Camp Traditions: The Rituals That Make CBS, CBS Part 2

For about two thousand years, the global Church has followed the Liturgical Calendar, a structure for worship devised around the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. While technically rooted in specific church traditions, the word “liturgical” works well in a broader sense to mean a “sacred” or “ritualized” calendar that governs daily life and worship. In that spirit, Camp Balcones Springs is structured around its own liturgical calendar, framed around PHUN.

Campers anticipate camp traditions like Mission: Impossible and Rodeo Roundup, as if they were Easter or Christmas (and just like Easter, I am always surprised how Mission:Impossible floats around the calendar). While theme nights and compound activities change every summer, some camp events are so woven into the fabric of camp life that to withhold them would be unthinkable. To understand these activities is to have a window into your camper’s experience.

Movie night is one of the most beloved evening activities each term. You might think, “of course it is. These kids are starving for screen time.” That’s not why we love it. Try to imagine being 9 years old. You’ve been to the movies before, but always surrounded by strangers and never without a babysitter. Now you get to lounge under the Hill Country Sky with your best friends, no parents in sight. Adults aren’t hollering at you to sit down or be quiet, and the tent in the back has your favorite camp staff pumping out popcorn and movie snacks. You settle in on your blanket or camping chair, and watch some counselors (and maybe a few brave campers) perform some skits. You didn’t pick the movie, but it’s okay. The communal experience is what makes it special.

Full disclosure - one summer, when I was PHUN Department, this other staff member tried to pick some movie about a horse that nobody wanted. I have to come clean and admit that I hid the dvd and “saved the day” by magically having access to Home Alone. In my defense, the horse movie was terrible, and Home Alone was a massive success.

Ever present and ever-evolving, Men’s and Women’s dinners are summer highlights. For one night, the boys or girls will leave for a cookout, leaving the Rio Grande Dining Hall to the schemes and songs of the gender left behind. Women’s dinner is mysterious to me, as I have never been invited to attend. To the best of my knowledge, fancy clothes (maybe pyjamas?) adorn fancier ladies, the finest food is served on CBS’s finest flatware, and they blast pop songs at full volume while dancing around the room.

As for the boys, Men’s dinner has evolved from an outside bacchanal devoid of utensils and shirts to the modern equivalent of a feast befitting Valhalla. A variety of smoked meats are strewn upon tables, as men join arms as brothers, hailing each other as the strongest and best. Bonds are strengthened, honor bestowed, and laundry destroyed as boys celebrate what is best about being who they were made to be.

The moment campers exit their parents’ vehicles, the rumors begin. “I heard Mission:Impossible is going to be tonight!” Campers never know when it’s going to happen, it’s not on any schedule, even the counselors are left in the dark, but it’s inevitable. If you’re curious how it all comes together, what happens, and why campers love it, stay tuned for another post.

Rodeo Roundup is the crown jewel. It’s the final dance of each term and our largest theme night. The night begins with a barbecue dinner. Dressed in western-wear, campers pass plates of chicken, sausage, corn and beans before moseying down to the barn. Cast images of a metal shed and a horse ring from your mind, because the PHUN Department goes to work that day, transforming the space into a miniature western wonderland. Campers line dance, two-step, and sing to country music for hours. If your camper isn’t quite ready to boot scoot, the periphery of the dance floor is littered with cowboy-themed carnival games and state fair foods. Whether your camper is ready to finally ask that special someone to dance, or just wants to dye their mouth blue and pink from snowcones and cotton candy, Rodeo Roundup is the ultimate crowdpleaser.

Traditions evolve over time. I’m certain there’s more Kacey Musgraves than Garth Brooks played at Rodeo Roundup in 2026, but the magic of fulfilling anticipated expectations is something camp does better than almost anywhere else on earth. These traditions provide the comfort of the familiar in a place that grows and changes just like the campers who attend it.

By Jimmy Miller