The big top has come down. Kampout Goes to the Circus has come to an end. What a great weekend it was for the over 110 kampers who attended. The weather was absolutely beautiful, days in the low 80’s and comfortable nights.
We had a lot of kampers arrive early this year, and they were treated to some relaxation before the festivities began. Thursday evening, an unexpected early beer bust was held at the main kamp.
On Friday morning, kampers began to arrive. After setting up their kamps, they gathered at the main kamp to play Kampout Bingo, hosted by and prizes donated by Oscar and Steve. Thank you so much for this fun addition to Kampout.
The Progressive Koctail Party, our official “meet and greet” on Friday night made 4 stops, starting at the cabins and hosted by the Kampout Committee. Making the trek down, kampers stopped at Jeff Hough’s for an impromptu stop…thank you Jeff. On to the IDC and their fabulous Freak Show kamp, then back to the Fun House, sponsored by the Oscar and Steve (The Long Beach Boys) and Eli and Dennis. Thank you all for hosting these great stops. The Progressive ended at the main kamp, with a beer bust sponsored by the Red Lantern and Kampout Karaoke.
Saturday was, as always, a busy day. Starting out with a great breakfast by the Kampout Committee, kampers got ready to participate in the fun and games scheduled throughout the day. Kampers started building their boats to race in the Yacht Regatta. The Needle in the Haystack search continued and then it was time for Kamptown Races, which is always a lot of laughs.
Saturday night’s beer bust was sponsored by Alibi, and was followed by a great dinner provided by the Kampout Committee, consisting of pulled pork on a French roll and 4 salads.
Saturday’s festivities continued with the always fun Kampstravganza Show, which opened with a beautiful rendition of God Bless America, sung by Rick a.k.a Maxie Grant. Thank you so much to reigning Empress Victoria de Leon for a great job as M.C. Many performers graced the Coleman lantern footlights to entertain the crowd, and compete for the titles of Kampout King and Kampout Kween. What an incredible show they put on.
So, on to the winners of the weekend’s contests. In the Yacht Regatta, the best decorated boat went to Lynda. In the races, 1st place and the title of Kamp Komodore went to Kevin, 2nd Amanda, and 3rd Tena. The Needle in the Haystack winners were Karen, Danny and Chris. Kamptown Races winners were: for Drag Race, 1st Danny, 2nd Sunny, and 3rd Ray. Ring Toss was won by Joey. The Balloon Pop 1st place team was Danny, Keith, Ronny, Josh, and Travis. And for Musical Chairs, 1st Keith, 2nd Tena, and 3rd Doug. Best Kampsite Decorating went to the IDC for their Freak Show and to the Long Beach Boys for their Fun House. Kamp King was Frankie and Kamp Kween was Electra City. Congratulations to all our winners.
The Kampout Committee would like to thank our wonderful sponsors, without their help, we couldn’t do this. Thank you to Virgil Wigley and the Red Lantern and to Jeff Hough, Alibi and Club Legends, for donations of the kegs for Friday and Saturday’s beer busts. Thank you to Fresno Pride Lions for your donation. Thank you to Peeps and Shawnie of the HLK for donating prizes. We would also like to thank all of our volunteers who helped out before and during Kampout.
Kampout officially ended on Sunday with another wonderful breakfast provided by the Kampout Committee.
2020 marks the 40th anniversary of Kampout, and the theme for next year’s Kampout will be “A Hike Down Memory Trail”. This will be a celebration of the best of Kampout. Pick your favorite theme from the past and run with it. The Kampout Committee will be posting an updated list of prior themes on their webpage www.kampoutfresno.com. The dates for Kampout 2020 will be Friday, September 11 through Sunday September 13. Mark your calendars now and join us to celebrate 40 years of Kampout.
