Hey, Camp Fans!

The end of summer’s always bittersweet, but year-after-year, we’re excited here at Everything Summer Camp to keep with our traditional ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest! We saw an excellent response with your submissions since we’ve upped the ante this year, making the grand prize $250. 

Today we have the last of our $25 winners. And that winner is….

Will H.!

Congratulations, Will! You’re our fourth $25 prize winner! Will had a great summer stay at Falling Creek Camp this year as he has for the last three years as well! Read all about it in his entry right now:

Hi! I'm Will Henry and my summer camp is Falling Creek in the mountains of North Carolina. I just finished my 4th summer at camp, and it was better than ever!

My favorite activity at camp was paddling. After a few lessons on strokes, we headed down the Green River in canoes. It was fun! I loved navigating the rapids. Some were challenging but after I made it through, I felt proud of myself. I sure didn't want to fall in and get wet because the water is cold!

Camp activities are great but what I love most is the friendships I've made over the years. Each year, I catch up with my camp buddies from all over the United States. I hope to stay close to these boys forever. Maybe some day we will end up in college together or back at Falling Creek as counselors!

I pack all of my clothes and gear in my Happy Camper trunk. My trunk rocks! I'm the oldest of 5 kids so to stay organized, my mom has color-coded each of my siblings' stuff. My color is blue, so guess what color my trunk is? Yep, it's blue! Each year, as I collect stickers when I travel and play sports, I add them to my trunk. I love looking at my trunk and instantly seeing reminders of my life's adventures!

Thanks Everything Summer Camp for keeping us well-supplied for our summer days!

Thanks again for your submission, Will! We’re delighted to hear that summer camp was such a thrill and brought you pride. It’s so cool that you have friends from all over that you can see at least once a year! Glad you love that blue Happy Camper! If anybody else is interested in checking out Falling Creek Camp, do it by clicking here. Be sure to tune in tomorrow as we continue to reveal our Contest winners and, as always, thanks for reading!

 

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

We’re announcing the winners to our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest right here on the Blog. Come back each weekday to see who else won; it might just be you. This year, we have more prizes, more submissions, and more fun! And, now for our third $25 winner—congratulations to….

Denise N.!

How about a round of applause? Denise is today’s winner! She wrote in to tell us about her son’s time at a day camp called Frogbridge. Here’s her submission:

It’s my Son’s 3rd year attending the Best Summer Camp Ever. He is at Frogbridge for 4 weeks and attends some amazing other single week camps for the remaining 4 weeks of summer. Frogbridge is certainly my favorite. The door to door bus service picks him up at 8:15 and returns him safely at 4:30. He receives a FB tee and cool FB backpack each year, and this year (since it was his 3rd year) a FB cap. Delicious lunch, weekly menus, daily photos, and special events are posted for parents to view. There’s a parents and family BBQ night, fun IPlay Adventure nights, laundry and towel service so no wet swim suit or towels ever come home, a community service toy collection event at holiday time, and Halloween gathering for all who attended camp to enjoy. Staff members are friendly and helpful whenever I called. You can ask to speak to your child at any time and a cell phone will be brought to them for you to speak to them and ease your mind how they are doing. I could go on and on. It’s a great experience for our son and I am so grateful we can send him to Frogbridge. Check it out they offer many open houses and even personal tours...Thank You.

Thanks again for your submission, Denise. It’s wonderful to hear that your boy has found some places to make his summers special. Frogbridge sounds really cool with a lot of perks and community-oriented events. If any of our readers want to take a closer look at Frogbridge, check it out by clicking right here.

Come back next week Monday when we continue to unveil our winners of this year’s ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest! Who knows?! It might be you! If your entry is announced a winner, you’ll receive an email with the gift certificate code once all other winners have been disclosed. Have a great weekend and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

It’s that time of year again! Yes, it’s sad to say goodbye to another camp season, but at least now you get to look back on all the fun! That’s what the Everything Summer Camp ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest is all about! Yesterday we announced Julia M. as our first of the four $25 winners. And, now, I’m about to announce our second winner.

For today’s winner we have….

Janet F.! Congratulations, Janet! You’re second $25 prize winner! Janet wrote in to tell us about her own camp experiences which she is delighted to share with her daughter now at Camp Kandalore. This is her submission:

I grew up looking forward to camp every summer. I felt it was a chance to spread my wings, take a break from my school crowd and reinvent myself. Once I transitioned from camper to camp leadership, camp proved to be a fantastic way to spend my college summers developing my leadership skills in the most majestic outdoor settings, meeting amazing friends and earning money to pay for tuition. When we had our daughter (Nya), my husband and I knew that camp was definitely going to be on the summer agenda. Thankfully, Nya has thrived in the camp environment (completing her 5th summer away). There are a lot of options for the summer, but for Nya, residential camp is always top of the list.

I grew up in Canada and now live in the States, but we send Nya back to Northern Ontario, Canada each summer to Camp Kandalore. The camp offers a wide range of land and water activities as well as an extensive tripping program. Activities are scaled to give campers of all ages a chance to push their boundaries and develop their skills at a higher level each year they attend camp. Every day campers get six periods; two are predetermined (swim and canoe) and the rest are choice. The goal is that all campers will come out of camp with some proficiency in swim and paddle and get to try a wide range of other activities.
 
Kandalore also offers nature and craft based activities and hosts an array of camp wide programs. One of the most anticipated camp-wide activities is the bi-monthly Waterfront Regatta. Campers join their camp-wide teams – Furtraders, Lumbermen, Pioneers or Voyageurs for this competition. Campers are assigned to these teams their first year at camp and remain on them for the lifetime they attend camp. Throughout the summer, the teams come together to accumulate points and compete for the overall team title. Bragging right not withstanding!!!
 
The other aspect I love about this camp is that it attracts campers from a wide range of geographic locations, both nationally (within Canada) and Internationally (the US and beyond). Nya’s cabin mates over the past few years have come from various provinces within Canada, the US, England, France, Dubai, Mexico and China. Many of these campers return each year, so Nya has developed some very treasured friendships and has a greater perspective on the world at large.
 
The camp setting itself is wonderful. The camp does an excellent job at maintaining the facilities and they are constantly making upgrades and improvements to the cabin structures and program equipment. We feel very confident dropping Nya off at Kandalore and allowing her to explore the various camp offerings at will. The camp also promotes a healthy respect for the natural setting in and around camp and the environment in general.
 
This stewardship is an important example for our youth and is necessary to protect and preserve the beauty and sanctity of this amazing area. Overall, Kandalore is extremely responsible and responsive; as parents, we have been extremely pleased with her experience and will continue to send her back to camp each summer.
 
Camp Kandalore rocks!

Thanks again for your submission, Janet. We’re so glad to hear that summer camp has provided such a healthy growing environment for, not just you, but Nya now as well! Camp Kandalore sounds like a wonderful camp. If any of our readers are interested in Camp Kandalore, you can check it out for yourself sometime.

Keep coming back each weekday in September as we continue to announce our prize winners. If entry is announced a winner, you’ll receive an email with the gift certificate code once all other winners have been disclosed. As always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

As the summer season makes its subtle shift into fall, it’s nice to look back and reflect on the fun that you had. That’s why, when the camp season is over, we’re always excited here at Everything Summer Camp to keep with our traditional ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest.

We decided to up the ante this year and—boy, did you guys respond well! We more than doubled the submissions that we’ve received in the past! We have ten winners this year for prizes of $25, $50, $100, and the grand prize of $250! And today I’m announcing the first of our four $25 winners.

Today’s winner is (drumroll, please)….

Julia M.! Congratulations, Julia! You’re our first $25 prize winner! Julia spent some fun summer days at Camp Merrie-Woode this year as she keeps coming back for more every year. Read all about it in her excellent entry:

Bracelets
Camp Merrie Woode has three sessions a 2-week, 3-week, and a 5-week. My first year I went to 2-week but, soon realized it was way too short. So, my next year I tried out 5-week and have gone to a 5-week for 4 years since. After you have gone to Merrie Woode 4 years or 17 weeks you get a silver bracelet that has your initials and an MW on the other side. The bracelet shows how long you have been at camp. When you are getting your bracelet the whole camp sits around a camp fire and sing songs, tell stories, and at the very end the camp directors present the campers who are getting their bracelets with their shiny new bracelets. When I got mine it was so exciting and it makes you feel sooo happy.

Uniforms
At camp everyone wears a gray shirt that has a pocket and a collar. It is called a middy. We also wear green Sophie shorts and a tie that we tie in a square knot. We always have to wear that except on Sundays where you wear all white and your tie all day except during Sunday activity where you can where whatever you want to. On Sundays we have cinnamon rolls for breakfast, then we clean our cabins, then we have chapel outside, then we sign up for Sunday activities. You can swim, or hike, or tie dye. Or anything else pretty much. Then you have free time, then lunch, then rest hour, then you go do your activities. I really liked slip’n slide. It is so fun.  It is also long.

In conclusion my camp is really fun you can learn new things, meet new people, and experience sleeping at a camp with people besides your family.

Thanks again for your submission, Julia. We’re so glad to hear how much you love your time at summer camp year after year. Sounds like you love it more every year.

Tune in the rest of this month as we continue to announce our prize winners. Once our winners have been announced they’ll receive an email with the gift certificate code. As always, thanks for reading, Camp Folks!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans—Hard brake! *URRRRrrrrrrrr!*

If you’re reading this and you plan on participating in our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest but have yet to actually enter your story, then stop what you’re doing and visit our submissions page right now—click here! Take your entry, put it into the submission field, fill out the other fields, and hit submit. Or you can opt to upload your camp story too—whichever method you prefer.

Today is the last day for taking submissions, however, so make with the haste before the cutoff cuts you out of this year’s contest!

We want to hear from as many of our readers as possible! This has quickly become one of our favorite times of the year; not only does it mark the close of our busy season, but we also get to hear about all the accomplishments and friendships you made as well as what fears you may have overcome or simply what your favorite part was about going to summer camp!

We hope you’re as excited as we are to find out who among our participants will be winning the gift card prizes. To reiterate the breakdown from previous posts, there will be the first round of winners made up of four participants who won the $25 gift card to our site. Next, there will be three $50 gift card winners. Then two winners for $100 gift cards. And the grand prize winner of a $250 gift card to Everything Summer Camp.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the fun! Tune in a couple weeks from now on Wednesday, September 12^th when we reveal our first random winner and publish their entry right here on the Blog to kick off this year’s ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest collection. Maybe it’ll yours! Looking forward to it, Camp Fans! And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John