Our Favorite Theme Nights

Theme nights are a Pine Cove staple. Just like you can’t go a week at the Towers without a good corn dog plus mac ‘n’ cheese, can you even have a week at the Towers without Pitch Black Attack? Or better yet, can you actually have a youth camp experience without at least one theme night dressed up in camouflage?

Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous!

We love a good theme night, and we always have! True, the theme night names have evolved over the years. For example, what once might have been simply named Western Night, was referred to as The Great Timbystery of the Wild Wild West at the Timbers in 2017. Although we did find a picture from the Ranch in 2000, for a theme night called Moolenium Olympics, so maybe we really haven’t changed too much!

Here are a few other recent favorite theme nights: the Outback held a theme night in 2012 called Deep Blue Sea You on the Dance Floor, this summer the Towers has one called TSPN (Towers Sports Programming Network), the Ranch had one called Geriatric Pajama Jam in 2010, and in 2006 the Bluffs had a Switch-a-Roo… I’ll Be You! night where the kids dressed like parents and vice versa. We loved that one so much the Woods had a Family Camp Switcheroo in 2016 too!

Everyone loves the creativity of a new theme night, but we could never get rid of the classics! We love the family camp talent shows, Espionage at the Shores, Buffalo Hunt at the Towers, Operation Infiltration at the Outback, and so many more standard favorites. These classic theme nights come to define the culture of the camp!

Of course, most campers and staffers can attest to at least one memory of wearing an outfit that just wasn’t quite made for Texas summers. (Chimney Point, we want your mild non-humid evenings!) Like the time you wore the head-to-toe lion costume for Mascot Mania. Or the time you wore the 55-layered-petticoat princess dress for Medieval Mates and Maidens. But please, never stop wearing the ghillie suits for Stealth Patrol at Silverado! (Is there anything cuter than a third grader decked out in one of those?)

Just like everything we do at camp, theme nights are intentional. Sure, the costumes and names are silly and fun, but campers and staff having fun together helps break down walls and gets everyone outside of their comfort zones. Counselors find it a lot easier to have a Christ-centered conversation after he or she spent hours laughing dressed in crazy alien outfits with the whole cabin.

Whether you were a camper or a staffer, we’d love to hear some of your favorite theme nights you’ve experienced at camp too!

Looking for this summer’s theme nights? They’re posted online! (We even link there to our Pinterest boards with ideas to inspire you for those costumes!)