Camp Florida Blog

Even though the sun was shining bright in the sky for our Camp Florida Pet Parade, at 3:00 it seemed as if it was raining cats and dogs in “C” Circle!

Here’s a special note from Ellen Budish, Chairperson for the 2022 Pet Parade:

CFR 2022 Pet Parade was a HUGE success. Thank you to all the many volunteers, participants
(pet parents/friends) and audience for making this year’s Pet Parade an awesome one! A special thank you to the CFR Jammers, Carol Delynko (photographer),Dave Hough (announcer) and Paul Budish (grilled/cooked all the food).

I saved the BEST for last- thank you to all the dogs and cats that walked, strolled or were carried! We hope you enjoyed your treats and certificate of participation. Hope to see you next year.

We raised over $500 for the Humane Society of Highlands County, and we collected many items for them. FYI…The Humane Society is in need of volunteers.

Yoga has become one of the fastest growing movement programs for seniors compared to other alternatives.  Here in Camp Florida, we offer two types of classes, Yoga Stretch offered Tuesday and Thursdays at 8:45 in the Clubhouse great room and Chair Yoga, described below.  Yoga Stretch offers participants the opportunity to improve balance, flexibility and strength while practicing a series of yoga poses beneficial for overall health.  We practice standing, sitting and various floor poses in a quiet, slow manner while focusing on our breathing.  In addition, each class ends with Shavasana, restful guided meditation.  No experience is necessary. Yoga props such as mats, straps and blankets are available to sign out while you are here, or you can bring your own. Join us and see how much better you will feel.

The chair yoga here at Camp Florida is very similar to what is done in other areas of the country for this fast growing movement. Twice a week, we gather together to enjoy this surprisingly good workout. However, even the term workout is overstating what we do as chair yoga is not very strenuous or even very difficult but instead it is a lot of stretching and deep breathing. It is not pretzel looking movements or tortuous positions. The results, though, are wonderful. We do use a chair a lot, sometimes sitting but also standing. The one thing we do not do is get down on the floor which is difficult for many of us. Our goal is to improve balance, movement, strength, stamina and enjoy some peaceful meditation. Even our minds benefit from yoga.

Chairs and mats are at class or bring your own mat. Class is 10:00 am on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Here are the best of the photos we took in our little “photo booth” before the start of this year’s Pet Parade. Photos of the parade itself and more information about this amazingly successful event will be forthcoming in a few days. In the meantime, enjoy!

We also had a few pups that didn’t get registered, but we were happy to take their photos.