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That magic moment came on June 26, when the genuine Stanley Cup arrived at YWCA Camp Cavell in Lexington Township.

The silver trophy, kept this year by the Detroit Red Wings after they won the 2008 National Hockey League playoffs by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins - arrived to music, cheers and shouts of "We want Stanley! We want Stanley!"

About 65 children attending Muscular Dystrophy Camp got to see it, touch it and have their photos taken with it.

"Not a lot of people get to see the real cup," said Justin Wilton, 8, of Warren, who got his 'Photo Op', and also got to study all the names of past winners engraved on it. "They just get to see pictures of it on TV," he said.

Theresa Saincome, 20, of Peck, has attended the annual MDA Camp for 10 years.

"Camp is all about finding the courage to try new things," she said.

Seeing the Stanley Cup definitely qualified as a "new thing," said Saincome, who along with two friends waved a "Go Red Wings" banner as The Cup arrived.

Seeing the Holy Grail of Hockey was especially poignant because young people Saincome's age will not be eligible for camp next year.

The MDA camp is funded through the Jerry Lewis Telethon. More than 160 campers ages 6-20 - most of them from the Detroit area - attend one of three camp sessions every summer, with about 65 per session.

Reuniting with old friends is something the youngsters look forward to every summer.

They attend special events like a casino night, a dance, a fashion show, as well as more standard but still exciting camp activities like horseback riding, swimming and sports.

"They were paying for kids up to twenty years," said Camp Cavell Director Jill Laidlaw. "Next year the organization is lowering the age to eighteen, so about thirty of our campers will not be returning next year.

"MDA volunteers wanted to provide a very special treat for at least some of the children, because they are so into the Red Wings. One of our volunteers got the idea to bring the Stanley Cup."

That volunteer was Irvin Swider, of Beverly Hills, MI, who has served as an MDA Camp volunteer for 20 years. He got the idea because his daughter-in-law Susan Swider is a friend of Kelly Ilitch, daughter of Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch.

The stop wasn't on The Cup's "official" schedule.

"But when (Swider) gets his mind on something, oh my gosh, he keeps it up until he gets what he wants!" Laidlaw said.

Kelly Ilitch, who accompanied the Cup along with official "Cup Keeper" Bill Wellman, said she wasn't really that hard to convince.

"After I learned about the camp, it didn't take that much," she said. "It's phenomenal, all the volunteers - and what they do for the kids is amazing."

Each camper is assigned a personal volunteer, who might work up to 20 hours a day to provide attention and encouragement. A team of doctors, nurses and therapists also donate a week of their time.

"For some of these kids there is always the uncertainty of returning for future years," Laidlaw said. "That's what drives us to make every camp incredible."

After spending about an hour at the camp, The Cup made another unscheduled stop in downtown Lexington, where more than 100 hockey fans stood in line on Huron Avenue to get their photos taken with it.

James Gresock, President of the Lexington Business Association, and Dick Parr of Moore and Carter Lumber arranged the second impromptu visit after hearing that The Cup would be in the neighborhood.

Adam Buschbacher's Smackwater Block courtyard was the site of the second impromptu stopover.