The End of Camp and the Rose Award

Ensemble campers put on an amazing show for parents and friends yesterday.

All their hard work the last two weeks made for an incredibly entertaining show!

After ensemble left individual acts got one last night of open training time.

They used it wisely.

Today Individual and Road Show gave their final performances for their screaming fans!

It was so exciting to see such a variety of acts!

You couldn't sleep through this.

Afterward everyone had one last chance to say goodbye.

We are sad this time is over but we look forward to learning and growing in the future.

The Rose Award

Before returning to parents, Road Show met with the Chris one last time to honor a camper who showed exceptional leadership and positive energy.

The Rose Award is the first of what will be a new tradition at camp for years to come.

And so the 2011 Circus Smirkus Camp comes to a close.  Staff are now working hard to pack up the tents and clean the dorms until next year (we hope you left your rooms spotless!).  Check out the Flickr Photo site to see all the pictures your counselors too over the last two weeks.  

Many people have come and gone over the last two months, each leaving a lasting memory.  We hope you will keep the Smirkus spirit alive over the coming months.  Train hard and see you next year!

The Final Stretch

This week Ensemble and Individual acts have been working hard on their end of week show.

There are going to be some awesome group acts in the show.

Many of the acts feature a mix of several different disciplines.

This group of talented campers is going to put on an amazing show!

Individual acts were preparing for their first dress rehearsal last night.

Each individual act has a story and character complete with costume and makeup.

Every act is unique and adds to the overall theme of the show.

This show will knock you out.

Road Show has also been having an exciting week.  Each day they have traveled to different locations to perform their show!

This year is a high school theme.

Noone was left out from the fun.

See these pictures and more on the Smirkus Flickr Photo Site.  Enjoy the show!

Fires Burn Despite the Apocalypse

Life has continued to endure here at Smirkus Camp despite the recent zombie outbreak.

Two fire staffs at once!

Coaches talked campers through fire safety.

For many it was their first time juggling fire.  He was surprised to find out that the handles are far trickier to catch in the darkness.

Other jugglers worked on their behind the back fire tricks.

Some campers worked on light sabers.

Others incorporated balance.

It was an awesome experience for everyone!  Click here for more fire pictures and to see more from the last week.

Zombie Apocalypse!

Campers waited as the sun set.  News came over the radio that a terrible virus had escaped from the laboratories deep inside Florence.

The Original Zombie has escaped and all he wants to do is eat your brains!

They started the game completely defenseless against the horde--their first mission was the discover the armory so they could be gain high powered sock-munition to stun zombies.

Scientists from Florence Laboratories work frantically to isolate the virus in order to create an antidote, but they require fresh zombie samples in order to complete their tests!

Once armed, the remaining humans must defend VIPs and discover beacons in order to call the army to their rescue.

The virus was spreading fast and the hunger for brains was insatiable.

Zombies lurked around every corner--tension was in the air.  Once the beacons were lit, the evacuation point was set!

Those remaining fought 

to reach it--only two survived.

Can we ever rebuild?  Will things ever be the way they once were?  Will we ever be able to eat ground beef again?  Click here for photographic evidence of the epidemic.  Stay tuned for updates from ground zero.

Rainstorm!!

Shortly after the first morning rotations began, there was a rumble in the distance.  

A huge thunder and lightning storm was on its way, so we all moved to the gym and played dodgeball.

The storm didn't last long so we played until lunch.

Of course we did not forget to stretch and condition!

After lunch is was time for circus again.

Campers worked on multiple hoops.

They also worked on partner acro while relating to an object.

Some balancing tricks made it to juggling.

Cloud swing and rope tricks are improving as well.

Stay tuned for more pictures on the Smirkus Flickr Photo site.

Session V Begins!

Yesterday campers got right down to business in the tents working on their tumbling skills.

This session we have an awesome cloud swing coach!

Campers learned more advanced trapeze tricks (she is about to spin around the bar--yes it's really hard).

Coaches practiced passing diabolos with campers.

Road Show worked on jump rope!

Flexibility and balance were combined on the wire.

Advanced camp has extra conditioning sessions so campers can do more advanced tricks with ease.

One camper will be hooping for her individual act.

Double sling is another possible individual act.  It is also just really fun.

They're already unicycling!  

Session V is off to a great start!  This morning we got a HUGE thunder and lightning storm that lasted about an hour.  It wasn't a big deal because we all played dodgeball in the gym to pass the time!  Click here to see your campers hard at work and check back as more are posted each day.