What’s up, Camp Fans?!

We love all the camp tales you've shared for our 'Share Your Camp Story' Contest here at Everything Summer Camp. Our participants truly exceeded our expectations this year! These stories are great and I can't wait to showcase them to our online community. Every submission is getting featured right here on the Blog!

And now that we’ve announced our ten lucky winners who took larger prizes, we’re ready to share the rest of the submissions we received. The following post is from Sadie S. who put pencil to paper about her time at Camp Harlam. Check out what she had to say about her camp stay right now:

“Camp was amazing in so many different way this year. One of my favorite parts was the first day. We saw people we haven’t seen in a while. We hug and it feels good. My next part that I really liked was Color War. It was SO fun when it breaks because everyone is screaming! Even though we were on separate teams, we still ran together at night. Even if you would not get first you would still have fun cheering for your bunkmates. I loved Shabbot because we would all wear white. Song session on Shabbot was really fun, screaming song lyrics and banging on tables with song leaders and your unit. My favorite evening program was MTV night. I loved finding a dance, costumes, makeup, songs, and maybe even props! Going up in front of camp with your bunk is really fun. Everyone gets really cool paper plate awards that go along with your song or costume. These are just some reasons why camp this year was a really fun year!”

Thanks for this great submission, Sadie! It’s great to hear that you loved your camp stay so much this summer at Camp Harlam. You paint a pretty fun picture with everyone scream-singing along together with percussive pounding and erupting energy! And it does sound really fun getting up in front of everyone at camp to ‘perform’ with your bunkmates. Sounds like you made memories to last a lifetime this summer.

Sadie makes Camp Harlam sound like LOTS of fun! If anyone else would like to check it out closer, you can do so by clicking right here. As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Welcome, Camp Enthusiasts!

Your camp stories truly shone in the 'Share Your Camp Story' Contest here at Everything Summer Camp! Reviewing your entries was an absolute delight. I'm now eagerly looking forward to sharing these captivating tales with our online community and posting each submission right here on the Blog.

We've successfully unveiled the ten fortunate winners who secured more substantial prizes, and it's time to unveil the remaining entries you submitted. In this post, we're featuring Angela R.’s camp story submission about her son’s summer camp stay. He went to Hidden Valley Camp. Read her submission below:

“A week ago we dropped my son off at camp. This was his second year attending, but the first year doing the full 4-week session. He kept telling my husband that he was 99% excited and 1% nervous. He couldn't wait to sign up for his classes and see which friends from last year would be in his cabin again. We were the first from his cabin to arrive. We walked around camp and he said it's like he never left. He remembers all the pot holes and rocks and where signs were last year. I completely understood. Not only was this his camp, but it was also mine. I attended 25 years before. It was owned by the same couple. Many cabin names and traditions remain the same. It's like going home. Every nook and cranny hold memories for me, and now for my oldest son. At home, we hear a song on the radio and I think, oh, that's a camp song. Now, my son will pipe up, "I know this song from camp!" My son and I have chosen very different activities in which to participate while there, but it's so fun to have some common camp experiences. The camp traditions that I experienced 25 years ago and remember so fondly have been maintained through the years and are now for my son to enjoy. He has been preparing his younger brother what to expect when he is old enough for camp. It brings me such joy to see my children love a place that held such a special place in my heart.”

That’s awesome, Angela! What a great experience to be able to share with your son (and his brother down the road!). It’s fantastic to hear how much your son loves his summer camp trips—99% excited and 1% nervous? I like those odds! Here’s to plenty more summer adventures for both of your boys in the summers to come. Thanks for writing in, Angela.

- John

What’s up, Camp Fans?!

We've been delighted with all the great camp stories you sent in for our 'Share Your Camp Story' Contest here at Everything Summer Camp. You outdid yourselves this year, campers! These stories are fantastic and I’m eager to share them with our online community! Each submission will be getting posted right here on the Blog!

I’ve finished announcing our ten lucky winners who took larger prizes and now we’re ready to share the rest of the submissions we received. The following post is from Vanessa H. who wrote in to tell us about her experience sending her daughter to Camp Crestridge. Check out her submission right here:

“This summer was my daughter’s first sleep away camp experience. We drove 7 hours to Camp Crestridge in the Black Mountains of North Carolina. When we pulled up to the camp, the counselors greeted us with big smiles and excitement, and my eyes started to tear up with happiness for the amazing adventure in store for my daughter. As we walked up to my daughter’s cabin, memories of my sleep away camp days starting popping into my head—making new friends, swimming in the lake, singing camp songs around a big campfire, and all the awesome camp activities and games. Fast forward two weeks and I was reunited with a very confident girl who had met so many girlfriends, who demonstrated leadership skills along with the girls in her cabin to the extent that their cabin was named honor cabin, who tried so many different camp activities and games and grew in her relationship with the Lord! My daughter grew so much in her independence, confidence and faith. She can’t wait to go back next year! I am so thankful for this sleep away camp experience for my daughter and look forward to many more summer camp experiences!”

Thanks for this great submission, Vanessa! It’s great to hear that your daughter’s camp stay was such a success! Sounds like she had a blast and took to some wonderful personal growth during her time away. The easy, natural environment of camp certainly lends itself to making that deeper connection with Nature, God, and Self.

Camp Crestridge sounds really cool. If anyone else would like to check it out closer, you can do so by clicking right here. As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Throughout the month I’ve been announcing the winners to our annual ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest. And, today, the time has come to reveal our grand prize winner for this year’s edition. Find out right here and right now. The winner of our $500 gift certificate is….

Arnold M.!

Awesome!!! Congratulations, Arnold. You’re our grand prize winner!!! Arnold wrote in to tell us about his experience at Camp Mowglis. Read his account of the fun camp stay right here on today’s Blog post:

“This was my first time going to camp and I was feeling nervous. I didn’t know anyone except one friend. I have never even visited the camp before so I didn’t know what it would be like. It is a 7 week camp, but my mom signed me up for only the first 4 weeks. After only 2 weeks I wrote my mom a letter to ask if I could stay for the whole 7 weeks and she said yes! I wanted to stay because I really enjoyed my time at Camp Mowglis. I did activities like archery, tennis, canoeing, mountain biking, arts and crafts, hiking, camping, and swimming, but the activity I loved the most was archery. I even got a trophy for winning the Junior Fencing Tournament. I can’t wait to go back to camp next year. I hope I will earn some ribbons for some of the activities.”

Thanks for this great submission, Arnold! We’re so glad to hear how much you loved your time at Camp Mowglis. Seven weeks is a LONG time to be away from home—especially for your first time away at summer camp. But the camp life is a persuasive animal once the hook is set. Way to go embracing your time away from home! Have fun in the years to come!

For anyone else interested in Camp Mowglis, you can check it out right here. That concludes our big prize winners, but stay tuned each week when we publish our participants’ submissions so you can catch all the great entries we received this year. As always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

It’s the Everything Summer Camp ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest! We’re in full swing for this year, announcing our lucky winners and sharing their stories right here on the Blog. Today, I’m announcing our second $200 gift certificate winners! Today’s winner is….

Ashley G.!

Congratulations, Ashley! You’re our Second Place Winner of a $200 gift certificate to our one-stop camping gear shop! Ashley gives us her story of sending her daughter off for a summer stay at Emma Kaufmann Camp in West Virginia. Read about it in her Contest entry right here:

“I started this story six times! There are so many things I can say about sleep away camp. I LOVED my own time at Jewish summer camp and this year I sent my daughter for the first time. It took some pushing to get her to want to go to camp and be away from mommy and daddy.

At drop off, she wanted the goodbye moment to be as short as possible. She was so anxious, I didn't expect that. I cried as soon as she walked away. The first few days I felt like I was missing something everywhere I went. Everyone talks about how amazing it is to have time to yourself, but really there is a loss to adjust to.

It was nice to know I wasn't alone, as I connected with another mom the camp director had introduced me to, and once the smiling pictures started rolling in, I relaxed a bit. When I went to pick my daughter up two weeks later and she said, "Now that I've seen you I'd like to stay," I knew pushing her to go was one of the best things I'd done as a mom. I've already signed up both my kids for next year!”

It’s wonderful to hear how well camp went this season, Ashely! Emma Kaufmann Camp sounds like it was a great place for your daughter. You must have been so proud of her and yourself when she asked to extend her stay! It’s great that you had another camp mother to confide in during your daughter’s stay. It’s certainly difficult to see your child off for time away from home, but you did a great job getting through it!

Be sure to come back on Monday when we reveal our Grand Prize Winner for our 'Share Your Camp Story Contest'! To anybody else interested in Emma Kaufmann Camp, you can check it out by clicking right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John