Troop 54 participated in MassJam at the Cape Cod Fairgrounds in East Falmouth, Massachusetts, having not missed it at least since 1999; MassJam takes place every five years. We arrived at about 8:30 AM, close to our plan, which turned out to be a great thing – troops that arrived later had to wait so long wait for the shuttle bus from the remote parking area that some of them missed the opening ceremony. On the plus side for them, that ceremony was a non-event. The theme was MassJam On TOAST: Tomorrow's Opportunities Always Start Today.
We had 9 youth and 2 adult participants on this trip.
We split a site (about 50 by 50 ft) with Troop 7054. Our cooking areas were on opposite ends of the front, with our gateway in the middle. The available camping space was less than in the past because some large areas in the fairground had been dedicated to solar farms that doubled as parking areas.
Temperatures were mostly in the 50s. It rained most of the first day, but the rain held off until after we had set up our campsite. It got pretty windy on Sunday with gusts around 30 MPH, and our gateway remained standing with the flags whipping loudly. The temperature profile as measured outside Mr. Froimson's tent:
As usual, the event was well-organized. At various times, speakers cited the assembly at “over 4000”, 4600 and “almost 6000” participants.
Our Scouts made it to all of the activity centers: Climbing, Archery, Tomahawks, Air Rifles, Water Rockets, Escape Rooms, Sports and Obstacle Course. They also visited the other exhibits/activities, such as Disability Awareness, US Coast Guard and the multimedia experience.
The Coast Guard came through with their interactive “plug the leak activity”, an attempted helicopter landing and an exercise challenge. The first time the giant helicopter tried to land, it destroyed the huge Camp Wanocksett tent and display set up at the edge of the field. By the end of the event, it seemed like all of our Scouts had plans to join the Coast Guard some day.
This was our 178th consecutive month with at least one overnight camping trip.
Page updated 11/2/23
J. Froimson
