Girls Adventure Campers partied like a rock star

It has been a busy week at Camp Jefferson with Girls Adventure Camp.

With 111 girls and a theme of "Party like a Rock Star," the campers had activities throughout the week designed to empower girls.

Laura Alsman said it's been a good week.

"We want to encourage young girls and show them that anyone can be successful," she said. "I love pushing the limits and get them to try something new.

"The girls have had a great week. It's been warm during the day which made the pool feel good in the afternoon and cool in the evening."

Three bands performed during the week including Saving Fiona, Monsters at Bay, and Iron Zephyr. All of the bands have taken the time to do questions and answers with the girls following the performance.

Alsman explained that two of the band members had daughters that came to the camp this year. One of the lead vocalists had written a song and was teaching the campers the lyrics in hopes that they would sing it each year they came to the camp.

"It's been a loud week," she said.

Campers also did crafts like steppingstones in the shape of stars for the theme, as well as making guitars out of paper towel rolls. The girls did skits with other cabin members and had a music relay contest.

"One of the parts of the relay included rewinding a cassette tape," Alsman said. "A lot of the girls didn't even know what a cassette tape was."

They also play games like gaga ball, go canoeing, swimming or dance.

Alsman said the food was always a big part of the camp experience.

Tuesday night is the evening with the most girls. They all gather in the main building with their pj's, sleeping bags and pillows to watch a movie on the projector with popcorn as a snack. This year the girls watched "Sing" to stay with the theme.

Alsman noted that the camp started as a Girl Scout experience.

"No one really knows when the camp started, but probably in the 40s or 50s," she said. "Camp Jefferson itself is about 102 years old."

She noted that she attended Girl Scout camp when she was a young girl. When she moved home after college, she became involved because she had a passion for the camp.

"We wanted to keep the camp alive but couldn't justify keeping it going with the cost involved for just Girl Scouts. In 2015 the Girls Adventure Camp started," Alsman said.

Any girl as young as incoming kindergarten to graduated seniors can attend the camp.

"We opened registration in February and were full in 32 days," she said. "We try to keep the costs low too. A lot of the girls plan softball and really summer around this camp."

Alsman said the counselor had been coming to camp since she was old enough to come and is now a counselor.

"It's been fun to watch the girls grow up and mature. They take on leadership roles and it's just cool to see," she said. "That's kind of typical. We see a lot of girls for several years. I started 30 years ago."

There is a group of eight alumni that plan the camp every year.

"It's just been a really fun week."

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