A Day in the Life of Retreat 2.75, Part III

Today we will look at some special events that happen during Camp. The first is Market Day. On Saturday, one of the adjoining rooms is set up as a market. Vendors consist of both Camp attendees and non-attendees. I didn't take a photo of the market itself while it was happening as all you would see were bodies. This is the tail end of market.
There's fiber and yarn hung on racks.
Other goodies are spread out on tables. There is always a run on hand-painted yarn. This year, additionally, there was a crowd around a vendor selling hand-made wood objects and Jennie the potter, a Camp attendee. There are T-shirts, soap and spinning supplies.

Another important event is the contest on Sunday. Each year the campers suggest and vote on a theme for the following year. The theme this year was Mythical Beasts. Entry is completely voluntary and not everyone enters every year. Each contestant gets up and describes their entry, which is assigned a number. Once all the entries have been described or demonstrated (some are performance art), they are put on a row of chairs in the center of the room along with their numbers. Campers walk around and vote on their top 2 entries.
That is one side of the row of chairs with an entry on each one.Here you can see campers milling around the center examining the entries. It feels like musical chairs without the music as everyone shuffles around the chairs making up their minds on their top 2 entries.This is the other side of the row of chairs. You can see 'Mythical Beets' (a play on the theme) and a unicorn shadow knitted into a vest.

Another special event on Sunday is the raffle. There is a scholarship fund in Elizabeth's name to help deserving campers attend Camp without having to pay. I think there was enough money collected last year to have a scholarship winner at each session this year. Retreat 2.75 campers have a raffle to raise money for the scholarship fund. Many campers bring donations for the prizes. I need to remember to do this next year.

Amy does a fantastic job describing the prizes in glowing words. We decide on the value of a ticket and then buy as many as we want. The items are put in the center of the room (no chairs this time) and bins are put next to each one. We drop as many tickets into each bin as we want, with zero and 100% being acceptable numbers.Here you see one of the most valuable prizes in the foreground. The daughters of one of the campers embroiders a set of dish towels every year. Everyone wants to win them.Campers walk around and inspect the items and decide how to spend their raffle tickets above.While the raffle is going on, Christie counts the votes for the contest. Some of us spend a lot of time deciding what to vote on or what to compete for in the raffle and others decide rather quickly. The quick decision makers hang around in the back chatting.

There will be two more parts to this series. Yes, I am dragging it out because I am enjoying reliving Retreat 2.75 as I write this little diary. Also, there are so many photos that it is better spaced out a bit.

I want to welcome Terry and Dot Com Mom as readers. Thank you for your comments.

Nancy, I will be letting you in on the color scheme I'm currently considering for the mittens. I think I need more colors for the chu'llo but we'll see. Colleen, cool hats are always welcome, even if Waltham is not the frozen tundra. I see people wearing hats in the summer! And last but not least, Laura, I enjoy posting about Camp as much as you seem to be enjoying reading about it. And yes, everyone has a gorgeous lace shawl or an even more gorgeous fair-isle that they are modeling. It is a good thing the room is usually cold!