Hey, Frank Fans!

Tomorrow is National Hot Dog Day. Standing tall alongside hamburgers, hot dogs are one of the most iconic of fun, summertime foods. From the privacy of your own backyard to the crowded stadium park at the ol’ ballgame—hot dogs are enjoyable everywhere! Wieners, Franks, Foot Longs, Dogs—no matter what you call them, they’re delicious! But they sure have collected a lot of names throughout the years.

Pork sausages (the hotdogs’ predecessor) were first made in Frankfurt, Germany which is what led to the name Frankfurters and, of course, ‘Franks’ for short. Foot Longs are pretty self explanatory and ‘Wiener’, in German, translates to ‘little sausage’. So how did the incredibly common name of Hot Dogs come about?

Well, as it does today, sausage came in all different shapes. The thin, long ones were noted for their likeness to the shape of dachshund dogs and so they adopted the name dachshund sausages for a very long time. Following the rise of Frankfurter popularity in the United States around the 1850s, butchers from Germany found a new home in America and introduced these dachshund dogs. They were a big hit for street vendors as well as a fan favorite at baseball games. Our story takes place at a New York baseball game in 1901. Introducing a sports cartoonist named Tad Dorgan who, from his press box seats, overheard the vendors yelling out to the crowd, ‘Get your hot dachshund sausages here!’

Tad went home that night with the idea to depict the scene of the vendors among the crowd. He drew up the scene, but when he was writing the vendor’s word bubble, he realized he had no idea how to spell ‘dachshund’, so he just wrote ‘hot dogs’ down and coined the term overnight! Unfortunately the comic has never resurfaced.

Get prepared to celebrate Hot Dog Day tomorrow with hot dog bars so you can make your dogs up Chicago style, bacon-wrapped with blue cheese, with chili, or anything else you can think of. Happy Hot Dog Day and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Campers!

Today’s Blog post goes out in loving memory of the Starman whom the world said goodbye to after he lost his battle with cancer earlier this year. Legendary rock star, David Bowie brought innovation and originality to his music, giving the world something that nobody had ever heard before. Launching himself into super stardom at a young age, believe it or not, he got his start at summer camp!

Indeed, his first recorded rock performance took pace at his scout camp on the Isle of Wight in August of 1958 under the same organization as a previously posted pop star who was a former camper with Corf Scout Camp: Paul McCartney. A fellow camper and longterm friend to David, George Underwood has an excellent recall of the performance back when they were just 11.

They played old classics like ‘Gamblin’ Man’, ‘Putting on the Style’, ‘16 Tons’, ‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett’, and more—George playing bass and David on ukulele . “We put a washboard bass in the back of the van, and David’s ukulele, and between us we managed to conjure up a couple of songs around the campfire,” George is quoted in the 2011 book ‘David Bowie: Starman’.

“And that was our first public performance,” George goes on to say. “Neither of us had any claim to virtuosity–but we wanted to sing.” Following his dreams, David paved his own career path to pop stardom from his passion. Quite an influential singer, his voice is appreciated for its versatility and distinctive ability to soar wildly high and yet drop to a crooner’s rich quality in his lowest register.

Along with the guitar, the extremely talented David Bowie also played the keyboard, harmonica, saxophone, stylophone, viola, cello, koto, thumb piano, and drums. Forever remembered in the hearts of his fans the world over, David Bowie began his musical performances at summer camp. What will you begin? As always, thanks for reading, Campers!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

How was camp? At Everything Summer Camp, we REALLY want to know! That’s why we’re asking you to write us…AGAIN! We saw such a great response to our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest last summer that we felt compelled to do it again this year! We can’t wait to hear all your stories this year!

If you weren’t a participant last year, join in on the fun this time around! Whether you tell us about the one thing that was the most fun or talk about all the great people you met, we’d love to hear about your camp experience!

Please include your first name and your last name’s initial, what camp you visited, and how long you’ve been going to camp. You only need 150 words to qualify, however, we’re looking for submissions closer to 250. In these submissions, we encourage you to talk about YOUR camp and why you think it’s the best.

Not sure What to Write?                         l Well, you could tell us about the things you learned at camp like how to shoot an arrow or which way is north. You could share stories about all the friends you made while you were there. You could describe how it felt to be away from home. You could exercise your creative muscle and talk about the beautiful landscapes and natural surroundings you saw at camp. Or just give us something like a journal entry that chronicles a day in the life.

To Enter                                                                                                                          l You’ll need to submit your written story about your summer camp experience using the entry form found here. There’s no entry fee. If you’re under 18 years of age you’ll need the permission of a parent or guardian to enter the Contest.

Speaking of Parents                                                                                                          l We’d love to hear from you as well! Don’t hesitate to submit something yourself if you’d like to share your experience in sending your kid to camp. How did it go? Have you noticed any changes in your child since they got back? How did you fare with being away? How will you be better prepared for next year? Tell us anything you want. We’ll listen!
Everybody who submits gets a $15 gift certificate to Everything Summer Camp!
Seven random winners will be chosen. Our first randomized winner will receive a $100 gift card for our website. We’ll then randomly pick two more winners to receive $50 gift cards to our site. After that, four random winners will get our $25 gift cards. Everyone else who submits will get the $15 gift cards.  

So tell us how camp went and share your stories right here on the Blog! Check out the entry form for further details and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Visitors!

Welcome back to our Tips and Advice series in July for drop-offs, visits, and pick-ups. Borrowing from Chris Thurber and Jon Malinowski—authors of ‘The Summer Camp Handbook’—today’s post offers invaluable wisdom about visiting your kid at camp. All camps are different. Some have Visiting Days and others don’t. Your kid’s camp stay may only last a week in which case there’s likely no Visiting Day between the drop-off and pick-up.

If there is a Visiting Day, you should make every effort to go. If you simply can’t, try to work out another arrangement. Although it’s not as fun as seeing one’s own parents, kids do enjoy going out with their friends and their friends’ family on a Visiting Day. Set it up by phone, email, or fax to give permission for someone else to take your kid out of camp. You’ll want to make arrangements in advance so your camper is well-aware and comfortable with the plan.

But assuming that you can attend Visiting Day, here are some good things to keep in mind on Visiting Day:

Only Visit on Visiting Day
More so than phone calls, in-person visits are an immediate form of contact that can provoke homesickness in your child and spark envy among new friends. Unscheduled visits are disruptive to campers’ developing sense of independence. If you have any doubts about the appropriateness of your visit, be sure to call the camp first and speak with the director.

Be on Time
Stick to what you promised on opening day. Your son or daughter will be counting on it.

Take a Tour
Your child would love to show you around camp. Keep any critical comments to yourself—this is your child’s time to shine, not defend the fun time they’re having.

Keep an Open Mind
You’ll wonder about certain aspects of camp. Ask gently for an explanation before passing judgment. Offer genuine praise for all of your child’s accomplishments.

Prepare for Strong Feelings
Visiting Day can be a wonderfully emotional time, but it’s often hard for kids to say goodbye. Resist the temptation to offer your child a ride home. Instead, be understanding and encouraging. You’ll see them again soon.

Share Sad News Early and in Person
Telling your child about the death of a pet or sharing any other bad news is best done in person, not in a letter or a phone call (when you’re not there to provide comfort). Break any bad news to your child early on Visiting Day to give you both time to talk about it.

To get even more great information about these six elements of Visiting Day, pick up your own copy of ‘The Summer Camp Handbook’. Have fun come Visiting Day and make sure you tune in next Monday for tips about Closing Day at summer camp. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Smart Shoppers!

Here at Everything Summer Camp, we’re always putting out some pretty sweet deals! If we’re not having some holiday sale or a summer camp sweepstakes type deal, you’re still sure to discover quality products whose prices have taken dives in our Closeouts Department. As the summer camp season starts winding down, it gives way to a slew of marked-down products.Supply is limited on some items. Most of you probably aren’t buying for camp anymore this year, but this is a great chance to get a jump on next camp season or pick up a few items that could be useful for school like rain jackets and backpacks.

We’ve added over 60 new items to our Closeouts Department. These are items that have either been discontinued or products that we are overstocked on. We may have overestimated a product’s popularity or simply bought too much. Neither the quality nor the style of these products plays a role in its placement in Closeouts.

Items in our Closeouts Department are on sale for 25%-70% off. Let’s take a look at some of the new additions:

25% Off
Pick up the Girls Arcadia and Boys Watertight Rain Jackets from Columbia. We also have Emoji Pillows discounted as well as Insect Repellent from Repel and Cutter.

34% Off
Get the Wenzel Moose Sleeping Bag for a steal! You can also find this deal on the Camelbak Eddy Water Bottles. And try on the Columbia EvaPOURation Rain Jacket for 34% off its regular price too!

50% Off
Pay half price for several of our Color War items along with some Apparel items like T-shirts, Sweatshirts, Sweatpants, and other articles. Find Fleece Blankets half off as well!

60% Off
Our price on Autographable T-Shirts is taking a huge dive along with our basic, solid-color Pillowcases. Also, get our Light My Fire Pack-Up Bottle for a more-than-reasonable price!

70% Off
We know, we know…we got carried away. 70% OFF?!! No we’re not kidding. Get Tote + Able Canteens for almost free! You can also get our Camp Fire Collection Necklaces & Charms for way cheap—and don’t forget about a number of our camp trunk decoration Decals.

NOTE:  Since this isn’t really a sale so much as it is an announcement that new items have been added to our Closeouts, there isn’t any start or end date to the absurd discounts on these products. But don’t dally! These items are expected to go quick!

I didn’t even get around to mentioning ALL of the items that we’ve put in our Closeouts so you should really just browse the Department yourself! Enjoy shopping our Closeouts Department and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John