Mitch's Column Archives - Page 3 of 6

Posted on July 29, 2013 by camptowanda

Something in the air tonight…

It’s time for another edition of Mitch’s blog/mix mashup…Camp Towanda updates set to music (we’ve added the You Tube music links for your listening pleasure). With week 6 getting underway, there is definitely something IN THE AIR TONIGHT.

YELLOW SUBMARINE. Yesterday actually felt like a Sunday. Dark, damp and heavy downpours. Actually felt good; giving us a chance to have some rainy day activities , extended rest hour and a little “Bunk-O” before our indoor rainy day BBQ!

YOU’RE THE ONE THAT I WANT.
Staff presentation of GREASE was fantastic! Great sprit, great sing alongs and then…

DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY.
The Olympic fever triggered; rumors of psych outs and fake outs have begun. Very intense;
At flagpole line up last night, there was strange delay with the flag lowering bugle…created quite a stir.

COLOR MY WORLD.
Then at tonight’s show, there were reports that my shirt color, my raincoat, kept changing colors every few minutes… red to blue to red to blue! At the end of Friends, Alma Mater & Taps, the lights went out, Pink Floyd’s ““Is there anybody out there?” intro sounded, the fog horn blasted; kids and staff started screaming and then I simply announced there was going to be an 8:30 AM Reveille!

You can sense the excitement and anticipation…who knows when, how , where and what?????? Stay tuned..will be in a few minutes?, hours?, days? Or at all!!!

YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY
After taps, I marched the TWEENs through the shadows of the night lights , serpentined around the older kids who were under the basketball lights…into the mess hall, then into the kitchen where they thought they were going to mop and clean; instead, I surprised them with make your own ice cream sundaes; it was all fun and games until Stephanie heard the noise came into the kitchen and we all scattered…hiding under the cook’s table, in the vegetable section and the walk in fridge….Stephanie caught us, but then joined us in the ice cream party… it got crazy as I “distributed” the toppings in an incredible dumping of “way too much oreos, sprinkles and syrup” to the kids…it flowed over their bowls, on their arms, down the table and onto the floor…everyone was laughing in amazement and incredible disbelief… a great fun ice cream party….afterwards, they marched silently through the night back to their cabins, not getting caught by The Head Counselor, whispering “this never happened”…a secret between, me, Stephanie and the Tweens! SHHHHHHHH.

DO IT AGAIN
After cleaning and resetting the kitchen, we did the same thing with the Middie Boys; all the same except, the boys were really sloppy and smelly!

I GOT A FEELING
Just completing an OD patrol with Stephanie and Amy, The Girls Head Counselor (HC), we talked about how incredible the aura of camp is, we proudly refer to the special feeling that happens at camp once we pass the visiting day hump…everyone is smiling, feeling good, active, excited and just overall, part of the Camp Towanda FAMILY!

OPERATOR
I feel that I am not even coming close to what happens here; there is a bond and sense of being part of something special and welcoming and comforting; that just brings out the best in each individual here.

AFTER MIDNIGHT
Okay, I’m actually going to go to bed soon…
Good night Towanda

-I SCREAM Mitch and 2 SCOOPS Stephanie

PS: I actually have fun thinking of Song Titles!

Posted on July 24, 2013 by camptowanda

Teams, Trips and Tumbling at Towanda!

Camp has been speeding full speed ahead since Visiting Day!

On Sunday , we had about 100 alumni return “home” for a great day of reminiscing, To-Wandering around and opening up their Dorm/Club Time Capsules from the 1990s and early 21st century; what a trip…to look at the memorabilia and laughs!

allstar

The counselor All-Star Basketball game was very entertaining as the spirit of camp continues to grow. And we had a great gymnastics half-time show from our campers!

Our Inter-Camp games continue with great sportsmanship, pride and teamwork. Our kids and coaches are making us proud. Not only with how they are playing (which is a joy to watch), but with how they are representing Camp Towanda all-around.

The Visiting Day VisionWalk fundraising T-shirt sales were impressive; the LITs took orders for over 100 shirts ($25 each); if you would still like to get one, we are placing the order on Friday, so just email [email protected] what size shirt and then mail in a check for $25, payable to Camp Towanda. (ATT: VisionWalk).

The accolades received from many parents since Visiting Day has been overwhelming and we thank you. We sincerely love and value what we do and feel lucky to be in this position and this career…we do not take anything for granted; as the owners, directors and parenting partners of your kids, we try our very best, learn from mistakes; improve and enhance each year; and no doubt, it certainly seemed like the best visiting day yet!

gymnastics

What a boost for everyone here; the staff are into doing the right thing and making the very best of the dwindling time we have this summer.

At our senior staff meeting last night, everyone remarked on how great a day VD was, how wonderful it was to meet many parents and this is the best part, how they get what we are about; how we put at least 3 days into 1; how impossible is to explain to someone outside of camp, what the magic is here and how proud they are as well to be part of our CAMP FAMILY.

It is trip week for Upper Camp. The Seniors left for Montreal, while the Club & Dorm enjoyed a great day on Martha’s Vineyard, now resting in Boston. The Inters also had a great tubing trip on the Delaware and delicious extravagant BBQ riverside. The National girls endured and enjoyed their Canoe Trip Today (no rain for them!).

Our Culinary classes have winded down with some delicious pretzel chicken and other entrees! Check out the recipe here.

Wednesday is Backwards Day, GoldRush and the Counselor Hunt, while the LITs head off to Niagara Falls for a few days.

In case you are interested, here are my Backwards Day Annoucements:

GNINEVE DOOG PMAC ADNAWOT. Ti Si YAD SDRAWKCAB! ENIHS DNA ESIR OT EMIT
SAMAJAP SAW YADOT ROF SSERD EHT……. ENERCSNUS RUOY TEGROF TNOD DNA

TRANSLATED:

GOOD EVENING CAMP Towanda IT IS BACKWARDS DAY TIME TO LOWER AND DULL
THE DRESS FOR TODAY WAS PAJAMAS… AND DON’T FORGET YOUR MOON DOOR!!

Posted on July 19, 2013 by camptowanda

The Heat is On!

THE HEAT IS ON (Glen Frey)
I really think it is getting hotter everyday!!! Most activities we are doing are just mellow..like volleyball, culinary, indoor basketball, rollerblading indoors, gymnastics indoors, general swims…plus Fusion Water (our alternative to Gatorade…staying hydrated, the healthy way. Check out these recipes and make some at home!)

WAITING FOR THE SUN (The Doors)
The LITS and CITS went to The Binghamton Mets game on Wednesday; they left at the 5th inning and detoured into a movie theater…I don’t think they cared what they saw; it had a/c!

SUNNY AFTERNOON (The Kinks)
Wednesday night dinner dress code was “college shirt night”. So in an effort to help further keep the crowd cool…FROZEN Kit-Kats went to those in SYRACUSE ORANGE!

YOU ARE THE SUNSHINE OF MY LIFE (Stevie Wonder)
The Lower Camp show of Dear Edwina was HOT in the amphitheater; they were very cute!
we gave out ice pops as the sun set in the Western Sky.

SOAK UP THE SUN (Sheryl Crow)
The entire camp went to Dorney Park Thursday; timing could NOT have been better; it is a water park and thats what we needed! Our supervision is tops and our staff was ready with sunscreen. We arranged for the park to provide easy to get glasses of water at the concessions and gave the kids extra cash to buy drinks. It was hot, but why not be hot in a water park! Good times, everyone home safe!

WALKIN ON SUNSHINE (Katrina & The Waves)
Late reveille today; looks like one more scorcher; I think we will mellow down a bit and just sit in the lake and pool (the lake is warm!!!) for the better part of the day!

GOOD DAY SUNSHINE (Beatles)
Tomorrow is Visiting Day! We are excited to welcome over 2000 people to camp and hope the weather cooperates! Sibling Sleepover is Saturday night (which includes a fun, funny and spirited all-camp evening activity–COUNSELOR TALENT SHOW!)

SUMMER OF ’69 (Bryan Adams)
On Sunday, we look forward to welcoming our Alumni for the annual BBQ! We have over 90 people (over 21 years old) registered for this special day!

A little rain, or a lot of shine, we know this weekend will be great! Safe travels to all our visitors and we’ll see you at the white rock!

BONUS TRACKS TO MITCH’S “CHART-TOPPING” TUNES

NEW RISING SUN (Jimi Hendrix)

SUMMER BREEZE (Seals & Crofts)

SUNSET GRILL (Don Henley)

SUMMER LOVIN (Grease)

BEHIND THE SUN (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

SCHOOL’S OUT FOR SUMMER (Alice Cooper)

LETTHE SUN SHINE (5th Dimension)

SUMMER LOVE SENSATION (Bay City Rollers)

AINT NO SUNSHINE (Bill Withers)

DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME (Elton John)

I WANNA GO TO THE SUN (Peter Frampton)

IN THE SUMMERTIME (Mungo Jerry)

The HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN (Animals),

TOO HOT (Kool & The Gang)

SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE (Cream)

Posted on July 18, 2013 by camptowanda

Swimming, Snow Cones and Singing!

Late reveilles, extra General Swims and Snow Cones! Just 3 ways we are beating the heat here at camp. I was splishing and splashing on the water slide with your kids! The lake feels warm (chilly when you dangle your toes).

The Morry’s Camp Swim A Thon, organized by the LITS started this week (kids are swimming to raise money to send underpriveged children to camp…going rate has been a dollar a lap and the Steph and I match the total…last year we raised $13,000 and helped send 1500 kids to camp)…. A great lesson the kids learn here.

icecream Fudgicles, snow cones and ice cream sandwich treats are keeping us COOL; we run on fusion water; and lots of sunscreen. We changed the names of our chickens to Broiled, Fried, Baked, Roasted, BBQ’d and Tender!

A very entertaining HYPNOTIST show on Monday night in the amphitheater; some good belly laughs from the crowd as counselors went under the spell! After the show, the crowd read my mind and we surprised everyone with a McDonald’s treat. The best part is when Stephanie drives up to the window at McDonalds’ and says, “….can I have 300 hamburgers, 189 cheeseburgers, 2 burgers with no ketchup and 3 with extra cheese, 7 with onion and a happy meal toy!”

Monday night was GIRLS’ SING. One of those nights we wish you could be a fly on the wall. The girls were magical and terrific; the sense of pride, preparation, content, scenery, choreography, costume, scenery, sisterhood and love was intense…Every group presented impressively. Steph and I (and The HCs, Group Leaders and bunk counselors) cried at the presentations. Beyond cute, beyond cohesive bonding…….it was a great show.

And the boys were attentive respectful and appreciative… In fact, each corresponding boys group made signs and posters in support of “their” girls group.

The judges declared The Inter-Nats the winner in a very close score! And in the end, they Club hugged the Dorm Girls, who wrote and performed an amazing alma mater to share with the entire camp (lyrics will be posted on the blog shortly). You just can’t get this experience anywhere else!

winners — **Miss InterNational: 2013 Girls’ Sing Winners!**

Afterwards, Stephanie and I walked around the girls bunks and we are proud to say that everyone was holding their head high, realizing that winning wasn’t the goal, but working together, doing one’s best and being happy for others WAS THE GOAL!

A great teachable and GROWING moment of the summer!

Just in case you missed our “LIVE TWEETING” on Twitter of the themes…here they are:
The DEBS & DILLS ON DECK (beyond cute)
THE TWEENS & JUNIORS KICKIN IT OLD SCHOOL (energetic)
MISS INTERNATIONAL BEAUTY PAGENT (innovative)
SENIORS’ SUMMER LOVIN’ (together)
DORM APPETIT ‘ (in sync)

Posted on July 15, 2013 by camptowanda

Truth is…our Staff are the Best!

As Visiting Day approaches, and we begin to reflect on the first half of the summer….I have to take a moment and thank our incredible staff! This weekend was filled with activities that really reflect their contribution to our camp and why they help make it so special. On Saturday, we had many new families at camp for our S’more Tour Rookie Day. Several families were alumni; in fact, they were our campers back when Stephanie and I first started…what a treat to have them show up as future camp parents! The feedback we recived was that they were impressed with our staff (from LITs to CITs to General Counselors, Specialists and Department Heads); they saw counselors involved, spirited, attentive and really caring about the kids!

I often say that I think parents choose Camp Towanda because they trust Stephanie and I to be THEIR parenting partners; to positively impact, influence their kids as well as set the tone for everyone and everything here at camp. BUT, I think one of the many reasons the kids want to come back for years and years, is because of their counselors.

We are very proud of our staff; they get it, they care and while they are definitely learning a lot about themselves (after all being a camp counselor is like taking a Parenting 101 course), they are impacting and caring for your children.

Saturday night’s evening activity was “ultimate camp in action”. The event was TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES which pitted the campers against the staff; the kids lobbed whipped cream pies and buckets and pitchers of BUG JUICE on their counselors. If I told the staff when I interviewed them that on a Saturday night you would voluntarily stand in a kiddie pool while an 7 year old through a pie in your face in front of 750 people, all cheering, dancing, screaming and laughing…I don’t think they would get it…… BUT that is what happened and as youngest and oldest laughed together; the synergy and electricity of our camp relationships boomed into the night.

Afterwards we had a pumped up staff meeting as they are eagerly awaiting the upcoming week with your kids. As the Owners and Directors of camp, we are excited, pleased and proud of how this summer’s camp family is learning from each other, growing together and coming together.
After the staff meeting, we had a comedian from NYC come up and do an hour of college stand-up humor to give our staff a light break….. funny guy, good night and thanks to our Senior Staff who covered the bunks into the wee hours! Because when the staff are happy campers…our campers are happy campers.

I gotta tell you, we really do pinch ourselves everyday……this place is amazing!

Posted on July 11, 2013 by camptowanda

We the people…

Greetings Constituents,

It just gets better every day, Wednesday was kind of like a normal day. Hot, late reveille (we need them on these hot days), inter camp games, activities, swim, circus workshops, chicken patties for lunch (a favorite), canteen and then capped off with our ELECTIONALITY CONVENTION; I know you have heard of the Republican and Democratic Parties; well, here we have the Birthday Party and The Giddiap Poll (Not Gallop)!

electionality

For those who haven’t experienced Electionality, it’s another one of our Camp Towanda traditions. Electionality is an event where we vote for our Camp Presidents (a co-ed ticket from Upper and Lower Camp) and also where our campers (aka “Delegates”) of all ages get to show us their creativity, making up their own “States”! The different States (or groups) campaigned for their favorite ticket as the camp presidential candidates presented very entertaining speeches.

RAINBOW

All running mates were great; entertaining, creative and “full of buster”! That’s Mitch Political Humor! Each Bunk came as a different state. Last night we did some rare, “Live Tweeting” from the event, introducing the “States” (#electionality13). In case you missed it…the Official List is below.

We had The State of The Camp Address and an in depth video of drawing up the Towanda Constitution (something about the demand for later reveille’s and more canteens)!

It was just another very creative, fun and “everyone” involved all camp event, which is how we usually run our evening activities! Congratulations to all candidates; we look forward to the presidential dinner on the mansion porch!

hippies

Debs – State of Rainbows

“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”

Jets – State of Confusion

“Time Warp”

Dillies – State of Hippies

“All You Need is Love”

cadet

nerds Cadets – State of Airborne Cadets

“I Believe I Can Fly”

NO RAIN Tweens – State of Nerds

“Popular – Wicked”

FAR AWAY Middies – State of Rainy Summer

Junior Girls – State of Far Far Away

“Today Was a Fairy Tale”

Junior Boys – State of Celebrity

“Empire State of Mind”

Inter Girls – State of Neon

“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”

Inter Boys – State of Questions

“Come on Ride that Train”

Senior Girls – State of Pears

“Nobody’s Perfect”

Senior Boys – State of Francine

“You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful”

Dorm – State of Carack O’Bama

“Jet Blue Jet”

Club – State of Sunshine”

“Square Dancing”

LIT Girls – State of Work Hard, Play Hard

“Word Hard, Play Hard”

LIT Boys— State of Brolife

“I’ll Be Missing You”

CIT – State of Hard Knock Life

“Hard Knock Life”

Posted on July 10, 2013 by camptowanda

Classic Camp Day!

From start to finish, yesterday we hit it out of the ballpark! It was a “classic” Camp Towanda day from the Water Carnival to our “All-Star Baseball”-themed evening. Let me break it down for you:

WHO
We started with a lazy morning outdoor buffet breakfast……The nationals are on their multi-day excursion; the CITs had a day off and the rest of us had a B-L-A-S-T at the water carnival; wet=wild=warm…on rides, slides, floats, boats, popcorn, cotton candy, watermelon, ice pops, hoses, golf balls, rapids and floating stuff!

WHAT
Good music (of course) and heat…….hours of splashing and dancing! Stephanie even had a Fine Arts Class lakeside in the afternoon.

I DON’T KNOW
Ending with our smorgasbord dinner; then Girls played PANIC (some sort of fun girl game) and the boys had Home Run derby…then, because we thought all star game was tonight (in past years it has always been on this corresponding date), we went with watching baseball bloopers and Abbot & Costello’s WHO’s ON FIRST (THAT never gets old) under the stars on the big screen (did you catch us on the live cam?)….while Bob The Boys HC, along with Howie our Program director, grilled dogs, served popcorn and hawked root beer (just like at the ballpark)…..another great camp tradition.

BECAUSE
The Fun continues; we have Circus Workshops during the day today, Electionality at night (one campaign slogan for camp president says” Vote for us, we would give you a chocolate chip cookie, but we don’t have any”! You gotta love that!

TODAY
I was speaking with the CITs (our 17 year olds) They were just hanging out, talking with me and Stephanie; joking, laughing and just enjoying each other’s company; at the end of the conversation, they said they “…love camp (most of them here already for 7-10 years so far) because one reason is that if they were ANYWHERE else, they would be texting; it is just more real here”.
I need not say anymore!

TOMORROW
This place is magical on so many levels; I know I say it often but the growth, the confidence, the experience we see develop and improve EVERYDAY is phenomenal. I realize that some of you get different messages from the letter or phone call, but HERE, IN THE MOMENT, each camper is thriving, at their own pace and what is good for them, without being compared to anyone else.

I DON’T GIVE A DARN
It just keeps on getting better…….the Camp Towanda family!

~Mitch

P.S. Just in case you haven’t ever seen Abbot & Costello’s Who’s on First…it’s a must.

Posted on July 8, 2013 by camptowanda

4th of July Weekend Recap!

What an action-packed, HOT 4th of July weekend we had here at Camp Towanda. Did we mention HOT? There’s so much to share…where to begin?

On Thursday (July 4th), we started reveille with patriotic fanfare as the Debs and Jets presented the colors at flagpole while the entire camp saluted in red, white and blue garb!

The morning coed-ing activities were fun and entertaining; from sidewalk art, kickball, tennis, volleyball to soccer, ghost and basketball. We all had fun while American Tunes played all day, Lunch featured apple pie and AMERICAN PIE (of course)!

After lunch we had a blast of a live concert in the amphitheater (aka Campapalooza) with beach balls, water hose and red, white & blue ice pops. After the concert , we all achieved our Guiness goal of having over 500 people leap frog (crazy fun) altogether! You have to watch Friday Nite Flix to see it!

Later in the afternoon, Lower Camp had General Swim with me and Casper (going down the slide) while Upper Camp squeezed in one more co-ed activity!

Dinner was an All-American BBQ, listening to the Grateful Dead’s AMERICAN BEAUTY Album! Grilled ribs, chicken, corn and pasta…and watermelon!

After walking our goats during Free Play, we all sat in the amphithetaer (did u see us on the live cam?)

All, under a beautiful setting sun as the audience really enjoyed one of our best plays ever, as Upper Camp presented High School Musical; fun, entertaining and engaging..an awesome finish to a great day. Did you check out the highlights on Friday Nite Flix?

Milk and cookies and then bed for a well deserved rest before we start up again Friday for a complete day that included inter camp games (tennis, Lax, soccer and basketball), the Dorm Girls’ Canoe Trip, Services at Sunset Lake followed by awesome and highly anticipated fireworks show (over the lake and set to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture…a camp tradition) to cap off our Independence Weekend celebrations.

Friday (the 4th on the 5th) was an awesome 95 degree day; sweaty activities, fusion water and the misting fan, refreshing general swims, inter camp games and the Senior girls canoe trip! Even our chickens left the coop! It was also our annual Silly Name Day! Ask your kids what their name was?

Shabbos dinner, services at Sunset Lake as the sun set followed by a heart throbbing, enthusiastic and intense fireworks display to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture….man, it was great!

Want to hear SOME MORE? Saturday we woke up early to another hot day and our S’MORE TOUR for future camp families! Great to see new families (and some familiar faces–2nd and 3rd generation alumni) experiencing the fun, spirit and life at Camp Towanda!

The Talent Show in the amphitheater was incredible; fun, extreme talent, and amazing confidence that produced audience participation and enthusiasm! I am not just saying this, but it was one of the best Talent Shows we have had in years…..

so much so that afterwards a lot of campers came up to me to ask “when is the next one” which is actually what happens here a lot. Campers come out of their comfort zone by being a part of the camp community/family…they see and sense that it is okay to get on stage, try a new activity, be a little silly and have fun; while not being judged or ridiculed…this is the magic and support of the Towanda family. This is how the kids blossom here. And.. keep in mind, that at Camp Towanda, the entire camp is at the evening activity; so that fosters that the little kids know the big kids and vice versa…

Sunday was a real chart-topper….almost an 100 degrees scorcher!! Lower Camp enjoyed an extended General Swim; Casper and I “frolicked” with Lower Camp in the lake (which felt warmer than the pool) as we rode the awesome water slide and surfboards with the campers!

All while inter camp games continued with baseball, tennis and basketball games.

Our Grateful Dead BBQ almost got rained out but the thunderstorm just missed us and we were able to squeeze in the evening activity scavenger hunt! It is really great to see ALL ages have good ol’ fashion fun; running around as a group, with their counselors, trying to figure out clues.

As the sun went down last night, it seemed to have taken the humidity finally with it.

Camp is great, we are all bonding, smiling and enjoying, even the simple things. We hope you all enjoyed your 4th of July weekend as much as we did and be sure to watch this week’s episode of Friday Nite (we mean Saturday Nite) Flix!

Mitch’s Chart-Topping Sunshine Mix

firework

Good Day Sunshine (Beatles)

Here Comes the Sun (Beatles)

Invisible Sun (Police)

Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Elton John)

Waiting for the Sun (The Doors)

Sunday Will Never Be The Same (Spanky & Our Gang)

Ain’t no Sunshine (Bill Withers)

You are the Sunshine of my Life , (Stevie Wonder)

Posted on July 3, 2013 by camptowanda

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

HELLO AGAIN*,

girls

A beautiful day at camp yesterday (of course, we have altered our standards to accept gray, humid, moist and drizzling as a beautiful day). We dodged as many dark clouds as we could! YOU NEVER KNOW*!

Fortunately, we have lots of facilities so we can juggle and make things happen, despite the weather! It doesn’t stop much here! EVERYDAY*!

Our program yesterday consisted of Gaga, gymnastics, Legos, Archery, swim instruction, boating, team handball, (senior boys went on canoe trip), ghost, kickball, Arts & Crafts, basketball , zumba, yoga, tennis, the zip line, the toboggan slide, bumper cars, dance, volleyball, play rehearsal, football, fitness, hockey, rollerblading, golf, and track! NOT BAD for very soggy conditions! We GOT the facilities and know how to manage them! Camp is THE BEST OF WHAT’S AROUND*!

Last night we had some lakeside FUN with a LUAU for Lower Camp, the Inters and Nationals; limbo, hula skirts, games, water ski show and even a hint of a the first sunset of the summer!

Then a little “UTL”Under The Lights with Brad The Hypnotist doing card tricks as a warm up to his magic classes tomorrow.

While the older kids (Seniors/Dorm/Club/LIT/CIT) went to Bethel Woods to see Dave Mathews Band (Nothing like going to the Woodstock site prepared for a heavy downpour to really get the “essence” of Woodstock)! But alas, it actually ONLY lightly drizzled during the latter part of the show!

Animal Update for no RHYME OR REASON*: One of our “goats” has a new name, you know, the mini-horses now known as Chipmunk & Donkey; the rabbits are doing fine and our chickens are just about ready to produce eggs and leave their coop. However, we have decided to hold off on getting Kosher The Pig* until we go to the Wayne County Fair!

This morning was Porch Breakfast, which meant breakfast kind of in bed, then Magic Classes, regular Activities, inter camp games of course throughout the day and then in the evening it is Square Dancing!

Thursday, the 4th of July we have lots of fun activities planned… from our ceremonial flag raising to our Camp-a-palooza concert to our Guinness record breaking attempt of simultaneous leap frogging to coed activities (a July 4th tradition) that ends with the Upper Camp presentation of High School Musical (highlights will be on FNFlix).

Then THE SPACE BETWEEN*…., for our AMERICAN BABIES*,
The big fireworks display is traditionally on the 5th of July (which we plan to do at after services at Sunset Lake).

All in all, an exciting line-up as we hope the weather system gets our message….
We are all just longing to sit down on the grass !!! A GOOD GOOD TIME*!

Okay, the concert-goers are home safely,
SAY GOODBYE*,
From after the Luau,
Aloha Mitch

PS: Not sure if I need to explain (*)..but those are song titles from the Dave Mathews Band!

Posted on June 27, 2013 by camptowanda

Things are heating up at Camp Towanda!

So, the weeks leading up to camp were damp, chilly, cold and raw up here in the rolling countryside of NorthEastern Pennsylvania…and we dreamed of hot summer days…there is no doubt that the summer has started off…..hitting 90 everyday so far!

The spirit, friendships and smiles represent a feeling that we all have been here for a long time while it has really been only 4 full days so far! If you were a fly on the wall, you would not believe it!

From the Dorm Girls dressing up for Maniac Monday to the Club Boys dressing up for “Half Christmas” on Tuesday (a celebration they concocted). They even played Christmas music all day, which psychologically cooled us off.

icecream mitch

The younger campers look up to these groups as if they were larger than life…and everyone else supports and gets into that!

We extended lunch hour on Tuesday for make our own banana splits (D-LISH)…the perfect way to chill out on a hot day!

waterfront2

We’ve squeezed in General Swims whenever we can. Casper, the camp dog, lifeguarded at the Tarzan Swing (making sure every single camper that dropped into the lake was safe).

Tuesday night, Steve Max returned to camp for his entertaining Simon Sez Show that got the whole camp involved!

cooking

On Wednesday, Stephanie and I hung out with the Debs & Dillies and the Jets…they are sooo cute and lovin life at camp!

The Culinary Classes at the Farm made sushi, spring rolls, brownies, and banana cake . Really, impressive! Recipes coming soon!

We also had a heavy duty downpour at lunch on Wednesday so we extended mess hall time with a classic rock tunes dance party! Playlist coming soon!

garden

Lower camp groups experienced real down to earth nature classes today with our resident guru, Nathaniel!

Last night, I reffed an intense GHOST game between the Middie and Junior boys…wow! Fun, excitement and intense play!

We had to use the GOAT ALERT ALARM system this evening as our “goats”, you know, our 2 miniature horses named Horsey and Donkey…escaped. What a scene with Casper and The Campers trying to round them up. Hey! Hay!

Afterwards, the LITs had a pizza party in the canteen. The CITs, who are excellent (also) ; enjoyed the sushi leftovers.

And The Dorm Girls were off campus at their Canoe trip.

Camp is moving; the kids are grooving, the counselors have begun days off and we are enjoying every minute with the kids; Camp Towanda is truly a very special family.

Mitch