugged and got some juice and water, and then headed back over the mountain, to the coast. she was a different person, and it happens every summer. she said that she loves her friends at home and school, but they can't compare to her camp pals.

i am so thankful that she gets to go to this place that puts her in touch with all of the things she is, and allows her to establish her own identity, and just soak up the positive stuff. now more than ever, kids need those things. so much fear, worry and hatred in their world. it's nice that there are places that remind them to just be children. no internet, or ipods, or television shows, or video games. and yet, she wept and wept about leaving. that is a powerful statement, about what kids really NEED. my father makes this happen for her every year. she is a lucky girl, and i am her oh-so-lucky mama. she is already talking about next summer.

if you click on the title to this post, you can learn more about this place, and see photos as well.