Girl Scouts Throw Centennial Party at Annual Camp

What do the Girl Scouts have in common with Woody Guthrie, the Titanic, and the San Francisco Symphony? They all turned 100 this year.

To honor the event the Novato Girl Scouts Day Camp hosted a 100th birthday celebration for the Girl Scouts on July 27 at in Novato.

In addition to the 313 campers and 75 adult volunteers, over 40 guests attended camp on Friday afternoon for the anniversary celebration, where everyone enjoyed pizza and birthday cake and then circulated among the booths that were run by each day camp unit. The booths included face painting, three-legged races, a cakewalk, improvisational theater and heritage uniform displays.

The Novato Girl Scout Day Camp has been in existence for more than 50 years, with multiple generations attending camp each summer. The camp is held daily during the last week of July and is staffed entirely by volunteers. Girls typically join in first grade as campers and eventually are trained and become aides to the leaders as they progress in school years. Most girls attend camp for about 10 years as they grow up in Marin County, and many come back to be leaders as adults.

The theme for the camp in 2012 was Girl Scouts 100 Years and Beyond, where in addition to archery, cooking, making ice-creaming, arts and crafts, the girls learned time tested scout skills like learning a new knot, making baskets, making and tying a bedroll, using a compass, folding a flag, being in a color guard, and creating a heritage display.

Interested in the local Girl Scouts? call 877-475-8744 or e-mail jane@innovationsthatwork.com.