New website to address Camporee questions

GILLETTE — The International Pathfinder Camporee arrives in Gillette in a matter of weeks, bringing with it about 60,000 people and a host of questions.

To provide answers, several local agencies worked together to launch a website that compiles information and answers to Camporee-related questions, clarifying what’s true and false about the largest event the community has ever hosted.

The website is expected to launch next week.

“We just want to make sure all of the information is really accurate,” said Jennifer Toscana, city spokesperson, at a public Camporee meeting this week. “So hopefully next week, but if it takes longer than that to make sure that the information is good, then that’s what it takes.”

The website will be shared with the News Record and local agencies plan to share it via social media. In addition to the city of Gillette, Campbell County and Cam-plex, the website is a joint effort between Campbell County Health, Gillette College and Campbell County School District.

“How Camporee came to be, how it was communicated, there’s probably some things that went well, there are plenty of things that didn’t go well,” said Aaron Lyles, Cam-plex executive director. “In terms of communication, there can never be enough. I’m still struggling on a day-to-day basis to try to figure out how to communicate an always changing reality.”

The International Pathfinder Camporee updates certain information on the event for its attendees at www.camporee.org.

Road closure

The stretch of South Garner Lake Road from Highway 51 to Boxelder Road will close from noon Aug. 6 through 6 a.m. Aug. 11.

Detour routes are being finalized and have not been announced, but are expected to be included on the website launching next week.

The decision to close the road running north and south beside Cam-plex came as a solution to the problem of having nearly all 60,000 attendees have to cross the road to the amphitheater site at Cam-plex Park for the event’s nightly performance.

“The reality of not closing Garner Lake Road is that we were playing a high-risk scenario of people getting struck by a vehicle,” Lyles said.

The nightly show is the centerpiece of the event.

County commissioners approved the road closure in April, but it was a decision reached by multiple stakeholders from within the community after years of consideration.

David King, emergency management coordinator, said that there will be a two-lane passage open from Fire Station No. 7 to the High Plains RV campground, only accessible by taking Axel’s Avenue from Highway 51 on to Martingale Drive, to allow access to the Arbuckle Lodge and RV park.

The purpose of that road is for campers, attendees and workers who need access to those facilities. There will be about 2,500 campsites behind the Arbuckle Lodge and about 2,000 parking spaces, King said.

What’s Camporee?

The Seventh-Day Adventist church hosts the Camporee every five years. This is its first year in Gillette after spending the past several events in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The gathering draws people from throughout the world, although the majority are from within the United States.

This year’s event expects about 60,000 people onsite at Cam-plex from Aug. 5-11. Of those, about 6,000 are expected to come from outside of the country, Lyles said.

Pathfinders clubs are each similar to a Boy Scouts of America troop, but generally open to boys and girls ages 10-15 and organized worldwide through the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

The Pathfinders curriculum can vary by club, but generally has to do with outdoors and camping activities with a church-centric focus. The clubs earn merit badges, learn outdoor skills, go camping, learn Bible knowledge and partake in community service projects.

As far as everyday life goes during the week of Camporee, inconveniences are expected for residents, with increased traffic, larger crowds at the stores and longer waits at restaurants.

“I think there will be very meaningful frustrations at places like Walmart,” Lyles said.

This story was published on July 13, 2024.