Tidewater 2019 was Terrific

From the record-setting crowd to the warm, windy fun, this year’s Tidewater Family Weekend was memorable in every way. We stayed at the Southeast 4-H Conference Center in Wakefield, VA, with beautiful lakeside views as far as the eye could see.

Families checked in on Friday night and soon enjoyed get-acquainted activities courtesy of State 4-H Director Jeremy Johnson, who led introductory games using webbing from the challenge course. Soon afterward, our weary travelers nodded off to the sound of the spring peepers surrounding Airfield Pond.

Saturday morning started bright and early with a breakfast buffet and morning classes. Families had plenty of time to enjoy craft-making, canoeing, bottle rockets, cooking, and fishing courtesy of Hooked on Hope VB. Although it was still a little early in the season for the fish to be biting, the kids enjoyed fishing with everything from canned corn to gummy worms.

After a delicious lunch of Virginia Diner fried chicken, sponsored and served by our friends at Damuth Trane, the Southeast 4-H Center staff led a challenge course class in the afternoon and there were sports aplenty as the weather continued to warm up all day. Paint the Town, a Virginia Beach-based group painting company, hosted a camp paint-a-thon in the late afternoon with more than 40 budding artists creating their own masterpieces (see photos).

Saturday night meant Family Game Night with “minute-to-win-it” style activities for the entire family. We closed the evening with movies for the kids and music and socializing for the parents. (Some of the parents also opted for the movie.) And Sunday left just enough time for breakfast and goodbyes.

Our thanks to our volunteers and sponsors for another wonderful weekend that served not only families local to the Tidewater Region, but also some well-traveled souls from Northern Virginia and North Carolina. Watch Special Love’s website and Facebook Page for more upcoming family fun or call us at 888-930-2707 with questions.