Hey, Camp Folks!

We greatly appreciate all the camp stories you've shared for our 'Share Your Camp Story' Contest here at Everything Summer Camp. Our participants truly impressed us this year with their wonderful tales! These stories are exceptional, and we're eagerly looking forward to presenting them to our online community. Every submission will be featured right here on the Blog!

Now that we've announced the ten fortunate winners who have earned significant prizes, we're ready to share the rest of the submissions we received. The next post is from Aurelia D., who has chosen to recount her experiences at Camp Woodland for Girls in Wisconsin. Dive into her reflections on her camp adventure right away:

“My camp does a song contest every year. That’s when you take a popular song and change the words to make it relate to camp life at Woodland. Your song, also has to have a choreography to go with it. The song is then presented in front of the whole camp and a team of judges. If your song wins first place, it will be in the Counselor in Training show at the end of camp. We spent one whole week preparing for song contest. We picked: “Ugly Heart”, changed the lyrics created a routine to match our words and practiced non-stop during quiet hour, before meals, every spare minute we had in the cabin. When the day finally arrived, we felt prepared but we all sat there nervous waiting for our turn to perform. When our turn arrived, we got out there did our best and had fun. When it was time to announce the winner, we sat there holding our breath, clutching each other’s hands. Then we heard it: “first place is…Silverbirch!” Our cabin jumped with excitement! This was the first time I had ever won a cabin event; it was the best Saturday night!”

Thanks, Aurelia—excellent submission! The Woodland Song Contest sounds like a super-fun project to span throughout the summer stay! I’m glad you and your cabin had such a fun time with this part of summer camp. Camp Woodland for Girls sounds like a really fun and creative place to attend.

Check out Camp Woodland for your camper with a closer look when you click right here. Thanks for reading and, as always, Happy Camping!

- John

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 Caitlyn B. who decided to write about her time at Kickapoo Kamp in Texas. Check out what she had to say about her camp stay right now:

“This was my second year attending Kickapoo Kamp. At the end of my first summer, I knew I had fun and I knew I wanted to go back but I didn’t realize how much. As soon as my mom dropped me off this year I knew that Kickapoo Kamp was my home and I knew that everyone was my family. The counselors and staff immediately welcomed me back and all my anxiety about being away from home for three weeks disappeared. My days were filled with all of my favorite activities and some new ones. I played tennis for the first time and realized that I really like it, which is strange because I never really like any sports. Some of my favorite things at camp are the food and singing songs. If you have never had grape ice cream you are missing out and it is a Kickapoo Kamp tradition. My three weeks went by so fast and I was not ready to go home. The first thing I said when my mom came to pick me up was to ask if she registered me to go back next summer.”

I love it, Caitlyn! Great submission. I’m glad you had such a fun camp stay this past summer. Kamp Kickapoo sounds like a really inviting place. How wonderful you feel so comfortable and at home at kamp…I mean, camp. It’s great to hear that you discovered a love for Tennis; way to try something new! I’m glad you’re planning on heading back in the next camp season. In the meantime, I’ll have to try and track down some grape ice cream. Thanks for writing in, Caitlyn!

If anyone else would like to give Kamp Kickapoo closer, you can do so by clicking right here. Thanks for reading and, as always, Happy Camping!

- John

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