The first Wenas campout was held Memorial Day weekend in 1963. It has continued without interruption except for May 1980 with the eruption of Mount St. Helens. That is until now.
We are sad to say that the annual Wenas Memorial Day Campout has been cancelled for this year. The Wenas organizing committee has determined that in light of Covid-19 and looking at the health and safety of everyone attending, that it would not be responsible to hold this popular event as usual. We just aren’t able to guarantee the safety of attendees and are not willing to take that risk.
While we have all age levels attending, ours is generally an older crowd and therefore our risk profile is greater than average. Since we have people coming from all over the state, if just one contagious person were there, not only might attendees get sick, but they might bring COVID-19 to areas that have been somewhat unaffected so far.
Yes, we would be outside and there is ample camping space to maintain social distancing. However, there would be no way to sanitize the porta-potties after every use or maintain social distancing on field trips or at the campfires.
As a result, we have made the not-so-easy decision to cancel for this year. We hope all of you continue to get out for walks in your neighborhoods to watch birds and enjoy nature.
Two of the organizing committee members have shared they are planning their own campout over Memorial Day weekend so that they may continue the tradition, though with a somewhat modified version. They are planning to set up tents in each of their own yards and then they are going to get on their phones and share stories of other Wenas campouts they have attended. What a great idea!
Please keep checking the Wenas website and Facebook page as we get closer to Memorial Day weekend. There is a possibility that we might be able to put together a virtual campfire program with a guest speaker.
In the meantime, Stay Home, Stay Healthy and we will see you Memorial Day weekend 2021.
Your Wenas Organizing Committee
Wenas Audubon Campout 