Camporee set-up well underway at Cam-plex

GILLETTE — In the middle of the stifling afternoon heat, dozens of workers swarmed around a massive stage, each with a crucial job at hand.

Some workers stood aloft on nearby tent frames, setting up temporary living, eating and showering quarters for the expected crowds to inhabit for the week. Others were near the stage’s frame, securing beams to one another and testing its security. Nearby, a crane loomed overhead, carrying a piece of what looks like the wall of an Egyptian palace toward the stage.

It’s the size of the front of a building, yet only one piece to the puzzle of the main stage for International Pathfinder Camporee’s upcoming nighttime event: an outdoor play about the story of Moses.

The 60,000-person event begins Monday at Cam-plex. 

Before that, the group is hosting a free show open to the public at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, where the community can glimpse the event the community has worked more than three years to help pull off.

The countdown is on for the final preparations, and one of the largest parts of the show is the setting itself, the stage that holds actors and audience alike.

But what kind of work goes into making a production like this?

Laying the groundwork

Like any show of such a massive size, the process starts with a vision. 

“The very first thing is to select a theme,” said Randy Griffin, nighttime Camporee program coordinator. “From there, we start to look at what kind of artistic work we have to start thinking about.”

The theme for this show was chosen in 2018, one year before the previous show, performed in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 2019.

Then it was a matter of planning the production, the beating heart of the project itself. In this case, the management portion goes to Hive Events.

Hive Events is a production team that has worked on several high-profile events, from sporting conferences like NFL Draft to music festivals like Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo. But for the Camporee team, they’re the technical brains behind the staging of the nighttime program.

The stage itself is a massive steel 16-post stage, the same kind as what is used during music festivals. Because of its size and materials, it’s meant to hold the number of people necessary to pull off a show such as this, but unlike most events these stages are used for, the entire stage has been decorated for the occasion.

“The difference between [Camporee] and other major festivals is the facade that goes into this,” said John Monroe, Director of Production for Hive Events. “By the time it’s all done, you won’t see a stage, you’ll just see this beautiful scene and facade that’s on top of it."

The facade in question resembles Egyptian architecture, with hieroglyphs covering the frame to create the imagery of the Pharaoh's palace. This adds to the immersion the audience is meant to experience for the show.

All hands on deck

The physical part of bringing the idea to life started three years ago, when Griggin and others with Camporee came to Gillette to scope out a location for the event after moving on from their previous location of Oshkosh.

“2021 was the first time I came out here, and the first time John came out here,” Griffin said. “We met here, freezing to death, and thought, ‘What in the world are we getting into?'” 

The crew had to figure out the logistics of the production, from staging to design, and create a timeline that worked for their time constraints. 

Once the ideas were solidified and the location found, the real work began.

“Then we figure out budgets, and we figure out how we make this happen,” Griffin said. “For the last six months, we’ve been having weekly phone meetings to discuss ‘here’s what we do on this date, here’s what we do on that date …’ It’s all hands on deck to make this happen.”

It’s not just the stage that’s being built, either. Tents have been pitched for participants to sleep in, eat in and shower in. Accommodations needed for guests to be comfortable are provided on-site in the areas that have been rented for the event.

“You’re basically building a small town within a town to be able to house this many people,” Griffin said.

Production was halted for two days during the process, once for internet issues creating communication problems and another for extreme wind making it dangerous to build. Despite this, the crew has been able to stay relatively on schedule for the event.

Addressing concerns

Many Gillette residents have expressed concerns about this large event coming into town. About 60,000 people coming into town and the resources needed to maintain that many people can be overwhelming and concerning to those who have never experienced an event of this scale in Gillette before.

According to Griffin, those fears were considered during the process of planning the event, and they have planned for how to manage these concerns. 

A major point of unease has been around groceries in town. 

The idea that so many people will cause a shortage in groceries has been one of the main points of apprehension surrounding this event. This is a necessity that Camporee management has prepared for.

"We've had the manager of the Oshkosh Walmart talk to the manager of the Gillette Walmart and say 'Here's what to expect, here's what to do, here's what you need to do to make sure you can handle all of this influx of stuff coming in,'" Griffin said. "I'm sure that there will be a few things that they run out of, but for the most part, I think that Walmart is aware of what's going on.”

Griffin also talked about previous feedback that Camporee has received in other towns where it was hosted, where others have responded to how participants behaved. Part of the conversation was about what the daytime programs have in store.

"What we typically hear after the program is the community says, 'The kids were very respectful, very nice, very clean.'" Griffin said. "Part of what we do here is taking the kids into town to clean up the parks, clean buildings, do service projects to help the town."

"They're doing everything that any of the other groups would do," Monroe said. "It's no different than a music festival where they talk to all the local vendors there and say, 'Hey, expect this.'"

Much of their respect is due to their fondness of the location, and the ability to grow in Gillette. They have shown the same level of respect to every place they’ve hosted, and hope to be welcomed back for the next show.

"Our intent is to respect the town, because we wanna come back in five years," Griffin said.

Seven years of work is almost completed, from the initial idea back in 2018 to the execution throughout the week. 

Though they had a few problems along the way, the team has been working together to create the experience for the participants and the town alike and has promised respectful and cooperative kids and staff.

This story was published on July 31, 2024.