Hey Blogland! Sorry for the lack of postings this past week, but I took a few days off for the Passover Holiday. Long seders at the Forti household, but it was nice to be with my extended family! Things at work are absolutely hectic right now. Of course it is to be expected as camp for me is literally just around the corner- 7 days to be exact.

Yesterday (Sunday), Brian Krug, Programming Director Roy Faden, and I met the entire day to discuss the schedules for this coming summer. We made some changes, including a new Senior Choice period (more details to follow, but I promise you it’s exciting) as well as more availability in cooking, amongst other enhancements. I got to see the Fadens and the Jacobsons before they headed out to the movies, which was a nice surprise! They are doing well and are so excited for camp.

Updates on the water around camp- Senior Side and Freshman Hill have water! All of the hot water heaters in those cabins are lit, the water is flowing, and any cracked pipes have been fixed. It has been quite a challenge this year due to temperatures over night falling below freezing, which can cause the pipes to freeze. Hopefully it will warm up the next few days so we can turn on the kitchen and lower boys camp. Actually, a few cabins in lower boys camp are already on as well because believe it or not the water for 3 lower boys bunks comes from Senior side underneath the lake! At camp, we have well water and there are wells spread throughout camp. The main well comes from near the Art Center/Low Ropes area and that feeds the majority of camp. There is also a well in the parking lot, near the girls CIT cabin, Senior Boys side, and underneath my house on freshman hill! For some reason, the well on Senior side has a pipe running underneath the lake in order to feed lower boys 3 cabins. The rest of the water comes from the main well that I mentioned before.

Too much information? Well its GREAT trivia to use for the “Panel of Experts” at lineup one morning when I am not there! Make sure Matt Unger and I are NOT there and ask a question about the wells or water lines…my guess is that the “experts” made up of the groupleaders/head counselors will laugh and look at you like you have 10 heads- go ahead and try it!

Otherwise, things are shaping up nicely at camp. The pools will be drained soon, cleaned from the winter, painted and filled with fresh water. The leaves have already been raked from the grove, main office, and dining hall areas, but a lot more raking needs to be done! The kitchen staff arrive at camp on Monday, April 27 to begin cleaning the dining hall and reopening it as we welcome our first group and CITs that very next weekend.

A lot to do, but it will all get done and summer will be here before we know it!

P.S.- Will Armon jumped out of a plane this past weekend skydiving and lives to tell about it! Enjoy the picture…

 

More Info Coming Soon!

Click here to view Eric’s vlog from camp!

This past weekend was my last “quiet” weekend before I move up to camp! So I did a lot of rest and relaxation, while enjoying the beautiful weather on Sunday afternoon.

I wanted to share a photo with you from a Sunday morning volunteering event that I participated in. One Sunday each month, the Jewish Relief Agency (JRA) opens up a warehouse in Northeast Philadelphia to volunteers to assist in packaging food for needy Jewish families in the Philadelphia area. Over 700 volunteers turned up to help package the food, including myself, alumn Max Blum, and camper Nolan Gardner. After preparing the boxes, which this month contained Kosher for Passover foods, we set out on a delivery route with 24 boxes loaded in my SUV! There were over 2,400 families that benefitted this month in the Philadelphia area from this one day of community service.

Next fall, I am hoping to organize a Camp Canadensis group to participate in this together, so I hope many of you will join in this fun and worthwhile cause.

Below is a picture of Max Blum and me each holding a box of food.

 

I will be up at camp Tuesday night and Wednesday before the Passover seders and will try to snap some shots around camp this week as we continue to turn the water on and prepare for camp!

Marshall Weinstein: Love the videos and the blog! Makes me feel more connected to camp when I live so far away.

What do you think? Let us know! Email us at editor@canadensis.com.

Brooke Appelbaum sent in this picture of her dog “Lewie” with his Canadensis gear!

Hello from Canadensis! I guess you will have to get used to hearing that opening, as I am moving up to camp within the next few weeks. Today I am writing to you from my cozy, warm house on freshman hill!

Last night Matt and I drove up and arrived at camp around 10:45 PM. I have to confess that we made a few stops along the way at both Target and Staples as they had great sales on some items and we needed to buy office supplies for camp! After our shopping adventure, dinner at Friday’s, and stopping for fuel, we finally arrived in the mountains.

This morning, we left camp around 7AM to meet with the Pocono Chamber of Commerce. Camp Canadensis is a member of the Chamber and we had to go and videotape a  free “TV show spot” for local television introducing camp to the community. So Matt drove to Stroudsburg to the meeting and I wrote a 1-minute script as a commercial for camp. We showed up and they told us it’s a 15-second intro. Aaahh, how am I supposed to explain Camp Canadensis in 15 seconds! The show will air in May and will also be on the internet, so I will be sure to post a link on the blog.

After the Chamber meeting, we ran a few errands in town and then returned to camp. After unloading the car it was time for the annual redecoration of our Operations office and clean-up. We setup Sam’s desk , moved a few things around, and then sat down at our desks to do some computer work, make phone calls, etc. At the exact same time, Matt and I looked at each other and said WOW, another winter has passed and it feels like we just left! Of course, we were missing Sam (who by the way is excited that his desk is now on “my side” of the office and he is sort of facing me full time now) as well as missing all of the campers and staff. It really felt like we never left and we were so excited to be back up at camp once again.

Now I am sitting in my house, doing some laundry, and watching TV. Tomorrow will be another day at camp and we plan on checking on all of the renovated cabins, the new canteen, and check on a few other things around camp. Tomorrow night we will head back to Philly, but this time only for about 2 weeks, until we move back up to camp full time!

I hope everyone is doing well and stay tuned for a Vlog (video) posting from camp tomorrow.

Click here for a special message from Will Armon

Coming to our web-site this summer! 

Stay tuned to the blog for more information and new vlogs!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE TEASER FOR CANADENSIS TODAY

Click here to view a video of Eric Forti on location in Upstate New York

Eric and Matt Unger are both currently in upstate NY at a food show. There are over 60 food manufacturers representing thousands of products that they will have the “unfortunate” job of HAVING to taste (including dessert items!!). The purpose is to try and find new and exciting additions to the Canadensis Menu this upcoming summer. Stay tuned to the blog for food updates…

In this picture, Eric is joined by our food purchasing agent, Alan, and one of our food vendor delivery truck drivers at the food pre-show extravaganza gala!

Click here to view the newest Canadensis 411: Winter Update- March 2009

Brrr….it was COLD! Yesterday, I went up to camp and overnight the temperatures hit 12 degrees. The heat was blasting in my cabin, but in the morning I awoke to absolutely no snow on the ground whatsoever and the lake is completely thawed out! This is the earliest I remember no snow (not even piles from the plow) and that means we have extra time to get the leaves raked and make sure the camp is as beautiful as always for our first groups, which will be arriving on May 1. Speaking of our first groups, we are also hosting our CIT 09 weekend as well on May 2 and I am so excited to see them!

Things up at camp are coming along really well. Tom, Jimmy, and Val have worked incredibly hard this winter to ensure things are ready. A bunch of cabins were renovated, cubbies are still being built, the small pavilion has a brand-new floor, we put new roofs on many buildings throughout camps, most of the roads have been paved, and much much more! Oh, did I mention the new canteen? I must have forgotten, haha. Check out my video at the top of this post from my time at camp and you will see a sneak preview of where the new canteen is located. I didn’t take you inside just yet as we are still putting the final touches on, but I promise that I will bring you a video soon of the inside!

So as soon as the temperatures stop dipping below 32 degrees (freezing) at night, we will begin the process of turning on the water. I say we because once I move up (April 20), I like to help here and there, but when it comes to climbing underneath cabins and crawling through the mud, it always seems that I am really busy and must leave to take a phone call, how convenient, right? Just kidding of course?

Anyway, I am really excited to be moving up to camp because it means camp is that much closer. I promise to post as often as I can once I move up to camp and bring you pictures and videos throughout the coming months. Enjoy the video at the top of this post from my day at camp and stay tuned because Matt Unger and I are going up next week for a day as well!

Finally, I wanted to announce the winners of Where in the World is Eric Forti- Part 2. Before I do, I have to once more reiterate how much work Jaycal continues to put into this blog. Whether I was sending him a video to post at 3AM Eastern time while I was in Russia, or I would blackberry messenger him to send me the next clue, he always made himself available and kept up with the blog postings immediately. I owe him a huge thank you for all of the work he does behind the scenes and vow that this summer I will try to get him on videos and in pictures more often…With that being said, congratulations to the following winners of Round 2. Remember, they get an ice cream sundae party for their entire bunk at camp as well as an exclusive spot on our Canadensis Today morning show that we will be filming at camp each morning for all of our family and friends who are NOT at camp and stuck back at home!

And the winners are:

Counselor Winner: Peter Tarnoff

Camper Winner: Oliver Harris

Hey Everyone! Sorry for the lack of blog posts this past week. At the start of the week, I went up to Tarrytown, NY for a menu planning food conference. About 15 camps got together to discuss their menus and the food ordering process in an attempt for all of us to gain some knowledge in this field. It was very productive, with fun mixed in of course! Following the conference, I went to Syosset, NY where I had a production meeting with Jaycal to discuss our new Canadensis Today Morning Show. We have some amazing things planned and I can’t wait for summer to come and starting this internet morning show for camp families and friends.

After the meeting, the Calabretta’s took me to dinner and then I stopped over the McCord house briefly for a quick visit. Casey asked me to record a little webcam video on facebook for the 2009 Super Senior Girls (Shout-out!) and we chatted a bit about the upcoming summer. Brett had just come home from his rock band practice with a guitar in hand!

Tuesday through Friday I was down in Atlantic City for our annual tri-state camp conference. It is the largest gathering of camps each year and an opportunity for all of us to attend sessions to discuss all aspects of camp. Actually, there was a session on communications and THIS VERY BLOG was highlighted during the session! Camps are in awe about what we have created with both Cara and my blogs and some camps are going to being their own.

It is so exciting when tri-state arrives, because it’s such an energizing and exciting conference. Anytime you put hundreds of camp directors together, we talk and talk and talk about CAMP! We discuss everything from our operations (laundry, dining hall, transportation, maintenance) to activities offered throughout the day to special event/evening activity programming, etc. There is also a huge exhibit hall with over 100 vendors selling the latest and greatest items for camps to buy. Matt Unger and I did a bit of shopping, signed up for our Senior Day at Camelbeach, and there are some very special surprises coming for this summer!

100 days until camp. Actually, it’s now Saturday morning, so its 99! Double digits, absolutely AMAZING. In truth, the number for me is approximately 30! I move to camp in 30 days to start getting things ready for all of you for an amazing Summer 2009. I can’t tell you how excited and energized I am after meeting with all of these other camps for summer to arrive. We have a lot of planning to continue to do as well as a lot of preparations up at camp (like turning the water on), but camp will be here before we know it and Summer 2009 will be a blast!

Continue to stay tuned to this blog for the announcement of Round 2 winners from Where in the World is Eric Forti. As part of our 100 days till camp celebration, we have new and exciting announcements in the coming days!