by Chuck Seaver, South Lake Tablet
The City of Clermont hosted the 9th annual “Great Clermont Campout” on Saturday, February 1st at Waterfront Park on 3rd Street with a sold-out attendance of 60 families, which included 280 attendees in total.
This yearly event is one with lots of anticipation from both the city staff and the attendees. Many of the adventurists are repeat visitors to the outdoors-style event that is complete with tents of all shapes and sizes, along with campfire rings that are the perfect size for making s’mores and telling fireside stories for fun.
This year’s campout, with a movie theme of “Little Giants” in recognition of next weekend’s Superbowl football game, was complete with football touchdown contests and field-goal competitions. Paddleboarding and kayaking brought fun ripples and laughter to the usually calm and quiet Sparkling Water Lake as families of all ages tried out their water sports skills in friendly races and agility contests.
The campout, organized, coordinated, and staffed by the City of Clermont’s Park and Recreation Department, also offered archery, relay races, rock climbing, family trivia, and DJ activities as part of the family bonding time.
City of Clermont Events and Recreation Manager Cory Cody applauded the event “as a time that families get to come out here and have a great bonding experience while having a good time.” Events Coordinator Heather New admires the joy that the children have at the Great Campout and proclaims the event as one of her favorite projects of the year as she serves dinner to the guests and prepares the traditional s’mores snacks for an evening of yummy treats.
The Great Clermont Campout was presented by the City of Clermont and sponsored by Tetra Tech, Orlando Health-South Lake Hospital, Insight Credit Union, McDonald’s of Clermont, Workman Injury Law, and Advent Health-Clermont. Dinner and breakfast were provided, along with a commemorative T-shirt and a care bag for each family.
The City of Clermont’s Parks and Recreation team works hard to coordinate events for all ages to enjoy throughout the year.
The next big event on the calendar is the annual Pups in the Park, a celebration for dogs of all sorts. Bring your pup to the free event starting at 8:30 am, Saturday, March 18th at Lake Hiawatha Preserve, 450 12th Street, Clermont. This “PAW”Sitively event will feature a dog lure course, a costume contest, Puppuccino with a Cop, and lots of other fun dog activities.
