Hey camp families and fans! Today we thought we’d tell you about an integral part of Color War and Modin history: the creativity night plaques. If you’ve ever been to our Rec Center (an indoor facility with a stage used for most full camp events such as the talent show or play), you’ve most likely seen all of the plaques hanging on the walls. The plaques date back to 1998 and are an important part of the second day of color war. They may even be the only real remnant of Mo and Din for future years. Each team is tasked with creating a big wooden plaque that follows the theme of their creativity night skit (a huge skit that includes everyone on the team and often runs for upwards of 35 minutes). Plaques can be put up either horizontally or vertically and are affixed by the maintenance team usually no later than the day after color war concludes. The backside of the plaque is used by the artists to leave messages to no one in particular, for no one knows when they might ever be taken down. Often, the plaques reflect aspects of the color war break for that year. For example, the Din team’s plaque from 2019 includes a drone because the Color War break for last year was a drone light show. The neutral team has also created their own plaque for the last few years. While these plaques are not displayed in the Rec Center, these plaques are often of equally high caliber and effort as the teams’ plaques.
The 44 plaques that adorn the Rec Center share many features in common. Most plaques portray the year of their creation, although the formatting of the year varies. Additionally, nearly all of the plaques include the names of the team’s six captains for that year. Many of the plaques also include the initials of the artists who contributed to the plaque’s creation. Occasionally, a team will include the initials or names of every member of the team (see Mo 2008 below). The designs often center around the mascot of the team: the Mo team mascot is Elmo and the Din team’s mascot is the Foofer. While every member of the team participates in the Creativity Night skit, only four campers and two counselors from each team are selected to design and create the plaque.
Here at camp, it’s a bit rainy today, however bunk activities are still continuing as are the smiles! Currently, there are also play tryouts going on for Legally Blonde!
We’ll be back soon!
Molly, Sarah, and Harrison
P.S. We also had guest writer Oliver Bass, a general counselor in the T-Birds and Mo and Din Plaque enthusiast, join us for this post!
