Prairielands Council Spring Camporee—April 28-30, 2023

Prairielands Council invites Scouts and Scouters to Be Prepared, get into nature, share the Scouting spirit, and camp under the big white oak trees at beautiful Lodge Park on the banks of the Sangamon River near Monticello for the Spring Camporee. Nature is our inspiration and theme!
• Scout troops, venturing crews, ships, and webelos(with a host unit) are all invited toparticipate. The cost is $15 per person to participate.
• Check-in 6-8:30 PM Friday 4/28 and 8-8:45 AM Saturday 4/29; Completed Annual Healthand Medical Records for each participant (Parts A and B) required at check-in; unit leaderand staff meeting 8:30 PM 4/28.
• Flag ceremony and opening 9:00 AM 4/29; challenge activities 9:30-12:00 and 1:30-4:00.
• Each unit is responsible for providing their own meals.
• Patrols are asked to prepare a song or skit for the closing campfire 7:30 PM Saturday.
• Co-hosted by Troops 6B and 6G, Urbana and Troop 490, Monticello.
Prairielands Council Spring Camporee—April 28-30, 2023

Register here:  https://forms.tentaroo.com/view.php?id=9719681

The 2023 Prairielands Council Klondike Derby at Camp Drake on Saturday, January 28, 2023 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Scout patrols will enjoy a western themed series of team events. Get your Yukon Territory sled ready for transport and racing.  A drawing was held at the Camp launch for cabin and campsite reservations, but there is still space available for overnight camping.  The cost of the event is $15.00 per person. An early bird fee of $12.00 is available, if paid by January 20, 2023.  

Register Online Here: https://forms.tentaroo.com/view.php?id=9464366

All Prairielands Council Troops and Crews are invited to the 2022 Camp Drake Commemoration Camporee. The Camporee will be held the weekend of October 14-16, 2022. The Camporee will be filled with activities from the past, as well as highlights of the current program. The Cost for the event is $12 per participant, if paid by September 30, 2022. After September $30, the fee will increase to $16.

Units can register here:  https://forms.tentaroo.com/view.php?id=9093804

The Illini Lodge Fall Pow-Wow will be held at Camp Drake on the weekend of September 30th through October 2nd. There will be a Friday night ceremony, Saturday morning service projects, and Saturday afternoon themed events and competitions. The Ordeal and Brotherhood Ceremonies will be held Saturday night.  The cost does include meals!

Members can register here:  https://forms.tentaroo.com/view.php?id=9069012

The 2022 Prairielands Council Pinewood Derby will be held Saturday, March 26th at St Peters United Church of Christ located at 905 S Russell St, Champaign, IL 61821.

It is time for the Council Annual Candy Bar Sales. 

Units can sign up here to participate:

Pinewood 101

Pinewood 101 is back!  This event will be held on Sunday, January 23 from 11AM to 3PM.  The workshop will be held at the CU Woodshop(Knox Array/Popcorn Warehouse) located at 1305 N. McKinley Ave, Champaign, IL 61821.  This will be a great event for those people who need help preparing their Pinewood Derby Car.

Chasing the Signs of the Yeti!

Look to the deep woods for the next big winter event of the Prairielands Council. The 2022 Klondike Derby will challenge Scouts BSA members and Venturers with cold-weather team events. Prepare for the sledding adventure on the windy plains of Camp Robert Drake, beginning at 9:00 am on Saturday, January 29, 2022. All Scouts and Venturers are encouraged to organize their patrols for the ultimate teamwork contests.

Winter Camping is an Option for Troops & Crews

Cabin and campsite space for the 2022 Prairielands Council Klondike Derby will be selected at random following the Camp Drake Launch on Dec. 4 at the OSF Medical Center in Urbana. Please contact Susan Coller at susan.coller@Scouting.org to get your Troop or Crew in the Klondike Cabin/Campsite drawing.

The 2021 Camp Drake Trail Race is back! The race will be on November 13, 2021 at Camp Robert Drake. We encourage you to save the date in your calendar as we are preparing for a great race!

RUN/WALK the trails of Camp Drake for fun and fitness.  Illini Lodge of the Prairielands Council is hosting a Fitness Event that is open to everyone! All run/walkers will receive a special sports t-shirt, along with a patch medallion.  Parents can escort their youth.

Join the back to nature adventure at the Camp Drake Trail Race on the banks of the Salt Fork River at 9994 Camp Drake Road near Fairmount, IL.   For runners, there are other races to choose along the forest paths and ridge crests.

All updated information and how to register is posted on our webpage below: www.campdrake.com/TrailRace  

We look forward to welcoming you back to Camp Drake!

SAVE THE DATE
Prairielands Council 2021 Fall Camp-o-ree
Oct. 15-17, 2021
Iroquois County Fairgrounds
Crescent City, Illinois

Join your Scouting friends for a fun-filled weekend of camping skills exhibition.  Each Scout is encouraged to develop their natural talents in a wide variety of outdoor abilities. Save the middle weekend of October.  Each Scout will enjoy building their skills to become proficient in something related to Scouting.   Make a plan to be there!

Troop events for the weekend will include various competitions     such as date saving and remembering dates on a calendar competition .  Every troop will need a performance for the spectacular and glorious Camp-o-ree Closing Campfire.  Save 10/15-17

All troops are invited to attend and enjoy the festivities and fellowship of the 2021 Fall Camp-o-ree.  Save the date for the fun on your troop calendar.

Please RSVP troop attendance to susan.coller@scouting.org by 10/6/21

Don't miss out on this year's Spring Camporee. It will he held on April 23-25, 2021 at Camp Robert Drake! The theme for this year's Camporee is "Get a Clue." Scouts will have to bring their best critical thinking and channel their inner Sherlock Holmes! The cost of the event is $15 per person before April 16th! After that the cost will be $20 per person. Remember, masks will be worn at all times and we will be maintaining social distancing requirements!

You can find the registration form for your units here:  2021 Spring Camporee Flyer - Get A Clue

This celebration is to honor our 45 Young Men and Women who attained the Eagle Rank in 2020.  This difficult feat was accomplished through a pandemic that gripped our world.  It is also our Inaugural Year for our Female Eagle Scouts.  Prairielands Council is honored to have 6 Female Eagle Scouts during the Inaugural Year.

You can watch the video here with the YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/NgqJdxNnNeE

This is a great opportunity that is being provided by the Stephens Family YMCA. What we have are 8 different Monday's with 2 time slots for the lessons and advancement workshops. You can take lessons from 4PM to 4:45PM or from 5PM to 5:45PM. Due to Covid restrictions, the YMCA can only accommodate 6 Scouts in each session for a total of 12 Scouts each Monday.

Please be Scout Like and allow opportunities for all Scouts to attend before signing up for multiple sessions. The sessions are in a drop down below. If you do not see a date or time frame, that means that that particular date and time is at capacity. We hope to be able to offer more of these sessions in the future as the YMCA allows!

Please sign up here:  https://forms.tentaroo.com/view.php?id=6402405

The Prairielands Council presents our Whitney M. Young Dinner, bi-annually to honor community leaders who advocate for creating opportunities for minorities to experience the Scouting program. This year's recipients are Dr. Marietta Turner, Mr. Peter McFarland, Drs. Linda and Larry Atherton, and Mr. Kyle Kietzmann.
 

We would like to thank our Major Sponsors:  Busey, Cimtek, The Atherton Family, Shapland Land Management, Martin Hood, Bell Helmets, The Hood Family, The Knight Family, The Kangas Family, The Kuchenbrod Family, and The Schroeder Family.
 

Without the generous sponsors, we would not be able to carry out the mission of Scouting. Thank you very much for your support!

  Shapland Land Management

The Atherton Family  The Hood Family  The Knight Family

The Kangas Family  The Kuchenbrod Family  The Schroeder Family

During the months of June 2020 and July 2020, the Lee Service Center will be open Monday through Thursday from 8AM to 5PM.  The service center will be closed on Friday's.  If you need to make an appointment on a Friday, reach out to anyone on our staff and they can help you!

Monday, May 11, 2020

Since 1932 Camp Robert Drake has been a place where you could hear youthful voices having fun, while the values of Scouting are being instilled.  The Prairielands Council has been working very hard to see if there was a path that would allow us to hold Scouts BSA Resident Camp and Cub Adventure Camp in June and July at Camp Drake. The Prairielands Council Board and Staff continually puts the health and well-being of our Scouts and Leaders first.  Based on the aforementioned statement, CDC Guidelines, the State of Illinois Recovery Plan, and other regulations and requirements related to COVID-19, it is just not feasible for us to hold our traditional summer camping programs this year.

Therefore, we are making the difficult decision to cancel our traditional Summer programs at Camp Robert Drake for 2020. As a result, we will be refunding money collected for this year’s summer camp.  We will plan to send refunds out around June 1st.

Additionally, our Cub Scout Day Camps in June and July are hereby cancelled. We hope to be able to re-schedule them as a day events or Twilight Camps in August or this Fall. We will keep you posted regarding Day Camps as we move forward.

We are hopeful that we might be able to allow units and individual families to reserve campsites later this summer for primitive camping, while practicing social distancing. Our Camping Committee, advised by Mike Graham, Senior District Executive are working together to see if we can possibly provide some limited programs at camp for our Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA members. Please be patient as we are working on these programs and should be rolling them out shortly.

In my 27 years of being a part of this great program, I never would have thought we would have no summer program. I have prayed that there would be a way to allow us to open camp this year. Currently there is not one!  I am sorry for what this means to our Scouts and Scout Leaders.  I am very grateful to all of you for all you are doing to remain active in Scouting during these trying times!

I know there are many questions with this closure, please see the attached FAQ’s.

May God bless you all and keep you and your loved ones safe in these difficult times.

Yours in Scouting,

Jared White
Scout Executive

November 25-26 open from 9am - 6pm

November 27 open from 9am - 2pm

All Council Facilities are closed on Thanksgiving, November 28 and on November 29. 

All Council Facilities will reopen on Monday, December 2 at 9am. 

Click here to see our letter from our Scout Executive regarding our fee increase. 

For more information click here for a Bryan on Scouting Article.

The 2019 Cub Scout Blue Advancement Sheet with all requirements completed at camp can be found by going to the following link: https://www.campdrake.com/cub-scout-adventure-camp and clicking on "2019 Cub Blue Advancement"

The 2019 Fighting Illini Scout Camporee will be held on Saturday September 14! 

Check out www.campdrake.com/FISC for more information!