New York, are you ready for Camp Simcha?! Well ready or not, here we come! Our day began bright and early for breakfast, after which we went straight to the buses for our New York Trip! Our first activity was at the New Jersey Harbor where went on boat and yacht rides that took us to Manhattan. The ride was awesome–we had wind in our faces, sea spraying against our skin, and sun shining down on us. Camp Simcha flags waved as we sailed, and some boats even had dancing and karaoke!
Once we reached Manhattan, we were greeted by our waitresses and specialities who made a tunnel to welcome us to the greatest city in the world (after Glen Spey, of course). After loading the buses, we were immediately rushed to our very own private viewing of Stomp! We watched in awe as ordinary brooms and garbage cans were turned into cool musical arrangements complete with colorful lights and funny acting. We joined in the performance, clapping with Stomp and getting into the cacophony of clangs and bangs.
After Stomp, we headed over to Cadman Plaza to prepare ourselves for meeting the King of New York, Mayor Bloomberg! We practiced our march and ate dinner as we waited for the Mayor to arrive. When the Mayor’s arrival was announced, we stood division by division, in four groups of two rows, to perform Seize the Day and King of New York– the Camp Simcha version (recorded by our awesome married staff guys). Then, Elisheva, Yachi, Elana, and Tzipora presented Mayor Bloomberg with The Key to Camp Simcha, a beautiful piece created in our wood and leather-making workshops.
Finally, the moment that we were all waiting for arrived… it was time to march across the Brooklyn Bridge in our March of Hope and Courage! With balloons tied to our wrists and Simcha flags waving high, we began our journey. We sang and cheered as we showed New York all that Camp Simcha stands for– joy, happiness, courage, and strength. Passersby joined in and cars below us honked in support.
At the halfway point of the bridge, or as we dubbed it, the top of the world, we released our balloons into the sky. The hundreds of pink and blue balloons, carrying so much emotion and hope, was truly an inspiring and uplifting sight to see. We then finished our march and crossed to the end of the bridge where we danced some more and then loaded the buses back to camp…