Monday, September 5, 2016

Moments and Memories: Summer Camp at Highlights Part V

It's been over a month since I've returned from summer camp at Highlights. In this last post I leave you some of my lasting impressions from the week.

When you attend a workshop at Highlights Foundation, this Welcome sign on the Barn will greet you,



as well as a sign on the screen window of your temporary home.


You may stay in one of these cabins


Photo courtesy Judie Anderson Offerdahl 

and will definitely eat wonderful food like this.



What, whip cream again??


You'll probably have a drink or two when schmoozing with your fellow writers before dinner.




Of course, you'll go to classes,

Jillian Sullivan's students appreciating her
presentation of The Hero's Journey.


And yes, there is time to write too.
Photo courtesy Gayle Krause
Pictured: Theresa Milstein and faculty member, Mitali Perkins

There will be time to play,
Photo courtesy Jilanne Hoffman


So many words to choose from!
The Word Garden

It was fun rearranging stones, adding and subtracting.
and creating new sentences and phrases.
Great classroom activity!
time to meet favorite authors,


Clark Gillow Clark and I are Twitter
friends. It was great meeting her in person!
and time to collect autographs.
Enjoyed talking to Lamar Giles who
shared personal stories of colorism after he
heard about Half-Truths

In your cabin you'll find a stuffed bookcase, lovely prints, and NO TV!




Do you see that little black book under the Native American picture? That's a journal where past residents leave their thoughts for future workshop participants. This will be fun to read and if you're fortunate, there will even be an encouraging entry from someone special. 

You will leave with a pile of books like this.




And when you return home, you'll receive a wonderful memento of your time at Highlights.



If you write or illustrate for children or aspire to do that one day, do whatever it takes to attend a Highlights workshop. You will be glad you did. 

And when you go, make sure you tell them that THE Carol Baldwin sent you.

28 comments:

Clara Gillow Clark said...

FABULOUS, SIMPLY FABULOUS, CAROL! YOU CAPTURED THE HIGHLIGHTS FOUNDATION SUMMER CAMP EXPERIENCE PERFECTLY! It was great to meet you finally!

Carol Baldwin said...

Thanks, Clara. It was fun to meet you too. I enjoyed putting this post together!

Theresa Milstein said...

What a wonderful summary of the Highlights Camp experience. And there's so much more! I can't wait to return.

Carol Baldwin said...

Thanks, Theresa. Me too!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey! You forgot the ICE CREAM BAR!!! :D Great synopsis of one fabulous week!

Carol Baldwin said...

Oops. I'm sure there were a few things so forgot! Gotta go back, I guess !

Rosemary Basham said...

So glad to have met THE Carol Baldwin and so many others. Wonderful post!

Carol Baldwin said...

Thanks, Rosemary! Appreciate you stopping by.

Linda Phillips said...

Thanks, Carol. Something to put on my wish list going forward!

Carol Baldwin said...

Definitely!

Lois said...

Thanks Carol. Your post brought back great memories of the two Highlights workshops I attended. They are worth every penny.

Rosi said...

My workshop was great too. It's always a magical time at Boyds Mills.

Linda A. said...

So glad you got to experience Highlights again, Carol.

I am very blessed to have attended Highlights once and loved every moment of it. Thanks for sharing about your recent stay through photos, memories,and tips in earlier posts.

sheri levy said...

So much fun to read . You brought back my memories of the same experiences and of the friends I made. It was a magical week!

Carol Baldwin said...

Thanks, Sheri!

Carol Baldwin said...

Glad it brought back good memories, Linda.

Carol Baldwin said...

Thanks, Rosi and Lois. I think this post rang lots of bells for former Hughlights attendees.

Anonymous said...

Carol, I have truly enjoyed and am grateful for all you have shared from your Highlights retreat. Until I can go to one on my own(and of course tell them THE Carol Baldwin sent me) :), I've learned so much from your posts! p.s. I love the picture of you on the swing!

Carol Baldwin said...

Thanks, Kathleen. I really hope you get to go one day! And I like that picture too. :)

Anonymous said...

Great photos, Carol. Maybe 2017 will be my year to go. Sarah

Carol Baldwin said...

I hope so, Sarah!

Bonnie J. Doerr said...

So many changes since I was there. But the food! Oh my gosh, the food. That sounds the same. We were all so spoiled. Of course, the major thing is the inspiration. Worth every penny of what it takes to get there. Thanks for the memories, Carol.

Carol Baldwin said...

You are welcome, Bonnie. Didn't know you had gone!

Vijaya said...

Aw, Carol, your post is beautiful and brought back wonderful memories for me as well. I took a picture of artwork from Don Tate that I never shared as a personal gift for myself. Thank you for this!

miriam said...

Thanks so much for sharing about your experience! It all sounds so wonderful and inspiring, with the chance to connect with so many other writers. (It's on my Wish List too, Linda!) I especially love the photo of you on the swing as it seems to capture the spirit of writing children's lit!

Carol Baldwin said...

Glad it brought back memories for you, Vijaya, and spurring you on to go, Miriam! And thanks for the note about the swing photo. My contribution to the spirit of writing children's lit!

Unknown said...

Hi Carol, looks like you had an amazing and inspiring experience, as did other attendees based on the comments. I need a retreat :)

Carol Baldwin said...

Thanks, Tony. If you can think of a way to take your environmental justice issues and turn them into a kid's book ---Highlights might be just the right place for you to work on that idea! They do have nonfiction workshops, but it would also be a great premise for a contemporary kid's novel!

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