The team spent last weekend clowning and working with the campers at Camp Sundown. This is a camp for kids and young adults with Xeroderma Pigmentosa. This rare disorder makes it potentially lethal for them to expose their skin to the sunlight or other bright lights. (Please google this disorder for more info)
Through a clown friend who has worked with this camp since it opened we were able to go up during the day and spend time juggling and doing magic with the campers. Pupperdoodle spent hours doing glitter tattoos on everyone. We enjoyed a great dinner made the local fire department with these remarkable campers and their parents. The after dinner show was great! The campers did a skit and performed. the Mothers performed and then the clowns performed. The kids did great with our "Old Macdonald Had a Band". We handed out instruments to groups of kids to chime in when the song came to them. Phineas and I did some physical comedy stuff and our friends Moonlite and Sparky did a great cake gag ending with Sparky sitting on Moonlite's birthday cake. The room was filled with smiles and laughter....what better way to spend the day.
As a parent this weekend was very special for me on many levels. We have helped fund raise for this camp in the past and have known about it and the people involved in it for years but you can NEVER appreciate what other people and families go through unless you get there and get involved. Each one of my kids spoke to me after the camp and expressed to me the appreciation and respect they had realized for the campers and their parents and the entire project...it made my wife and I very proud.
After the show and one or two last group songs, (about 11pm) we said our goodbyes, packed up the car and headed for home. The campers were going out to play! And the night was still young.
This camp experience was very special and I look forward to working with this camp and these folks again in the future.
