BY MATTHEW STONE

Staff Writer

If you want to ignore the doom and gloom of the weather forecast, talk to Barry Costa, executive director of the State YMCA Camp of Maine in Winthrop.

"It's always 72 degrees and sunny at the Y camp," he said Wednesday. "It doesn't matter what it's doing outside."

Keith Klein, director of Readfield's Camp Laurel, takes the same view.

"It's been nice," he said, joking about the conditions that have dominated an unusually wet summer.

Despite the pervasive optimism at central Maine summer camps, however, it's tough to escape the reality of grim, wet days dominated by the dark, intimidating clouds that loom overhead.

And that means those charged with keeping campers entertained are changing their routines during these wet days of summer.

At Camp Vega in Fayette, indoor activities including dance, gymnastics and arts and crafts have become more the norm recently, said Kyle Courtiss, the camp's associate director.

Still, the rain has not curtailed the fun, he said.

"We haven't had to delve really deep into our book of rain activities," Courtiss said.

State YMCA campers, Costa said, have become enthusiastic about a competition in which teams gather what materials they can to cushion a raw egg's 20- to 40-foot fall off a ladder. Cabin skits have also come to dominate the rainy-day agenda.

"Campers are in very good spirits," Costa said. "They were singing at lunch."

After successive days of rainy weather, Costa said, campers and counselors alike give up on trying to stay dry.

"We just go out and play in the rain," he said. "You're out in nature and you're one with nature."

A similar attitude seems to have taken hold at Camp Winnebago in Readfield.

"It takes a lot for us to go inside," said Andy Lilienthal, the camp's owner and director. "We're pretty resilient."

Still, day after day of sloppy, wet weather has driven campers inside on a few occasions. Indoor track meets have been one of those under-the-roof highlights, Lilienthal said.

"We use the room we have," he said. "We get creative with things."

And improvising a bit can teach campers an important lesson, according to Lilienthal.

"You don't need all the material stuff to have fun and be happy," he said. "We really stick to that philosophy."

While Maine residents, both seasonal and year-round, complain about the precipitation, Lilienthal said, summer camp-age children are not of the same mind.

"Adults get much more upset about the weather than children do," he said. "If you can create enjoyment and games and keep the boys interested and engaged, the weather is irrelevant."

The rain will continue today, through the weekend and into next week, according to National Weather Service forecasts, giving summer camps plenty of opportunities to prove campers can stay happy irrespective of the weather.

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, Ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com