The 2017 National Scout Jamboree just got a lot more real.

Today the Boy Scouts of America revealed the logo and theme for its signature event, which takes place every four years at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia.

The 2017 National Scout Jamboree — held July 19 to 28, 2017 — will feature the theme “Live Scouting’s Adventure.” The accompanying logo, which you can see below, celebrates the high-energy excitement and patriotic spirit that have been a part of jamborees since the first one in 1937.

The “Live Scouting’s Adventure” theme is a nod to what happens daily in packs, troops, teams, posts, ships and crews nationwide, says Ralph de la Vega, jamboree chairman and president and CEO of AT&T Mobile.

“We know that our members live Scouting’s adventure every day by pursuing challenging and diverse experiences,” de la Vega says. “We’re proud to provide these outdoor opportunities to our youth members, who often do not experience these activities anywhere else.”

Second jamboree at the BSA’s newest playground

The 2017 jamboree follows on the heels of the wildly successful 2013 jamboree, the first jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in West Virginia’s New River Gorge region.

National Scout jamborees from 1981 to 2010 were held at Fort A.P. Hill, Va., a fine jamboree site but not a permanent one. Fort A.P. Hill is an active Army training center, and we as Scouts and Scouters were only visitors there — albeit grateful ones.

The Summit Bechtel Reserve, meanwhile, is a permanent jamboree home, meaning the BSA got to build the ultimate playground for Scouts and Venturers. I’m talking 5 miles of zip lines and challenge courses, 36 miles of mountain bike trails, 13 acres of shooting sports ranges, kayaking, rock climbing, bouldering, skateboarding, BMX and so much more.

“The new jamboree theme reinforces one of the Summit Bechtel Reserve’s purposes of helping to redefine Scouting’s adventure for the next century. Participants of the 2017 National Jamboree will experience that difference every day they are here,” says Dan McCarthy, director of the Boy Scouts of America Summit Group.

For a flavor of what jamborees are like at SBR, scroll through some photos, read my blog recap or check out SBR’s YouTube channel.

Everything I’ve learned builds to this conclusion: The 2013 jamboree was great; the sequel in 2017 will be even better.

Registration begins in 2015

Staff members will be able to register for the jamboree in April 2015. In June I blogged about nine things that’ll be different for jamboree staffers in 2017.

As for youth and adult participant registration, that’ll open in May 2015.

This post is the first of several jamboree posts planned between now and the big event in 2017. I’ll keep you updated as the countdown continues.

Learn more

To learn more about the 2017 National Scout Jamboree and the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, go to www.bsajamboree.org or https://summit.scouting.org.

BSA photo by Shane Noem. All Rights Reserved. Find this and other great photos of the BSA Flickr page.