2023 REGISTRATIONS OPEN ON JANUARY 20TH
42nd Annual Prairie Flower Encampment
WHAT: Outdoor Cooking and Camping, building or tenting weekend
DATES: May 19,20,21 2023
LOCATION: Camp Lakamaga
COST: $25 per person
Questions: prairieflowercamp@yahoo.com
Registration: Cost, Information, Deadlines
Please Note:
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Registrations are accepted on a first come, first served basis. Registration closes when filled or after the second leader meeting in March, whichever happens first. Prairie Flower may fill quickly: Space is limited. ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM
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A waiting list will be started if the camp fills up and you You should plan to come to one of the March leaders meetings even if you are still on the waiting list, we will be able to confirm your place by the second meeting and there is much bigger likelyhood you can get in.
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Cost is $25 per participant (one fee can be shared by adults if they are sharing a spot by splitting the weekend).
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Registration opens January 20th. Registration is done online and the online form will go live on January 20th.
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Payment is due at the mandatory leader meetings in March. You can pay at the in person leader meeting with Check, Cash, or Credit Card, or you can contact Liz Adams to arrange a credit card payment over the phone. Or you can mail a check to Liz. Or PAY ONLINE NOW
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Please register only those people you are sure will be attending. Space at Camp Lakamaga is limited. Refunds will not be given unless there is a waiting list.
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Two adults with three maximum. THIS IS A GIRL EVENT! Each extra adult takes away a girl's ability to participate.
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If a troop brings extra adult(s) who are not needed to meet Safety Wise supervision requirements, one adult attending with that troop needs to lead or help at three of the four Saturday program periods or their equivalent such as helping the kitchen. REMEMBER! Per Safety Wise, all adults attending with girls must be registered and have had a background check. If there are special needs girls in the troop and more adults are needed, please contact us via email to confirm this.
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Troops need to pay the entire fee By March 31st.
SERVICE PROJECT
LOOKING FOR A TROOP TO HOST A SERVICE PROJECT FOR 2023
Please contact Prairieflowercamp@yahoo.com if you are interested and have an idea.
Required Leader’s Meeting for all participating troops:
TROOPS WHO DO NOT ATTEND FORFEIT THEIR
PLACE AT PRAIRIE FLOWER. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Leader Meeting Replay
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO REPLAY
Passcode: ^Q9@h#p9
At least one adult from each registered troop must attend one of these meetings. This adult should be helping the troop prepare for the event and must be accompanying the troop on the trip to Prairie Flower. Information, necessary forms, maps, schedules, program choices, food, health and safety requirements, etc. will be covered at the meeting.
Whats New/Different for 2023?
Covid Adjustments: If there are needed adjustments due to covid we will update here, and via email about changes and expectations.
Program: Food Programming will be back!!! As will the Outdoor Cooking Competition. New program offerings this year include: Advanced Outdoor Cooking, Nature Photography, Balloon Fencing, Slackline, Food in a Jar, Ice Cream Making, Gourmet Smores, Candy Making, Cats Cradle, Face Painting, Progressive Dinner Party. Back after a break, Melted Crayon Art, Beaded Sun Catchers, Recycled Fairy Houses, Tree of Life Pendant, Chicken Fling, Escape Challenge.
Breakfast Program: We have decided to discontinue the option to purchase breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings due to lower numbers of volunteers available for helping. However, if your troop chooses to volunteer to run a program, we will be happy to provide Breakfast on Saturday as a thank you for your contribution to camp.
Progressive Dinner Party: This is your chance to mix and mingle with other troops and have a fun dinner party at camp. For Saturday dinner you can sign up to participate in a Progressive Dinner party. When doing this, we will partner up 3 troops and each troop will work together (before camp) to plan and prepare a dish for Saturday Dinner. Then all three troops will come together to share their dinner and get to know each other. You can sign up for this when you sign up for Programming.
Saturday Evening Wide games: This will also be discontinued for 2 reasons. One is lack of volunteers to support the games and activities, and two this allows us to offer a full 4 periods of programming during the day and troops can have the evening to relax, and spend time together - with a fire, or meeting new friends. We will also use this time for the Older Girl After Party, where Prairie Flower will provide dinner and games and activities for girls in 9th-12th grade from 5:30 - 8:30.
Medallion Hunt: Instead of a Medallion Hunt we will have a Hidden Gnome with a secret word at camp. If your troop finds the gnome and the word, you can come to the Dining hall to let one of the Prairie Flower Camp Staff know, and we will give your troop a prize for exploring camp. :)
Overnighting: We were SO EXCITED to see so many troops tenting last year, which brings Prairie Flower back to its origins when it was 100% tent camping, so we will be limiting access for cabins for overnights. We have 4 really good areas around camp for Tenting and are encouraging troops to use this option to expand your experience. The Yurts and Tamaray will still be an option for indoor overnighting. And other cabins will be reserved in the case of inclement weather and be left open for programming. If you need access to camping equipment and training, let Prairie Flower Camp staff know so we can help you. There is a Council planned Outdoor Training on May 6th (look for Undernight Training on the council website)
Biking: We have removed Biking from our program options at this time due to the bikes being in questionable condition that early in the year. However we will still have several options for Hiking Camp.
Participation Options: You will now have the option to spend Friday-Sunday, Friday-Saturday, Saturday-Sunday, or just come for the day on Saturday. We will not have any organized programming on Friday night or Sunday morning. This time will be for you as a troop to get setup and settle in and clean up and head for home. We are hoping to give you more Troop Time to bond and have fun. The cost will be the same no matter the option as all the programming will be taking place on Saturday.
Caddette/Senior/Ambassador Buddies: We will once again allow girls who are Caddette, Senior, and Ambassador level to sign up for program as buddies rather than requiring the troop to sign up for all program together. As a troop leader, it is up to you to determine if your troop/girls are ready for this responsibility, you are still welcome to sign up as a troop. Junior troops must sign up as a troop (if you have a very large troop, you may be able to sign up for 2 different sets of programming as long as you have adults to support that). It is expected that Junior Troops will have the required number of adults (at least 2) attending program with the girls. For the older troops - Adults can choose to sign up for programming on their own too. Or you can wander around and check in on your girls. Or sign up to help with something at camp and get to know our volunteers and staff more. :)
Other Important Information
Camping equipment: Each troop needs to bring its own equipment. Families, Service Units, and the Council are good sources for getting supplies you may not have. If you have a need - check with the Prairie Flower committee and we will help connect you with a source. There are also some companies locally that will rent equipment (University of MN and REI for example)
Site: Lakamaga is located on Big Marine Lake near Scandia, MN. See the River Valley's website for more information.
Attending troops need to be prepared to carry the troop and personal gear for up to a few blocks to their lodging site. NO VEHICLES WILL BE ALLOWED BEYOND THE PARKING LOTS. No Exceptions. Carts are available for troop use.
Yurts and cabins have predetermined capacities. Attending troops may be sharing facilities to maximize participation.
When registering, troops will be asked to pick between 2 lodging options:
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Yurts and/or Tamaray Cabins
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Individual troop tenting
When registration for an option has reached its capacity, additional troops requesting that option will be contacted regarding their choice of another option or to cancel their registration or added to a waitlist.
Food: Each troop is responsible for its own food. ALL COOKING MUST BE DONE OUTSIDE—No Exceptions. Kitchens in all buildings will be off limits to all troops (including refrigerators). Cooking can be done using camp stoves, charcoal, wood fires or non-heat methods.
REMEMBER! Per Safety Wise, any troop using a heat source to cook their meal must have a current First Aid/CPR trained adult present during cooking time.
Fire scars are limited so the first two options are recommended. Food cannot be stored in any building, cabin, or platform tent on this site.
Program: Program options may include: Archery, Art Projects, Sports, Games, Service Project, Campfires, Kayaking, Friend Making, Outdoor Cook Off, Hiking, Flag Ceremonies, Singing, All Camp Activities
The list of program choices are available on the website. We will go over the program selections and how to fill out the forms at the leader meeting and program selection will be due by April 1st. We expect that the girls in the troop will select their program options - not leaders.
New program ideas are always welcome. Let us know if there is something you would like to lead or do that is not on our list.
Leadership opportunities for Cadettes, Seniors, Ambassadors and adults are available. Those interested should email us about the various possibilities. or Fill out the Volunteer Form.
Prairie Flower Weekend Schedule
Friday
4:00–9:30 Arrival, set-up, dinner if needed, Troop Time
7:00-8:00 Yard by Dining Hall - SWAP time
9:30 Quiet time begins (troops at lodging sites)
Saturday
7:00 Quiet time ends
7:30–8:45 Breakfast at dining hall for volunteers (all others at your assigned location)
7:30–8:45 Arrive and Check in at Camp for troops arriving on Saturday
9:00–9:25 Flag Ceremony (attendance is required)
9:30–10:30 Program period 1
10:45–11:45 Program period 2
11:45–1:00 Lunch and troop time
1:00–2:00 Program period 3
2:15–3:15 Program period 4
3:15–3:45 Clean up/Transition Time
3:45–4:30 Closing Ceremonies, Awards, Flag Ceremony, Flag Retirement
4:30-6:00 Yard by Dining Hall - SWAP time
4:30-8:30 Check out time for Troops leaving on Saturday
4:30–9:30 Troop Time
5:30-8:30 Older Girl After Party for Seniors and Ambassadors
9:30 Quiet time begins (troops at lodging sites)
Sunday
7:00 Quiet time ends
7:00–11:00 Breakfast, Clean up, pack out and head home.
8:30-11:00 Check Out for Troops leaving on Sunday
11:00 All troops must be gone from the site