Adventure Guides

Enroll for Adventure Guides 2011-2012

The YMCA Guides and Princesses programs have been providing opportunities for fathers and their children to develop strong relationships through positive experiences since 1925.

The Y Adventure Guides and Adventure Princesses are father/child pairs who are grouped into Expeditions of six to ten dads and their kids from the surrounding community. Expeditions meet monthly for a 90-minute meeting. Expeditions take part in monthly Federation Events. Events include two campouts at YMCA Camp Greenville, family cookouts, a father/child cake bake/chili cook-off, and our newest hit, the father-daughter semi-formal Valentine's dance. The commitment is small: one 90-minute Expedition meeting and one event a month. The payoff is huge!

Upcoming events:

Hearts for Hope card party
Saturday, January 29, 9:00 am-noon, Adams Mill Program Center

 

The premise is simple: Get folks to make Valentines for children who would not be receiving Valentine greetings, such as children who spend Valentine's Day at a hospital or children who are homebound because of a medical condition. The YMCA Adventure Guides are hosting a Hearts for Hope card party to help fill this need. Last year, Adventure Guides made more than 200 Valentines for local kids who otherwise wouldn't have gotten any. We'll have all the resources for card making and the snacks. All you need to bring is your creativity and a big heart. For more information, let Greg McKee know.

 
Father-Daughter Dance
Saturday, February 4, 6:30-9:00 pm, Greenville Marriott

 

She will always be Daddy's Little Princess, but on February 4, fathers and daughters can cement that special relationship and make a great memory at the annual Adventure Guides Father/Daughter dance. The Greenville Marriott will host the ball in which fathers and daughters dress up in their finest clothes and dance the evening away. And during the evening, dads and their daughters participate in the Hearts for Hope program and make Valentine cards for children who won't get Valentines. The dance is open to both YMCA members and non-members, and tickets can be purchased from any Y branch.


Hockey Night
Sunday, February 19, 4:05 p.m., The Bi-Lo Center


The Y Adventure Guides will again be a key cheering section for the Greenville Road Warriors ice hockey team as they take on the Toledo Walleye. But this outing isn't just to watch hockey. The Adventure Guides will sell pucks to other Road Warriors fans for the "Chuck-A-Puck" game during the second intermission. Fans who buy a plastic puck (or two) throw them on the ice, trying to get to get closest to the center of the rink to win a prize. Afterward, the Adventure Guides will take the ice to collect all the pucks. And who knows, they might lead the other hockey fans in a rendition of one of our favorite songs.  

 

Pinewood Derby
Sunday, March 18, 1:30-4:30 pm, Caine Halter YMCA


Step away from the TV and into the woodshop. The Pinewood Derby gives dads and their kids a chance to design a racecar and then put their design to the test. The cars will compete in a series of heats on March 18, with prizes being awarded to the fastest car and best design.


Spring Campout
April 27-April 29, YMCA Camp Greenville


The 2011-2012 Adventure Guide season culminates with a weekend trip to Camp Greenville where dads can relive and share some of their fondest summer camp memories with their kids. The trip features hikes and canoe trips, archery, riflery, horseback riding, campfire songs and skits. The weekend caps off with a Sunday morning service at Pretty Place Chapel. 

 

For more information about these events and the Adventure Guide Program, contact Greg McKee.

Want more information?

Download a registration form from our Applications Page or email your local YMCA Adventure Guide contact:

Highlights from previous events

Cake Bakeoff 2012

Adventure Guide tribe members let their creative juices flow with the annual cake decorating bakeoff. After the competition, the Guides and their dads dug in for dessert.

 

Father/Daughter Valentines Dance

Last year's Father/Daughter Valentines Dance had 150 fathers and daughters dancing the night away. We're looking forward to another great and memorable dance in 2012! 

 

   

Hockey Night

 

Adventure Guides and Princesses get ready to take the ice to pick up pucks during intermission at a Greenville Road Warriors game. The Adventure Guides will be back on the ice on February 19

Festival Aeronatique

 

What better way to celebrate the return of Spring than an afternoon of rocket launching and kite flying at the YMCA's Hollingsworth Outdoor Recreation Center!  

Spring Campout

 

Our final event  with YMCA Camp Greenville was held on Friday, April 29 through Sunday, May 1. A highlight was the "Broken Arrow Ceremony" for graduating guides and princesses.  This was a wonderful way to celebrate the beauty of Spring in the mountains and the culmination of a great Adventure Guide experience.  

Twenty year veteran staff member Greg McKee led the group in skits and songs after supper. The remainder of the weekend provided time for the fathers and children to spend time together, leaving behind their day-to-day concerns—doing things such as archery, riflery, games, arts and crafts (appropriately called “hill skills," which is set atop a beautiful mountain), hikes to any one of Camp’s waterfalls, and ring rides at the horse barn.  There was even a miniature donkey for the children to lead around the ring!  Saturday night included an invigorating square dance along with special ceremonies designed by the Adventure Guide Program.  Sunday morning began with a service at Pretty Place Chapel, which provides a breathtaking view of the mountains and the South Carolina Piedmont, and concluded with more time to try out any activities the campers missed on Saturday.  A good time was had by all.