Our camp theme for 2024 was AASC Lunar New Year - the start of the new year based on the lunar calendar that many Asian countries observe and celebrate with different customs, activities, and foods!  We decided to focus on the different ways in which China, South Korea, and Vietnam in particular celebrate Lunar New Year through our classes, family challenges, and special activities!

The campers got to make colorful dragons out of cut-outs of their hands in art class to celebrate the Year of the Dragon!

In pop culture class, the campers got to learn about the history of Chinese New Year - including the 12 Zodiac signs, how to say 'happy Lunar New Year' in Mandarin, and the folktale that explains the origins of many Chinese New Year traditions, such as why they wear red and set off fireworks.

During cooking class, the campers got to prep a variety of ingredients used in Chinese hotpot - including bok choy, napa cabbage, mushrooms, dumplings, rice noodles, and thinly sliced meat.  After prepping everything, they got to see the ingredients cooked in a flavorful broth right at their tables during lunch!

The campers got to spend some time outside during day games, playing fun activities - including a series of relay races, tug-of-war, and a big game of capture the flag!

Working with their small family groups, the campers used a variety of art supplies to create their own lions and put together a short lion dance performance. Lion dance is commonly performed during Vietnamese New Year with two people operating the costume and doing a series of jumps and lifts.

AASC had the wonderful opportunity to try a diverse spread of traditional dishes eaten during Chinese New Year cooked by a talented chef and his amazing team.  Each dish had a special meaning connected to their shape or name - long noodles symbolize longevity, circular rice cakes and dumplings resemble circular coins or wealth, and chicken brings good luck as the Chinese word for chicken also sounds like the Chinese word for luck!

While learning about an old Korean New Year tradition, the campers got to make their own kites with different designs and drawings on them.  Kite-flying (연날리기 - yeonnalligi) is a celebratory and meaningful tradition, symbolizing the release of past troubles and the sending of hope and wishes for the upcoming year into the sky.  

When hearing about Korean New Year, the campers learned about the special foods eaten, the fun gsmes played, and the importance of honoring their ancestors. They had the chance to try sebae (새배) - the tradition during Korean New Year when the younger members of a family express gratitude to their elders by performing a deep bow, usually followed with their elders handing out envelopes with New Year's money.

In cooking class, the campers helped prepare marinades for the meat and seafood used in Korean BBQ and put together delicious side dishes - including seasoned cucumbers and potato salad.  Similar to the hot pot lunch, the counselors cooked the different proteins at the table, giving the campers a fun and interactive experience!

The campers got to enjoy the warm weather while staying cooled down at the same time during water games. They played horseshoe with pool tubes, did a water bucket relay race, and got to throw around water balloons! 

Many Asian countries put together beautiful lantern festivals to celebrate Lunar New Year, consisting of basic round lanterns to elaborate animals and dragons. With these festivals in mind, we had our family groups create their own special lanterns made out of construction and tissue paper, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, and more!

The campers got dressed up for the delicious Korean dinner put on by a group of wonderful Korean Church members.  They served many staple Korean dishes - including bulgogi (marinated beef), japchae (sweet potato noodles with vegetables), ddukbokki (spicy rice cakes), and mandu (Korean dumplings)!

The campers painted their own trees and used their thumb prints to create the flowers on the branches during art class.  These trees are reminiscent of the different plants that play an important role in Vietnamese New Year - including the peach blossom, yellow blossom, and kumquat tree - symbolizing good fortune, longevity, peace, luck, and health.

In pop culture class, the campers learned about Vietnamese New Year - also known as Tet.  Similar to China and Korea, they also follow a Zodiac system with slightly different animals and emphasize honoring their ancestors.  Tet is commonly celebrated with special sticky rice dishes and many families sweep before the Lunar New Year in order to sweep away bad luck!

During cooking class, the campers made their own seaweed and rice rolls - known as kimbap in Korea - filled with a variety of veggies and proteins depending on what they like to eat.  Traditionally, however, kimbap usually has seaweed, carrots, egg, pickled radish, and spam or imitation crabstick.

Food games tested the campers' architecture skills as they attempted to build the tallest structures made out of only spaghetti and marshmallows.  They also tried their luck at egg roulette, either cracking a hardboiled egg or a messy, raw egg on their forehead!

In the spirit of celebrating the Lunar New Year, we put on a dance party for the campers, filled with bright light sticks, a polaroid and photobooth-esque station, and lively music that had everyone dancing their heart out!

Our youngest campers on the final day of camp!

One of the campers' favorite events, Night Market, had no shortage of fun carnival games like putt-putt and ring toss, a snow cone truck, face painting, and a prize table full of snacks, stickers, and much more!

Our middle campers on the final day of camp!

Our oldest campers on the final day of camp!