Registration!

September 25 - 27, 2020. Registration will open in spring!

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

We're Almost There!

Racing towards the finish!

I'm frantically working on my workshop crafts and auction items today, but I just want to take a moment to reflect on how lucky we are - it appears that the weather is going to be wonderful this weekend!  All our outdoor activities will take place in not too hot not too cold fall weather!



Layers, ladies, and sun hats!  Yeah!  And perfect for photography and our new selfie scavenger hunt!


Take a selfie:


o   Eating dessert
o   Inside a tent or a cabin
o   With the Great Escape banner at the Dining Hall
o   Behind a tree
o   With a new friend
o   Holding a pine cone
o   Pointing to something orange
o   Helping someone
o   With the auction baskets
o   With a committee member
o   Of You Wearing a Great Escape shirt/vest/jacket
o   With someone wearing a GE patch
o   With water in the background
o   Using something from nature as a moustache
o   On a hike
o   With a flashlight shining under your face
o   With your reflection
o   Doing your kaper
o   Singing or playing an instrument
o   In a canoe
o   Outside Christa’s House
o   At the swimming beach
o   At the turkey cook site
o   With the sign for your tent/lodge site
o   Drinking from your Great Escape cup
o   In your cosy cot
o   With an archery bow or target  or with a hatchet

Upload/ post your selfies to Instagram or Facebook with #gsgreatescape



Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Venmo Now Available For the Auction!

The Great Escape Auction can now accept VENMO payments for your auction purchases, in addition to cash or checks.  We hope that this will make the process of paying for auction winnings quicker for all, so you can get to your after dinner activities on Saturday night more quickly.


If you are not a VENMO user, here's a quick explanation.   Venmo is an app(lication) for both Apple and Android phones which allows people to transfer money directly to other people's bank accounts.  So you can now transfer money from your bank to ours directly from your phone.  Note that it is similar to SQUARE, which many of you may have used for cookie sales.
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For a more detailed explanation, here's what NerdWallet has to say about VENMO.

What is Venmo? Venmo is a peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfer mobile app, similar to Square Cash, that has a social media twist: You can send or request money via emoji-studded text messages, which show up in a Facebook-style feed. Don’t worry, though — dollar amounts always remain private.

How Venmo works

Transfers and purchases. Venmo lets you send and request money to and from anyone who has a Venmo account. The app can help with the awkward chore of reimbursing family or friends for dinner or other outings, but it’s not made for buying or selling goods with strangers. Venmo can also be used for web purchases with certain merchants, usually on websites with a payment button similar to PayPal’s.
Mobile only. Venmo payments are made on its highly rated Android and iOS smartphone apps as well as via iMessage or with Siri voice command. You can sign in at Venmo’s website on a desktop or mobile device to view transactions, but not to pay or request money.
U.S. customers only. Venmo, which is operated by PayPal, requires both sender and recipient to be in the United States.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Thnking about the Auction.


As we look forward to Great Escape, I’m sure some of you are remembering the excitement and glee of last year’s live auction.  For those who are new to the Great Escape community, each year we hold a live auction to benefit Camp Wabasso and our other camps.  Our phenomenal auctioneer Kaye/Cookie auctions baskets of goodies donated by G.E. participants. 

We hope you will consider bringing a basket. To help kickstart your creative process, we’ve come up with a few general themes for you to make your own.

When we say basket… we don’t literally mean basket.  Useful tote bags, bowls, a laundry basket, or other clever containers can help make your basket one to bid on.  Recently I saw a fire pit filled with ‘smores ingredients win the ‘most desired’ auction item at a convention I attended.

When in doubt… wine and chocolate.  The Great Escape is home to many enthusiastic “winers,” so these items are always in demand.

Make a mother’s or grandmother’s fun day kit… we have moms and grandmas who are always looking for gifts and activities for kids.

Crafts are a big part of Great Escape, and hand crafted treasures are wildly popular.  Baskets with crafting goodies are also highly appreciated.  How about a ‘starter kit’ for a craft or art you are whiz at?  Get started knitting, crocheting, wood burning, painting in oils, acrylics, watercolors, who knows what will appeal?  You do!

Pick something you would want to bid on.  Your favorite books, (Harry Potter - just be sure not to read the spells out loud!)  hobbies, colors, movies, animals, and music are all great starting places.  Odds are your fellow Great Escapers will like them too!

Good luck!