Outdoors ECoH

[Trevorum 24]

Well, my oldest son has finally decided on a time and place for his Eagle ceremony. He emphatically did not want an indoor ceremony. So, its going to be outdooors, in the dead of winter, on the highest peak in the county. {brrr...} The troop can certainly handle the weather (hey, it's scouting!), but I'm not sure about guests, like his 83 year old grandmother. I'll just pray for a sunny day.

[OldGreyEagle 5]

So, you could build a fire, with a wooden "reflector" and have the guests sit in a protected area, at the very least under "pop-ups" and tarps wrapped around them.

[Trevorum 24]

A fire is a great idea but won't be allowed. But, yeah - I'll have some popups ready just in case ...!

[OldGreyEagle 5]

Are you familiar with kerosene "turbo" heaters? They may be called somehting else in your neck of the woods or those heaters they show during football games

[Trevorum 24]

I'm not too concerned about the temperature. Here in Texas, we get the occasional ice storm, but usually the daytime temps are pretty mild (my lovely bride will of course disagree). I'm thinking more about the chance of rain. The scouts all have pretty good raingear of course, but it would nonetheless put a damper on the ceremony. Plus, we wouldn't want the cake to get soggy!

[SueM 10]

What about maybe renting a party tent...I know it takes away from the outdoorsy aspect somewhat but it could provide cover for the cake at least...and maybe people too if it rains!

 

Sue m.

[Beavah 205]

Yah, go with the kid's desires and intent, eh? It's his award. He clearly wants it somewhere meaningful for him, surrounded by his scouting peers and colleagues - not an indoor, party-tent, central-heated circus.

 

If yeh want a family event, host an indoor reception after the ECoH. That'll be nice and warm for grandma, the cake won't get soggy, and you can make it special for the family.

 

(This message has been edited by Beavah)

[mtm25653 10]

My oldest son's ECoH was held outdoors at his project, an outdoor worship space at our church. The hardest part was getting the older people (my mom was 75) up the path through the woods. The older relatives and guests sat on the benches, some people brought camp chairs and the other scouts stood in the back. It was at 4 pm in Oct, and the sun started to set in the west, directly behind the wooden cross. Afterwards, we had a reception inside the church.

[John-in-KC 311]

Trevorum,

 

I spent a couple of mornings of my life in Lawton, Murica! (aka Fortress Sill). Yes, winters can be a challenge, partiuclarly for the elderly. That said, most of Texas is South of the Red River.

 

Talk quietly with your Eagle. Ask him about grandma. Ask him for input on how to keep her warm. He might have an A-HA moment and slip the COH more towards late Feb/early March.

 

BTW, congratulations to him, for carrying it through, and congratulations to you.

[Trevorum 24]

Sue, while small popups are one thing, I don't think tents would be appropriate in this situation.

 

Beav, yah.

 

John, like I said, I'm not too worried about the temp. Grandma's a tough old bird. I'm mostly thinking about the chance of rain.

 

Thinking about other outdoor ceremonies I've witnessed, I've seen umbrellas at funerals and such. I had completely forgotten about them! (Don't even own one) Umbrellas are verboten on Scout outings of course, but they would be perfectly fine at a CoH for civilians in the audience, huh?