Staff photo / Bob Coupland Talon Rider, 11 of North Jackson, works on a theater mask at one of the stations at the recent Camporee for Girl Scouts at Camp Sugarbush in Vernon. The theme this year was Broadway with singing, line dancing, stage makeup and mask making among the activities.

VERNON — Each fall, area Girl Scouts with Service Unit 807 have the opportunity to attend a camporee at Camp Sugarbush with events all related to a particular theme.

This year’s event was “Broadway: Camporee the Musical.”

Carol Williams, one of the three-day event coordinators, said the event has taken place for more than 25 years each September.

She said there were eight stations the Scouts could take part in, with one line dancing to famous Broadway shows such as “Annie” and “Footloose.”

“Each station is based on a Broadway play,” Williams said.

Jan Sala of Grateful Hearts Line Dancing and Val McCourt, who both lead line dancing programs at area senior centers, are the ones who led the scouts in the different line dancing moves to the Broadway songs.

“They do country western line dancing and organized special dances for the scouts. They created line dances to four Broadway plays,” Wiliams said.

At another station called “Mama Mia!” the Scouts sang different Broadway songs using karaoke.

Williams said the Scouts are from kindergarten to high school and are from Howland, Fowler and Vienna.

“The Scouts who attend learn about Camp Sugarbush. For some, it is their first time camping and working as a group. They also learn about Scout fellowship. It is fun watching them learning and seeing them able to do new things,” Williams said.

In addition to a day filled with events, the evening included a campfire honoring the Scouts who are leaving the program because they will graduate in the spring.

“We recognized the seven graduating Ambassador Girl Scouts. They will receive a special commemorative patch and a green graduation cord,” Williams said.

A graduation ceremony is held for the scouts who are high school seniors and a special commemorative patch was presented to them.

Williams said the committee comes up with each camp’s theme, which have included pirates, movies, games, medieval times and ancient Rome.

“We come up with a new theme each year and the scouts vote on them. We also have a contest for the camp’s T-shirt and patch design,” she said.

Another station had Scouts making masks based on “Phantom of the Opera.” They also did green face painting for “Wicked.” There was an obstacle course with activities related to “Chicago.”

Williams said the Knights of Columbus in Vienna helped in the kitchen.

Annalise Lloyd, 9, of Champion, said she liked being at the event because of the many different things to do such as face painting, making smoothies and making theater masks.

Natalie Kryzenowski, 10, of Howland, said she likes making new things, such as the theater masks.

“The Scouts don’t realize the talent they have until they try something,” Sala said.

Sala said she was honored to be selected by the event planning council to teach the line dancing.

“My granddaughter is on the committee,” Sala said.

McCourt said she was surprised how quickly the Scouts learned the dance moves.

Kathleen Wallace led activities based on “Wicked” including drinking a healthy green elixir, which was how the character in the movie turned green. The elixir included spinach, honey, and water.

“It is a healthy green smoothie. It helps your immune system and digestion. We also turn the Scouts green with painting on their hands or faces,” she said.