The Countdown to LauraPalooza 2015 has begun. Before we pack our bags and head to South Dakota for a weekend of education, celebration and fun, some of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy & Research Association board members are taking a look back—or forward—at some of the good times you can expect.

 

A major life event occurred for me between Laurapalooza 2010 and 2012. I adopted three children. (This would explain why you don’t hear much from me these days!)

What this meant for Laurapalooza is that the dream of a children’s camp I had for 2010 suddenly needed to become a reality if I even hoped to attend! And because I spent so much of Laurapalooza 2012 with our young campers, camp is the memory that first springs to mind when I think of Laurapalooza.

Camp Laura was every little Laura-lover’s dream come true. In the spirit of our conference theme, “What Would Laura Do?” our little girls learned to cook and sew and play pioneer games.

Where else could a young Laura devotee bake heart-shaped cakes with Barbara Walker, author of the Little House Cookbook, or learn of pioneer life from historian and biographer William Anderson?

 

Where else could little girls act out scenes from On the Banks of Plum Creek with Alison Arngrim herself, who played Nellie Oleson in the popular television series, and listen to stories from Laura’s own cousin, Beth Ingalls-Leisses?

I think the many adults who participated in helping the children with various activities enjoyed it as much as the children did. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Or was it? Will Laurapalooza 2015 also feature a Camp Laura? Help us decide. If Camp Laura is offered in Brookings, do you plan to bring your elementary-aged children?

Rebecca Brammer is a board member of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association. To learn more about LauraPalooza 2015 click here. We’ll see you in Brookings!