The Summer of Campfires!

A story of the summer by Assistant Camp Director, Lydia Hoffman

This year at Pilgrim Lodge, many hands and hearts have been hard at work constructing the newest place at camp to gather, to sing, to worship, and of course roast s’mores. Our summer ‘26 curriculum, “It Only Takes A Spark” was named and written with the knowledge that campers would gather in the brand new Pilgrim Lodge campfire circle for years to come, beginning with this very first summer.

Watching this new area of camp come to life has been the highlight of my summer.

In the beginning, we searched for the perfect spot. Wanting campfires to be accessible to all, we began looking for a location that was easy to access and close to the heart of camp. We settled on a nook just off of the parking lot and across from the dining hall.

Volunteers at Jumpstart Work Days began clearing out the trees to make way for what was to come. The wood from these trees will one day fuel the fires that campers will gather around in this space. 

Next came the excavators and many, many, loads of dirt. Soon the land was flattened, the dirt was packed down, and we were ready to begin drawing out plans for the fire circle.

We began dreaming up concepts of what our new gathering place would look like. First a dirt spiral drawn into the ground, facilities team members John, Matt, and Gil began sketching out the shape of our fire circle into the dirt. It’s beginning to come together! Can you see it?

During week 1 of programming, the benches were born! Board by board, the circle began to form. With a goal to seat 130 people, we knew we wanted to have a place for everyone
by the fire.

Each session of camp this summer began with an Opening Campfire, a new tradition at Pilgrim Lodge. Every camper on the boardwalk was welcomed into this space all at once. Some saw the fire pit when it was only a few benches, and some saw it as a half complete semi-circle.
Our circle grew and grew as the summer progressed. 

After many hours of hard work, early mornings, late nights, and a little bit of camp magic, the circle was finished just in time for our Opening Campfire with Middler Spirit and Senior High.
We joyfully fit 120 bodies into our new gathering space, with room for more. Overlooking the dining hall and the Lodge with a view of the sunset over the water, the completed fire circle felt as though it had been there all along.

Each week, we gathered in this very special place and welcomed Pilgrim Lodge campers into a new week of camp. We sang songs like “Pass It On”, “Circle of Friends”, “Turning of the World”, and “Crowded Table”. We asked campers to think about the building of our community at camp like the building of a campfire. Each one of us brings something special to our time at camp and each one of us has a role in building our community. All summer we have been asking one another, what is your spark? What is the thing that makes you glow, light up, jump up and down, and shine? Like building a community, the best part of building a campfire is when the spark shines!

Here at Pilgrim Lodge, we believe that all who come in love have a seat at the campfire.
Join us this summer, fall, and for years to come and see camp magic come to life, in the shape of a campfire circle. We’ll save you a seat!

Many thanks to all of the hands and hearts who worked to make this campfire dream come true:

See you at camp!
Lydia

Register Today: www.pilgrimlodge.org/camps