Hey, Camp Fans!

Throughout September so far, 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 $300 gift certificate is….

Amelia H.!

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

“Camp was super fun. My favorite activity was the blob because it was so much fun and ended up being amazing. I was scared to do it at first, but all my new camp friends told me it was just like a giant marshmallow and that’s what gave me the courage to jump on and do it! I loved making new friends. Whenever I first got to camp, I was so nervous and now that I know everyone there, I will never, ever be nervous again. I loved the cook at camp -his real name is Barney Baker! Now I know what my mom meant when she told me he was the best cook in the whole world (she also went to my camp)! Now I also know why my mom used to say she wants her ashes spread out over Camp Longhorn and its Church Mountain and Inks Lake - it really IS the best place on earth. We all call it heaven on earth and now I REALLY know why we do! One of the most important mottos at my camp is “Everybody is Somebody at Camp Longhorn” and that is REALLY true, too! They make sure every person feels special at their very special place. I just love it and can’t wait to go back next summer.”

Thanks for this great submission, Amelia! We’re so glad to hear how much you loved your time at Longhorn. Way to go putting your fear behind you and jumping on the blob. It certainly looks a little intimidating but lots of fun too! It’s great to hear what a special place Camp Longhorn is to you. Have fun in the years to come!

For anyone else interested in Camp Longhorn, you can check it out right here. That concludes our big prize winners, but stay tuned each week when we publish a couple of our participants’ submissions so you can catch all the great submissions 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 the last of our $100 gift certificate winners! Today’s winner is….

Ocean M.!

Congratulations, Ocean! You win a $100 gift certificate to our one-stop camping gear shop! Ocean gives us her story of her summer stay at Chimney Corners Camp in Massachusetts. Read about it in her Contest entry right here:

“Summer Camp is the Best!

It’s wonderful to hear how well camp went for you, Ocean! Chimney Corners Camp sounds like an incredibly welcoming place. Firefly and Yoga sound like some nice, reflective activities you enjoyed this summer. And, by the way—Happy Birthday! To anybody else interested in Chimney Corners Camp for Girls, you can check it out by clicking right here and, 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 $100 gift certificate winner! Today’s winner is….

Sadie S.!

Congratulations, Sadie! You won a $100 gift certificate to our one-stop camping gear shop! Sadie gives us her story of her time at Camp Harlam this summer in Pennsylvania. Read about it in her Contest entry right here:

It’s wonderful to hear how you love summer camp, Sadie! It's great that you have so many friends and fond, fun memories at Camp Harlam. It must be a pretty great place! Enjoy next year when you're even more excited to go! To anybody else interested in Camp Harlam, you can check it out by clicking right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Time for Everything Summer Camp’s annual ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest has rolled around once again! We’re excited to give away our prizes and announce our lucky winners as well as posting their stories right here on the Blog. Today, I’m announcing our first $100 gift certificate winner right now!

And our first $100 winner is….Anna F.!

Congratulations, Anna! You just won $100 for our one-stop camping gear shop for your future equipment purchases! Thanks for sharing your summer experience at Camp DeSoto. Read her submission right here:

“Hello! My name is Anna F., and I’m going to tell you about my Camp DeSoto experience. When my mom first told me about camp I did not want to go, but when I heard that my best friend was going, I got super excited. When we pulled into camp I started to get nervous. My amazing counselor Grace made me feel right at home. DeSoto has three tribes. Blue Jays, Chickadees, and Cardinals. I am a Cardinal. The tribes compete in different activities to win the cup at the end of the term. This term the Cardinals won the cup! I was sooo happy.

During camp there is a horse show. I was the youngest rider but I still got second place! There are a lot of camp songs to learn. My favorite is ‘Lookout Mountain 35984’ It’s a song about wanting to back to DeSoto. There are also tribe songs. Song Fest is where your tribe leaders write a song and you perform it in front of the other tribes. If you win Song Fest you get a lot of points. The Cardinals won Song Fest so we won the cup.

Sleeping in a cabin was one of my favorite things about camp. The bug noises outside our cabin scared the first few night, but as I got used to them, they helped me go to sleep. I also loved getting mail. Every day (except on Sunday) we sit on our bed while Grace our counselor passes out mail. I loved this camp because you can go not knowing anyone and leave with tons of friends.”

Great, Anna! Camp DeSoto sounds extra special! I’m glad you were happy with your camp stay despite not wanting to go initially! Good job giving camp a try! Nice job winning that cup too! Go Cardinals! I know how it can be trying to sleep in a new environment, but once you get used to it, I bet your cabin was really cool to fall asleep in. Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself, Anna!

To anybody else interested in Camp DeSoto, you can check it out by clicking right here. Be sure to tune in tomorrow to find out who our grand prize winner is! And, 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 the last of our $50 gift certificate winners! Today, the winner is…. 

Dana C.!

Congratulations, Dana! You won a $50 gift certificate to our one-stop camping gear shop! Dana took a trip down memory lane sending her kids to camp this summer! Read about it in her Contest entry right here:

“Sending the kids off to camp and the stories they brought back so many memories from my days at Camp Echo. Icky deli and bbq night meals, learning how to shave and having shaving parties in the middle of our bunks, woolite parties, being boy crazy, fake break and then finally the BIG break, closing ceremonies and so many other fun memories. One of the most special things we did at Echo was our Friday night shabbat services and the traditions that went along with it. Wearing our clean uniforms, coming down from girls side in silence, dinner (fried chicken, challah and jello) followed by brother/sister night on the back ball fields and then services on infirmary hill with our special poem. Its nights like this that made camp special. They say camp friends are your best friends for a reason. The memories and laughs never fade away no matter how often or little you see your camp friends. E-C-H-O echo echo lets go!!!!!!”

I love this submission, Dana! Thanks for writing in to us. It’s great to read about all the fond memories you still have of Camp Echo. It must be pretty cool to send your kids off for their own summer experience now. I hope their summer stays can *ahem* echo the fun you had back then! To anybody else interested in Camp Echo, you can check it out by clicking right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John