For those who have been brave enough to venture into the midst of the musical labyrinth that is Rasmuson during the day, the refurbished camp store is a welcome sight. To say that the store has undergone a makeover is an understatement, for our board members have devoted countless hours to a thorough redecoration of the store. Perhaps one of the more glaring changes regarding the store's upgrade is its new name and theme - #Rivaldos, it is now called, with most of its merchandize and décor centered around SFAC's self-proclaimed mascot, Rivaldo the giraffe.

Who is Rivaldo? Why is the mascot of a fine arts camp a giraffe? These are amongst the questions that many ask when faced with Rivaldo the plastic giraffe. Friends, volunteers, parents, and students; relish in the fact that we have devoted our time this week to the investigation of Rivaldo's upbringing. In this week's newsletter, we bring you: Rivaldo, the story.

We start our tale with the camp's first known interaction with the giraffe. It was in 2005 that John Leo, the camp's then head counselor, discovered Rivaldo in what is described as "some room on campus." Perhaps for his odd physic, or his seemingly displaced location (after all, giraffes are not endemic to Alaska), Rivaldo quickly gathered an impressive number of fans at camp. He eventually became the camp mascot... "loved by all, hated by few," a faculty member recalls. 

Rivaldo is, to say the least, the "big man on campus." In his time at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, the giraffe has been simply described as "very versatile." Ed Littlefield comments on the giraffe with the description, "fingers, paws, toes, or limbs - whatever it is that he has - over everything." Having made guest appearance in skits of every art form at nightly Art Shares, Rivaldo may be the most multitalented artist to grace the campus. Amongst others, he has appeared in skits such as contact improv performances with dance faculty and videos made in visual story-telling classes.

What's more impressive is his involvement with every prank that occurs on campus. "For some reason, if there was a prank of any sort, Rivaldo was always there," Ed Littlefield recalls. In fact, Rivaldo was believed to have been responsible for most pranks that have befallen campus. By the end of the camp's pre-Edgecumbe days, it became a well-known fact that wherever Rivaldo went, trouble would follow.

At the end of summer in 2005, the Fine Arts Camp moved from the Sheldon Jackson campus to its six year sojourn at Mt. Edgecumbe High School. Unfortunately, somewhere along our journey across the O'Connell Bridge, Rivaldo had become lost in transit. In the six years the camp was at Mt. Edgecumbe, the giraffe was presumed dead, kidnapped, and missing in action. 

In 2011, the Sitka Fine Arts Camp re-colonized the Sheldon Jackson Campus, and before Rivaldo's grave could be dug, he once again appeared to welcome our return to campus: Roger walked into the Odess Theater the day the Sheldon Jackson campus reopened, only to find Rivaldo sitting, center stage, amongst a pile of debris. It was almost as if he had been waiting for the camp to come home to the Sheldon Jackson campus - all this time, rightfully keeping watch.

In honor of Rivaldo's enduring commitment to the camp, this year, the giraffe makes a debut appearance on various camp store merchandises. Stay tuned for possible Rivaldo merchandise later in the summer. May he protect the Sheldon Jackson campus for years to come.