After 7-weeks of amazing summer fun, we all have to board buses and head home for a year full of homework, tests and snow! Of course, there are some great things to look forward to – hugging out family, eating sushi and hopefully having reunions with our camp friends! At the camp office, we love to hear when our campers are getting together for sleepovers and birthday parties, and we try to get in on the fun as much as we can!
We plan programs that bring out families together several times during the winter, it allows you to feel the Canadensis spirit all year long! In November we will be doing “Canteen on the Fly” for the second time. We’ll be visiting ice cream shops in 7 areas around the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York area. These events are a chance for all campers and staff to join us for a scoop of ice cream – and new friends and people considering camp for the future and welcome to join the fun! The dates are coming up next month, so look at the flier below and mark your calendar now to come and see us! We hope to see over 200 people at the Canteen on the Fly events!
In December and January…we will be having our annual reunion for campers that attended Canadensis in the 2010 season – and we also hope to bring groups to NBA games at the Philadelphia 76-er’s and New York Knicks.
On Sunday, March 13, 2011…we will be volunteering at the Jewish Relief Agency which was a really special event last year (see my prior blog post to learn more about JRA). We are also looking for more volunteer opportunities in the New Jersey/New York area, so please let us know about your favorite way to give back in your area, and we might organize a Canadensis group to join you next time!
In April…we have events for our first time campers to meet each other and start building friendships.
In May…we invite the incoming Counselors-In-Training (CIT’s) to spend a weekend at camp bonding and preparing for a summer filled with highlights.
In June…everyone is welcomed to join us at camp for an Open House afternoon – and we strongly encourage all new families to make the trip.
If you can’t wait for all these great upcoming events, I suggest planning your own camp reunion! If you need help getting started, here’s what I suggest…
- Ask your parents for permission to have camp friends over!
- Make a “daily schedule” before your guests arrive. If you want it to feel like a day at Canadensis, make sure you are doing a mixture of Sports, Arts & Adventure. I’d suggest…a basketball game of knockout, a t-shirt decorating project, and although you probably don’t have as many as camp – maybe you have enough bikes for all your friends to take a ride around your neighborhood!
- To give your meals a “campy” feel, go for grilled food like hamburgers and hotdogs, and maybe you can even set up a small salad bar with your favorite veggies we offer at camp! Make sure s’mores are on your menu for dessert!
- Make sure to record what happens during your “camp reunion”! If you make your own “Today Show” or take photos like Groundhog…send them to pam@canadensis.com and I’ll make sure they go up on our website!
