Hey, Camp Fans!

By now, I’m sure you’ve heard that our fourth annual ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest is in full swing and the submissions period is open! Yes, indeed! In our fourth year now, we’re doing things a little differently, offering bigger prizes and more of them! And, as usual, we have a $15 gift certificate for Everything Summer Camp in exchange for your camp stories!

We want to hear all about those accomplishments and friends you made at camp. What fears you may have overcome and your favorite parts about camp are great things we want you to share as well! The month is wrapping up, so get your submissions into us as soon as you can—the cutoff date is less than ten days away on August 31!

If you have yours ready to go, take care of it now and click here.

We have ten random winners this year. Our first randomized winner will receive our top prize of a $250 gift card to use on our website! Two more winners will receive $100 gift cards for the site. Three random winners will get $50 gift cards. And four random winners will receive $25 gift cards.

In case you’re not quite sure what to write about, I offered some suggestions when I first announced the contest this year. You can check out that post by clicking here or get a quick refresher with the following ideas:

• What was the most fun you had?
• What kind of athletic, artistic, and thinking skills did you learn?
• What great friends you made!
• What being away from your parents felt like!
• What kind of beautiful things did you see during your stay?

Also, be sure to mention the name of the camp you attended and what you loved most about it! Include your first name and your last name initial and how long you’ve been going to camp. We loved hearing about your summer for the last few years and I can’t wait to receive a fresh new batch of camp stories from this year! So, get writin’ and send us your submissions, Camp Fans! And, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Summer gets busy fast—especially near the end; we all want to fit in as much fun in the sun as we can before the season ends. But make sure you don’t miss out on the opportunity to share your camp stories with the widespread camp community, not to mention win a cool participatory prize from Everything Summer Camp!

With August in full swing, there’s no time to dally! Get your memories written up and send your submissions into us—our final call is just two and a half weeks away on August 31.

Don’t forget: Everyone who submits gets a $15 gift certificate to Everything Summer Camp! But on top of that, the ante is getting upped for this year’s Camp Story Contest! Instead of seven, this year we’ll have ten random winners.

Our first randomized winner will receive our top prize of a $250 gift card to use on our website! Two more winners will receive $100 gift cards to our site. Three random winners will get $50 gift cards. And four random winners will receive $25 gift cards.

Articulating all your new camp experiences on paper helps you process and reflect on all the things you learned. If you’re not exactly sure what you’d like to write about, you can check out some ideas on the previous Share Your Camp Story post I wrote last month. Check it out by clicking here to see it.

In your submissions, please include your first name as well as your last name initial, what camp you visited, and how long you’ve been going to camp. Parents are more than welcome to send us their submissions to let us know how the camp experience was on their end too!

We enjoy hearing your camp stories so much we can barely wait to receive a fresh new collection of stories from this year! Share your stories by clicking right here. And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

For most summer campers, another camp season has come and gone. And now that kids are returning home, they have some time for reflection on the experience they had at camp. We want to hear how it went. Tell us through our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest! It’s seen great participation in previous years and we always enjoy reading over the submissions we get.

I can’t wait to read all the great stories you have from this summer!

Tell us about your most memorable moment or talk about all the great people you met. No matter what you choose to share, we’d love to hear it! Include your first name and the initial of your last name, the name of the camp you visited, and how long you’ve been going to camp. Tell us about the camp you went to and why you think it’s the best! While 150 words will qualify, we’d prefer to see submissions be closer to 250—take your time to really set the camp scene for us.

Write About…
There’s an endless list of things you could write about for your submission—a list of everything you ate while at camp, for instance. But the best submissions are written about the parts of camp that meant the most to you.

Write about the things you learned at camp. Write about all the friends you made while you were there. Write about how it felt to be away from home. Write about the beautiful landscapes and natural surroundings you saw at camp. Or submit a journal-style entry that chronicles a day in the summer camp life!

Submit your written entry of your time at camp by clicking here. There is no entry fee. If you’re under the age of 18, you’ll need permission from your parent or guardian to participate in this Contest.

And speaking of parents—we certainly love hearing from you as well; so don’t hesitate to enter your own submission if you’d like to share your own story. How did the experience go on your end? Has your kid shown a positive change in character and behavior? How did you cope with your camper being away? Did you learn any lessons? Tell us anything you want—we’re all ears!

All Entries are Winners!

We’re upping the ante for this year’s Camp Story Contest! Ten random winners will be selected. Our first randomized winner will receive our top prize of a $250 gift card to use on our website! Two more winners will receive $100 gift cards to our site. Three random winners will get $50 gift cards. And four random winners will receive $25 gift cards. All other participants will get a $15 gift card so everyone’s a winner!

Tell us how camp went and submit your stories to be shared right here on the Blog! Check out the entry form (linked above) for further details and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Campers!

I told you we were through with camper submissions. I told you the last had finally been published.

I was wrong.

Enjoy reading this final camp submission from Lauren E. who wrote in to tell us about her second camp stay at Camp Tapawingo in New York. Check it out:

“My name is Lauren, and this was my second summer going to camp at Tapawingo! Tapawingo means ‘Place of Joy’ and it is so cool, because it is on an island in the middle of Lake Pleasant in the Adirondacks mountains of New York.
lMy very favorite thing to do at camp is Banana Boating! That is when six campers sit on a big inflatable banana shaped float and it is towed by a really fast boat! We get whipped back and forth until everyone goes flying off!
lThe other activities I really enjoy are crafts, sailing, hiking, and drama. There are lots of different activities for us to choose from!
What I love most about going to camp are the friendships I make. I have great friends from all over the WORLD that I have met there. They become like sisters to me and I will love them forever.
lWhen I go to camp, I pack all my stuff in a large soft pop-up trunk. I love it, because it fits everything I need, and it is easy for me to move around.”

We love hearing how much you love camp, Lauren! Thanks for the shout-out to the Pop-Up Soft Trunk too—glad it can see you through your camp experience! Tapawingo sounds like a pretty magical place and Banana Boating sounds like an absolute blast! We hope Camp Tapawingo provides you with awesome summers to come!

If anybody else thinks Tapawingo sounds like a good fit for them, check out their website to get a better sense of how you'd like to stay there and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

The Everything Summer Camp ‘Share Your Camp Story’ drawing saw an excellent response with about 30 entries! That’s why we’ve published each and every one right here on the Blog! We received a handful that weren’t long enough to qualify for our contest, but we thought we’d at least share them on the Blog. Check out these three accounts from excited campers!

First is this entry from Jacob T. who attended Camp Caraway:

“This was my first overnight camp. I LOVED it! I participated in archery, go cart racing, air rifle, ziplining, paddleboard, and hiking. The facility was really nice! Our cabins were clean and air conditioned. The food was delicious! I like the billiard. The canteen had good snacks. My favorite part was being away from home. There were lots of things to do and lots of friends to play with me! I would like to go back to Camp Caraway next year!”

Next up is a submission about Liam F. and his time at Camp Onas:

“I was a bit nervous going to camp this year for 4 weeks. I asked my mom to print out a photo of my dog Romeo. This is my first year with your “soft” trunk and it made finding my clothes easy. There is a pocket in the top to put my dogs picture – so it didn’t get wet.

It really rained a lot – we enjoyed the mud on the boys side.”

And, lastly, we have a camp submission from Linnea P. who went to Camp Lake Hubert:

“My husband attended Camp Lincoln as a child. We were in the area a few years ago and took a tour. Ever since then, my husband wanted to go to Family Camp at Camp Lake Hubert. I was reluctant to go, but I finally said yes this year.

I am so glad that I did. Everyone in our family had a great time! I found out that two of my kids are really good at archery, and the other one is really good at kayaking. The activities were fun. The food was good, and the staff was top notch! We would love to go again!”

And thus concludes our entries to our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest from the 2017 camp season. A huge thanks to everyone who submitted and shared your camp memories with us! It’s been great to hear from all of you. Look into these camps for yourselves if you’re interested and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John