Red Bluff Elementary School hosted their students’ families for an outdoor spring concert and play called The Great Campfire on Friday, June 14.
The Great Campfire tells the story of a small group of irresponsible campers. The campers litter, and ultimately decide not to douse their fire before they leave camp. They add some logs to the fire and decide take a short nap before they go.
While the campers sleep, they’re visited by caterpillars and butterflies, bees, ravens and eagles, frogs, wolves, and a group of school children. Each group told the campers of the effect their negligence would have on their habitat or home, and each group rounded out the performance with a song and dance.
Corry Climenhage, the music teacher, and Teresa McCart, the librarian, came up with the idea for the outdoor show. The school’s outdoor classroom is a place where the students spend a lot of their time, and McCart thought it would make a good space for an outdoor spring concert.
Climenhage knew exactly the right story to use. “We’ve taken the story of the Great Kapot Tree … and localized it to make The Great Campfire. So it’s an environmental story about responsible camping and fire prevention.”
The entire school was involved in the show, from the kindergarteners to the seventh-graders.
While Climenhage taught the students the songs and dances, McCart worked with them to create the masks they wore in the show.
“It’s quite a big undertaking,” says McCart. “I think the kids are excited.”
Jordyn Farmer and Daneeta Aulakh are two students in the show.
Farmer and Aulakh are in Grades 6 and 7, respectively, and they say they’ve been working on the show for about two months.
They were amongst the children who visited the campers at the end of the show.
“We come out and we’re trying to [tell] these people to be good to the environment,” says Farmer.
Farmer says her favourite part of the show is watching the younger kids perform. Aulakh agrees, adding: “And [I like] the campers acting while the narrators are speaking.”
Both girls were excited to perform in the show.
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Heather Norman
Community Reporter
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