Arena Show, Scheduling Flexibility, and Violent Storms – Day 6- July 20, 2013

The marquee event of the Jamboree is traditionally the Saturday evening arena show. The pre-show activities were scheduled to start at 6 pm and the Celebration of Scouting main event was scheduled to run from 8 to 10 pm.  What started as a relatively dry and dusty jamboree is now steadily becoming dampened by periodic pop-up showers triggered by the hot and humid atmosphere.  However, the National Weather Service was forecasting potentially severe weather event associated with a frontal passage to arrive during the scheduled evening festivities. Thus, Troop leaders were advised around midnight by Jamboree organizers that the schedule for Saturday would undergo revision. Simplistically, the program activities were slashed by four hours and the four-hour entertainment block was moved to run from 3 to 6 pm in the stadium arena. 

Scouts were gated from the camp site by 7:30 am and advised to take maximal advantage of the small program window to the greatest extent possible. The day started with a dragon boat excursion comprising most members of the Troop. The morning started out as a relatively balmy morning, but the pop-up showers re-appeared again around lunch time, putting questions into the minds of many as to whether the “correct decision” had been made regarding the arena show. The Troop B410 Scouts were excited about the announcement that “3 Doors Down” was going to be the main entertainment and thus they decided to adjust their departure time to the stadium to 1 pm to ensure prime seating.  This decision resulted in their securing seating only 30 rows from the right side center of the stage. Fortunately, the skies remained sunny and the Scouts were able to enjoy the speeches from dignitaries such as the King of Sweden (himself a Scouter) and a return special address from Mike Rowe prior to the entertainment block.  The five hours in the sunshine certainly had a toll on the Scouts, but by this point in the Jamboree they have been well-disciplined in the importance of proper hydration and sun screen protection.  After navigating the pedestrian gridlock back to camp, they enjoyed the turkey sandwiches that were originally intended to serve as “dinner to go”.

Shortly after dinner, the skies darkened-up and the forecasted severe weather was quickly approaching, thus removing all doubts about the wisdom of rescheduling the stadium show.  The skies were ablaze with lightning and the deafening roar of thunder as the storm line quickly bore down upon Base Camp Bravo. All B410 Scouts were remanded to their tents while the leaders were vigilantly on patrol in the aisle of the camp site ensuring the safety of the Scouts.  Our directly adjoining camp site suffered severe damage to their dining canopies, both of which were lifted by the wind and deposited squarely onto a leader tent. Troop B410 is very fortunate with having experienced Scouts and Scouters who ensured a very secure campsite that was able to withstand this severe weather event.