SR-8 Conclave
April 22-24, 2011
Feel the Wimachtendienk!
It's that special time of year again when hundreds of Arrowmen come together to experience the wonder of Conclave. If you've never been to a Conclave before, you are in for a real treat. And if you miss this treat, you'll regret it forever.
Conclave consists of everything that an Arrowman loves, except work. There are competitions between Lodges in both Ordeal and Brotherhood Ceremony performance, an event in which we always compete. Then there's the event that we have often won: the Lodge newsletter competition. If you aren't competing, you can go to the classes and workshops where you can learn everything from how to organize Lodge, better events in ceremonies, or make native American regalia (clothing). No matter what you do, the evening will lead into the Founder's Festival. This is where each Lodge in present sets up a booth with anything from manly games (football, 10-foot knot tying, etc.) to food (and there's ALWAYS good food). The Founder's Festival is the only real way to end a day.
Our Lodge is a part of Section 8, which comprises the entire states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. That's a lot of Lodges, each with a lot of Arrowmen. Therefore we had to find a lot of camp to put them. That camp is the Tom Hale Scout Reservation in Talihina, Oklahoma. From April 15 'til April 17, 2011, we and our brothers will be enjoying the fellowship that you can only experience in the Order of the Arrow. Our Lodge contingent will carpool from the Council office in El Dorado, Arkansas on April 15. More information will be available at Spring Ordeal.
"We who love the woods and camping" is our theme this year for Conclave. This is one of the key elements of our Order and is one of the sayings by which we identify ourselves in the Ordeal Ceremony. Every conclave is a truly amazing experience. I hope to see all of you there.
Still crying after deleting the original article I wrote,
The Nich Miller
