Hey, Summer Campers!

The same as so many Hollywood stars, professional athletes, musical artists, and other celebrities, among so many of our favorite Hollywood actors who attended summer camp when they were young, movie star Ethan Hawke is yet another former camper in the biz! Frequently found in film features all throughout the 90’s, he started making a name for himself even before that when he was only 15.

And it wasn’t much before then that Ethan attended summer camp at the YMCA Camp Carter in Texas. Located just minutes from downtown Fort Worth, Camp Carter covers more than 300 acres of heavily wooded land as well as its own lake and waterfront access to the Trinity river, showing kids—like Ethan Hawke back in the early 80s—the time of their lives.

Between his camp stay and his first movie, Ethan starred for the first time on the stage for his high school production of ‘Saint Joan’ When he first started high school, Ethan wanted to be a writer, but it didn’t take long for the acting bug to settle in and he knew this was what he wanted to do.

So eager to get into the business, the 15-year-old Ethan landed a lead role in the sci-fi movie as mentioned above. While the movie ‘Explorers’ went on to develop a cult following, it did not do well in the theaters. Though he’s not proud to admit it, ‘Explorers’ poor immediate reception took a toll on Ethan and he unofficially gave up acting for the time being. In retrospect, he feels that he rushed things along too quickly. “I would never recommend that a kid act,” he has said.

He returned to acting five years later after completing his education and saw better success than he did on his initial run. In just a few years, he found his role alongside Robin Williams in ‘Dead Poet’s Society’ which was a great launching point that brought him the work of 18 films throughout the 90s.

Ethan’s acting career also included some television appearances such as an episode of ‘Alias’ as well as ‘Moby Dick’ the made-for-TV miniseries. Check out Camp Carter for yourself sometime and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Camp Fans!

We work with so many camps—over 270 to give you an idea—that it’s nice to devote some time for singing their praises. That’s why we like to spotlight these camps on our Blog to try and get the word out to families who might yet be looking for the right summer camp for their son or daughter. Today, we’re shining our spotlight on the boys camp in North Carolina, Timberlake Camp and their sister camp, Camp Merri-Mac.

Located on the same property in Black Mountain, North Carolina, the boys and girls camp are high up in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains where summer stays create lifelong memories. 15 miles east of Asheville, Timberlake and Merri-Mac are encircled by the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains and much of the bordering land lies within the Pisgah National Forest.

Lots of fun activities are offered at Timberlake Camp . Boys can soak in the fun on their waterfronts with Canoeing, Fly-Fishing, Kayaking, Swimming, or Waterskiing. And they have fun on the land with Archery, Backpacking, Climbing, Fencing, Mountain Biking, Paintball, Pottery, Riding, Riflery, Rocketry, Ropes Course, Soccer, Tennis, Trips, Wrestling, and more. There are also Tribes into which all campers are initiated and participate for in the Tribal Events.

Timberlake campers are placed in cabins based on their grade in school. Boasting seven rustic cabins, they are all different at Timberlake—from big to small, accompanied by two to five cabin leaders. Each cabin observes its own traditions, providing its own attitude and environment to the campers.

You’d be lucky if you get the opportunity to attend Timberlake Camp . You can take a closer look at it by clicking here and read about Camp Merri-Mac in our previous Blog post right here. Look into these camps to see if they may be right for your budding camper and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

Say hello to Mellina—our year-round help and organizational guru in our Graphic Department production. We make all of our personalized products right here in our own, local facility factory. Mellina runs production on a daily basis which involves designing and printing our Clothing Name Labels, Clothing Stamps, Stick-On Labels, Lid Skinz, Autograph Pillowcases, Embroidered Laundry Bags, Camp Clothing, and pretty much every other personalized product we offer.

Needless to say, her job keeps her busy, busy, busy—especially so in the summertime.

Before the busy days of adulthood, Mellina would frequently go on family hiking trips through the woodsy wilderness of northwestern Wisconsin. Her folks would often take her and her siblings on camping trips too. “I attended summer camp through the YMCA at Manitou one year and loved it,” she said. “We’ve taken the kids camping a few times and plan to more often since they’re getting older now!”

Nowadays, she’s an early bird—up with her two young kids, she typically chooses to start her workday earlier than anyone else at Everything Summer Camp. And after an often-times exhausting shift, Mellina goes home to her lovely family. She and her husband Jeremy cherish every moment with their adorable children Henry, 7, and Nora, 5.

With these two little ones of her own, Mellina takes great pride in her work, knowing how much young campers will appreciate a job well done. “My favorite part is making the personalized items for kids, especially the embroidery,” she told me. “Having an unusual name, as a kid I could never find trinkets with my name on them. Finally my parents had a barrette made for me and it really made me feel special. I hope these kids feel special when they see the items we make with their names on them.”

We hope you treasure all the fun personalized products we create for you in our Graphics Department and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Gamers!

Games are always a surefire way to get some fun going between you a friend, a bunch of friends, or even a bunch of strangers—like all the new kids you'll meet at camp. In an attempt to pass the time, have fun, and relax, people have played games as far back as history can show us. Chess came around in the 500s and Backgammon was about 2000 years before that! Even older is a game called Senet that they played in Predynastic Egypt which makes it the oldest game as far as we know.

Games have taken on a number of different forms and even media—from board games to card games to sports games and video games. A number of games have positioned themselves on the fine line between game and sport with activities like Ping Pong and Billiards. Another ambiguous leisure activity is Darts.

Darts aren’t nearly as old as Senet or even Chess, but its history is an interesting one anyway. The game is rumored to have originated in medieval times (in the 1500s) when Henry VIII told his archers that he wanted them keeping their skills sharp year round. To avoid the cold weather, they maintained their aim by throwing their arrows indoors instead of shooting them. The arrows were eventually shortened for indoor use.

Since then, darts seem to have been a common game found in pubs across the European continent, yet, we only need to travel back less than 200 years for what we know to be the official start for the game of Darts. Records have been found as early as 1837 in which an adaptation of Darts was developed called “Puff and Dart”. The game involved a hollow cylinder and much lighter darts that were blown at a target instead of thrown.

Any Dart games prior to “Puff and Dart” are assumed to have had the same style point system as indicated by an archery target. The scoring system of “Puff and Dart” was based on the number of “puffs” a player took to hit a certain number (along the lines of strokes in a golf game). But things changed drastically after “Puff and Dart”.

The “Puff and Dart” game did not have a lasting stay as accidental sucking instead of blowing brought about a number of deaths. But that didn’t mean the end of Darts! People reverted back to throwing heavier darts. And, in 1896, an Englishman named Brian Gamlin designed the modern dartboard with the numbering layout that’s now well known today.

Fans of the game of Darts ourselves, we’re happy to offer this kid-friendly Magnetic Darts and Dartboard Game Set here at Everything Summer Camp. Check it out right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

Unless they’re going to a day camp, flashlights are essential to every camper’s packing list as you prepare for the summer camp experience. We always want to offer the most innovative, most child-friendly products in our camping gear shop, so we keep our eyes open when it comes to new products on the market. Our eyes bulged when we saw Blackfire’s Clamplights—the smartest flashlights available—and we knew we had to carry this brand.

Blackfire was founded in 2008 by an inventor named Bruce Ancona. Prior to Blackfire, Bruce had spent the previous 25 years as a consultant for the relevant products being developed by clients from all over the country and all over the world. Together, Bruce and his team are the inventors of more than 200 patents! But Bruce had the light bulb go on in his head with the bright idea of making his own clever products.

Clever products, indeed, Blackfire’s Clamplights are simple, yet genius. How do they conceive of such revolutionary modifications? They ask themselves questions to help them to understand what kind of tasks people are doing when they need a flashlight. And how can its design help to better serve the user?

Blackfire brings a high-end design to the traditional flashlight which essentially reinvents the 1899 invention so that it can stand upright on a flat surface, clamp onto whatever’s nearby, or be handheld as usual. It swivels in every which direction to provide you with light wherever you need it.

Blackfire is simply the best selection in flashlights that’s available on the market. That’s why you can be sure to find it offered on our website at Everything Summer Camp! Get an even closer look at their Clamplight Flashlight right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John