2011 YMCA DIVE FESTIVAL Big Cormorant Lake, MN  September 3rd & 4th

Plunge into the fun September 3rd and 4th this Labor Day Weekend. Northwest Divers hosts the 4th Annual YMCA Camp Dive Festival at the YMCA Camp on Big Cormorant Lake located just miles outside of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

What is all this fun worth? You decide by making a donation to the YMCA Camp. All activities, facilities, air fills, breakfast and prizes are being provided to you by the YMCA and Northwest Divers! That's right you can stay in the cabins, eat, win prizes and enjoy endless diving for a donation that helps fund the ongoing activities at the YMCA Camp. Donations amounts are up to you. Suggested donations include:

We will have donation boxes located at the event.

This is our 4th year for this event and we have 2 underwater contests and plenty of fun above water activities for you to enjoy.

Registration will begin Saturday Morning at 8pm. Whether you are staying for the weekend or just want to play for the day please check in at the registration desk upon arrival so we can get you registered and get you all the most current info on this great event.

Poker Dive

Five different colored chips will be placed in five different underwater containers. You will need to navigate to the first container and retrieve one colored chip. You will also need to read the directions from that container which gives a compass heading to the next container. You will need to repeat this process until you have retrieved five different colored chips from the containers. Your collected chips will allow you to draw five cards from our poker deck. Each diver may play one hand. The best three hands will win:

1. Beginning Open Water Diver Class (Academic & Pool Session).
2. Northwest Divers Air Fill Card (10 air fills).
3. Northwest Divers T Shirt.

Artifact Dive

Pack Rats, Junk Collectors, and Pickers here is the dive for you. While you are diving Big Cormorant Lake, keep your eyes open for treasures antiquity. You and your goody bag find relics from old logging camps, French Voyageurs' expeditions and maybe an ancient Viking Trip through our area, and look for gear dumped over the side of careless tourists' canoes through the last century. If you find some historical object shaped by humankind, turn it in to compete for:

1. Drysuit Specialty Course Instruction.
2. Northwest Divers Air Fill Card (10 air fills)..
3. Northwest Divers T Shirt.

• Jewelry Making - Wendy Olsgaard and Sue Hanson will be giving demonstrations and instruction on making jewelry.  Last year this was a big hit and a relaxing way to spend the afternoon outdoors.
• Potluck Dinner Saturday - Bring a dish or beverage to share if you can and join together for an evening of good food and socializing. If it isn't feasible for you to bring something, don't worry I am sure there will be plenty. What we really want is your company. The potluck will begin at 5pm.
• Film & Picture Night - Bring your diving pictures or videos.  We will have a projection screen TV to share your photos and videos.  We will be spending time Saturday evening enjoying everyone's treasures. 
• Karaoke - Warm-up your vocal cords and get ready to be discovered as the next American Idol. Compete to win prizes by showing your vocal or entertaining talents. Don't worry about looking foolish as I Rick Van Raden will show you how to look foolish but have fun doing it by starting the singing activities with my rendition of Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls Of Fire". You may want to bring ear plugs or forget to dry out your ears after a day of diving.
• Pancake Feed - Join us Sunday morning from 8am to 10am for a pancake feed. Merle will be the master chef serving up a pancake breakfast.

Thank You YMCA
The folks at the YMCA Camp have generously offered their facility to us for a weekend. We get the whole place to ourselves. Normally groups would rent the facility for $500 a day.

The YMCA Camp is a non-profit community organization. We at Northwest Divers are asking all that join in the fun to consider a donation to the YMCA Camp to help fund their next years activities. Divers are the most generous folks I know and I am sure that we will all express our appreciation for the use of this great facility. Go to the YMCA Camp Cormorant website for more information on the facility and driving directions.

The camp has 12 cabins (each sleeping 10-12), separate men's/women's shower facilities, kitchen/dining hall, recreation building, 1000 feet of lakeshore, sand beach, roped swimming area, paddle boats, canoes, kayaks, pontoon, fishing boat, water trampoline, fire pit, game field, volleyball and storm shelter. Wow...what an opportunity! There is plenty of room for all so come and join us.

I want to make it very clear that the cabins and all other YMCA facilities are available for the two days at no cost. There is no need to bring a tent. Bring the whole family and grab a cabin to stay in. There is plenty of room.

Note: an air compressor will be on site so you won't have to go running around to get your tanks filled. Air fills are free for this event, however, we ask that you consider a donation to the YMCA for each air fill which normally costs $8.

DIRECTIONS

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