Things are winding down at the Club as we wrap up our final weeks of summer. Middle and high school youths picked up their schedules last week and open houses are happening for the elementary kids and our club next week.

We continue to squeeze in a little more fun before the holiday weekend and the Club’s closure. We will be closed Friday, Aug. 30, and re-open at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4, for the first day of school. Summer lunch concludes on Aug. 29 at all sites.

We look forward to spending a couple days getting the space reset for 300 kids — some of whom we haven’t seen all summer.

Garden Club

It is probably safe to assume that many haven’t had the opportunity to see our fantastic garden thriving with Fir Street being all torn up. We have managed to navigate the bumpy roads and have adjusted as the parking lot entrances have rotated being operable.

One thing is for sure our garden keeps growing and growing and we are reaping the bounty. Our Master Gardeners put in countless hours helping our kids maintain their garden and several hours in between prepping. The theme to planting last spring was “Big” — and that is very evident now with 6-foot tall stalks of corn, giant sunflowers and some extra-large pumpkins that are sure to be over 30 pounds.

The kids are anxiously waiting for tomatoes to turn red, the carrots to plump up, for the cabbage to be ready and to pick the corn. We will certainly have a robust feast.

Teen Club

Our Keystone youth worked for several months washing cars and hosting “Pay To Stays.” This after hours event offered extended hours for members for $10 and included dinner and a fun night hanging with the teens, often playing their favorite games together.

It paid off and the five Sequim kids and our Youth of the Year member from Port Angeles flew to Washington, D.C., for the ultimate field trip. The kids planned an action-packed week with two days on the mall exploring the monuments, Capitol Building and Smithsonian. They made a stop it Six Flags and are enjoying the vacation rental they are calling home this week despite 96-degree temperatures.

Morning Camp

It was a multimedia theme to our morning camp this week and we really should have let the kids write this week’s article.

They kicked off the week learning about marketing, and each member designed their own flyer to promote the Boys & Girls Club. Stop in the lobby and see these creative pieces, they will be hanging during the Back to School Fair.

The campers also drew from a jar of listed items to give a 30-second sales pitch/commercial. These were quite comical as they sold TVs, markers, alarm clocks, and a speaker. Emma imagined her speaker to be waterproof, change colors and have a bottle opener. The price was a little high at $2,000.

As the week moved on they wrote their own headlines and drew the cover art for a newspaper before writing the corresponding article. We may have some journalists in the future.

Matt Sagen from Cascadia Films brought in his passion and equipment for cinematography and gave our members a lesson in film making and took their questions before leaving.

It’s hard to believe camp and summer is almost over. We are pretty sure the kids had a fantastic time and we have some new ideas and activities to share when all our members return after school.

Selene Dorkin shows off her newspaper article during Morning Camp activities at the Sequim Boys & Girls Club last week. Submitted photo

Lily Clark works in the garden along Fir Street at the Sequim Boys & Girls Club last week.

Cheyanne Stuenkel works in the garden along Fir Street at the Sequim Boys & Girls Club last week. Submitted photo

Kalea Keate works in the garden along Fir Street at the Sequim Boys & Girls Club last week. Submitted photo

Lillian Sutherland shows off some artwork at the Sequim Boys & Girls Club last week.