Gaga Pit. Game Room. Gimp at Every Picnic Table.
Gaga, Games & Gimp Galore is exactly what it sounds like. A week where the gaga pit is open from morning devotions straight through special night play. A week where every classic camp game gets played with intention. And a week where gimp (that colorful plastic lace that weaves into bracelets, lanyards, and keychains) is everywhere. In the dining hall at breakfast. Under the pavilion at lunch. Around the campfire at night.
Underneath the play, the program is built on something bigger. Campers learn what it looks like to win with grace and lose with dignity, and those lessons land naturally when they are playing gaga for the fifth time today and the score keeps swinging. No prior gaga experience required. No gimp skills needed. Both are learned by doing.
A Week Dialed in on the Three G's
Gaga ball, classic camp games, gimp crafting, and the full Gretna Glen community around it.
Gaga Ball, All Week
The pit is open at morning devotions and for special night play. Beginners learn the rules. Returning players work on timing, deflection, and the kind of moves that make the pit cheer. No experience needed.
Classic Games with Intention
Capture the flag, kickball, wiffle ball, tag, and the full roster of camp games. Staff use each one to build character skills, from sportsmanship to cheering on the opposing team.
Gimp Galore
Every picnic table has a gimp kit. Basic weaves for beginners and advanced patterns for campers who already know their box stitch from a cobra. By the end of the week, every wrist has a bracelet on it.
Winning Well, Losing Well
The character theme of the week. Campers learn what it looks like to win with grace and lose with dignity. It is a lesson that lands when you are actually in the game, not in a lecture about it.
A Week Built on Play
Gaga, Games & Gimp Galore works because play is the teacher. Campers learn to share, to wait their turn, to root for their cabin, and to cheer for the other team when they pull off a great play. The gimp bracelets that fill up wrists by Friday are not just souvenirs. They are a record of who campers sat next to at the picnic table on a Tuesday afternoon.
For returning Gretna Glen campers, this is a quieter, more community-focused week than the variety programs. The pace is steady. The activities are familiar. And the friendships that form around a gaga pit or a gimp kit tend to stick.
WHERE YOU'LL STAY
Campers stay in cabins on Gretna Glen's main campus. Cabins feature bunk beds, a changing area, and a modern shower house built in 2018. A counselor is assigned to every cabin. Gaga, Games & Gimp Galore is a mainsite program, so campers eat meals in the Dining Hall and have full access to all of Gretna Glen's main campus facilities.
WHAT PARENTS SHOULD KNOW
Gimp supplies are provided. Campers can bring their own supplies if they prefer specific colors. Gaga instruction is given for first-time players, and staff referee every game in the pit.
Gretna Glen is ACA-accredited, meeting over 300 health, safety, and quality standards. Staff are trained specifically for this age group. Ministry Safe and UMC Risk Management certified.
WHO THIS PROGRAM IS FOR
- Kids 9 to 12 who love gaga, games, or crafts (or all three)
- Campers looking for a steadier, more community-focused week
- First-time overnight campers who want a fun-first, skill-friendly introduction
- Returning campers who want dedicated time in the gaga pit