We at Camp Simcha had a real ball today, as we escaped to the world of sports and ball games. When our campers walked into the dining room for lunch, they were transported to a whole new world. The dining room was redecorated to like a different ball fields complete with bleachers, turf, and flags. Towards the end of lunch, we all gathered in the middle of the dining room where we heard a rockin’ concert from our own personal band: The American Revolution. The campers danced, climbed on staff members’ shoulders, and screamed in an Epic Eleven rendition of upROAR.

After lunch, our campers spread out to demonstrate their sports acumen. Our youngest division played gaga in the social hall while our Israeli division played volleyball in the gym. Another division gathered to create sports pennants. Creativity and team spirit was readily apparent, as campers collaborated to make signs supporting their favorite sports teams.

The lake was a beehive of water sports activity. It was there that you could find Eytan fishing (hey, ESPN considers that a sport!). After just a few moments, he caught the first fish of his career. Charlie and Yoel went a bit more extreme and took the motorboat for a spin. They had a blast pushing the throttle and riding the waves.

We had a surprise early supper at 5:45 of steak and fries – very befitting of a football tailgate party. We then headed to the social hall for a special activity. We we’re greeted by 8th Day, the up and coming Jewish band. Although it was an abridged show, there was not a person that left the room un-exhausted. They wowed us with their slow melodies and pumped up the room with their famous pop and rock songs. We sang, danced, jumped, and stomped; there was fun for campers and staff alike. They shared the stage with many campers, and even had a duet with some of the campers.

In most camps, that would be the end of the day. In Camp Simcha, that was just part 1. After a short break to catch our breath, we headed to the gym for another special activity. Yesterday, we watched an amazing acrobat show. Today, we we’re greeted by Air Elite, a team that combines acrobatics with a sport- basketball. With the aid of a trampoline, they performed the most EPIC dunks possible; flipping and twisting in every possible formation. And when the sound system failed for a few moments, our amazing staff stepped up, made some a lot of noise, and raised the roof.

Steve Nash might have competition in the dunking department.

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; It’s about dancing in the rain.”

That’s the attitude Camp Simcha takes towards everything, and it was on full display today.

With our costumes on, our faces painted, and our overflowing energy, we all headed out to the main gate to greet our campers. It was there that we welcomed our amazing campers Camp Simcha Style. The rain didn’t stop us as we sung, dance, and splashed in the falling rain. The rain, which in other camps would be an excuse to watch TV, became a catalyst for the most exciting arrivals ever. One by one, every camper was greeted and given his own personal introduction. After that, the campers were taken for a check at the infirmary before coming back outside to meet new and old friends.

When the rain turned into a flood, we didn’t want to make our neighbors jealous; therefore, we set up tents leading from the front gate to the dining room, and moved the party inside. The American Revolution, our personal band, psyched up the room with their usual array of epic songs. The energy was endless, and we welcomed campers well into the evening. Just when we thought we were done for the day, a bus filled with the Israeli Division showed up and the party started again. This time though, we used a blend of American and Israeli songs and everyone was quite pleased.

After the buses disembarked, the campers had a few moments to catch their breaths before heading to the dining room for a scrumptious dinner. From supper, the camp rushed to the gym for our special night activity.

It was there that The Skyriders, a professional gymnast and trampoline team, greeted us. They are a world-renowned team that performs at NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB half time shows, among others. The leader is the world silver-medalist for his genre, and is a Guiness record holder. They dazzled us with their flips and tricks. They did their contortions while wearing snowboards, water-boards, and skis!

After a great start, however, it was time to get a good night sleep before tomorrow’s amazing program.

The staff members of Camp Simcha are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the greatest campers on Earth! They have spent the last 24 hours getting oriented (lots and lots of speeches), disoriented (Mud sliding and mud dodgeball), and straight up psyched. The energy is palpable.

The Greatest Show on Earth is now ready to begin! Rain or shine, the show will go on. The staff is all dressed up in the wackiest costumes. Operation Red Nose is in full effect, and not a face has gone unpainted. The place is in TOTAL uproar. And Dembi’s Got a Feeling’…

ENTER EPIC ELEVEN

Over 200 CSB2011 staff “rained” in on our beautiful, luxurious, and comfortable camp grounds today for CSB2011 orientation. After a delicious lunch and some general bonding time, meeting new and greeting old, we went to the Social Hall to hear orientation speeches from Dembi, Rabbi K, Rochel Katz (our Head Nurse), and Shaindy Lowenthal, our program director. We were inspired, informed, interested, uplifted, and UPROARed. Following the orientation speeches, we followed Sergeant Dembi for “Staff Boot-Camp” during which we received a tour of the camp grounds, and were introduced to the staff hotel, dining room, bunkhouses, lake, etc. We sang, chanted, and denounced  slacking.

We were all EPICly psyched to see what came next. Dembi led us to the baseball field where the rain-storms, with the help of some water hoses, had turned the field into a muddy mess. That didn’t stop us; we divided into two teams and had a massive dodgeball game in the mud. It was a great way to psych us up, and set the tone for the summer.

Following a tasty dinner, served by our Head Chef Ruevin, we heard a speech by Rabbi Simcha Scholar, Chai Lifeline’s Executive Vice President. He inspired us to work together as one heart, and one soul, to make this summer amazing for our campers. We also heard from Dr. Wexler, who filled us in on what these children go through the rest if the year. To once again get us in the right mind set, we were shown a part of last year’s video. The lights were then turned off, the disco lights turned on, and we stamped and danced until we were utterly zonked.

It took a while to get fully recovered from the intensity of the mudsliding and dancing, but once we managed to recover ourselves, we all split in our respective divisions and had our first meeting get the down-low on this years theme “Great Simcha Escapes’, and plot and plan the most amazing Camp Simcha boys session ever!!!!

A day full of glorious uproaring and EPICification, orientation has come to an end.

Enter Epic Eleven

Before the session begins, we would like to clarify some things about our Facebook galleries, public galleries on our website, and ParentSpace galleries.

Firstly, if your child is photo-release “in camp only”, he will only appear in the ParentSpace gallery. He will not appear on Facebook, nor on the public side of the site. So if your child is a camper, go ahead and sign up for ParentSpace. Not only will you see more pictures (2x more pictures than on FB), but you will also be privy to a video that will be produced special for you every day, a special blog, the daily camp newsletter, and camp schedule.

Secondly, we have received emails from some parents who were having difficulty signing into ParentSpace. Please follow the instructions below for the proper way to log in to your account. If you haven’t applied for an account, please go ahead and apply for an account. You should be verified within 24 hours. We once again apologize for the hassle we have caused.

To log into your ParentSpace account please click go to campsimcha.org and click on LOGIN in the top right corner.

Then type in your username and password.

You will automatically land on the ParentSpace site.

From this page you can access a special blog just for parents, the daily schedule, and daily pictures and videos.

A COMMON PROBLEM: If you attempt to visit campsimcha.org/parentspace directly, and login there, you will be bounced to another login page. If you type in your username and password there you, will be granted access to ParentSpace. However, until we correct this glitch, we ask that you instead login by going to campsimcha.org and clicking login in the top right corner.

If you are still having trouble with parentspace, or if you have any questions, comments, requests, or suggestions for the blogs, please contact estein@campsimcha.org

You can also follow us on twitter @CampSimcha

—>This public service announcement has been brought to you by the letter E (for Epic) and the number 11.

Dear Camper,

Thank you for joining us for an amazing session here at Camp Simcha Special. Unfortunately, Epic Eleven (at least in Glen Spey) ended some time this morning.

It’s true that there are many lands you’ve still to visit (some of which are not even on a map) and wonderful things to see(that no one has yet imagined), but were confident that if you really want to, you’ll surely reach them all by yourself.

Yours truly

CSSB 2011 has officially come to an end.

Oh, the memories that we shared this summer… epic eleven…arrivals…circus…jabali African acrobats…new recording studio…paint baths…mad science…great wall of graffiti…twoshow(.com)…frog hat…sock puppet show…carlebach Friday night…FD Drools… coby iPods…improve skits…middos awards…British Invasion…tuna beigels…seudat shelishit and havdalah on the porch…I got a feelin’…helicopter rides…epicifcation…Shwekey…jousting…lunch meds yeah…diet coke and mentos…shield making…challa baking…steve nash…motzei shabbos in the house tonight…candemaking with red…open mic meals…Goldman Sachs Volleyball…hypnotist…tailgate party…stamp on the ground…bike4chai…steve max…don’t be that guy…hogwars…slackers…ductagami…mutts go nuts…S.T. Rella…DJ’s bodysuits…good shabbos…Shabbat shalom…family feud…ridin’ simcha…birthday cake faceplant…eli kk…pottery…”all stars”…css rollers…legoland…sweet shop…baseball game…magician…red-fire…blue-water…general avi…general Yaakov…green-?…fitted caps…facetime blondini and ezra…darkroom…bingo…new niggun…epic 11 skyshot…jetskis…camper commercials…duuuuvi becker yisroel…stall for time…good shtickel…water slide in the dining room…awesome blog 😉 …mafia…arts and crafts…small piece of heaver…leather…I just had meds…get ready for Simcha ’12 in Jerusalem. Wow! We did a lot!!

The Musical, S.T Rella, was of course a fantastic hit! Produced by Duvy “The Legend” Becker, it featured great performances by our amazing campers and staff. For the grand finale, two campers sung “All Stars” in an amazing duet. Stay tuned for the amazing video highlights.

The Steve Nash visit was one for the ages. The 2 time MVP led a basketball clinic in our own gym, and left us with very encouraging words. His visit was still the talk of the town on the last day of camp.

During the session, Bike4Chai cyclists rode 135 miles from Lakewood, Brooklyn, Baltimore, and Deal, NJ to Camp Simcha. The bikers raised over $500,000 to benefit the campers. The ride culminated with a triumphant entrance into Camp Simcha, where the campers performed a spectacular choreographed wheelchair dance to welcome the riders. We are Ridin’ Simcha.

All the friends we made, the lasting bonds we created…

Now home safe and sound, our unbelievable campers now have memories to last till next summer to keep them going strong and happy. They now have the strength of confidence of a summer in Camp Simcha to help through the year which we hope to fill with so much fun they won’t have time to miss camp.

And to our amazing Camp Simcha Special staff…. this summer would not have been possible without you. Your countless hours of work, intense devotion, and unending love was palpable every second of our time in camp. Your dedication to your work and to our campers is truly an inspiration. There are no words for what you did, for the children you renewed, for the memories you created and for everything else that you did.

So yes, the last bus may have rolled out of Glen Spey, taking with it our incredible campers but we know it won’t be long till we see them again…

Stay tuned for more exciting posts here… this may be the Camp blog, but just because Camp is over, it doesn’t mean we won’t keep you posted on all the great things that we experienced and the even greater things to come.

Wow! What a finale that was.

After the Avraham Fried concert, we all headed back to our bunks to pack. At 5pm we were called to the dining hall for the banquet. And a banquet it was. A hot carving station, onion rings, sesame chicken, Hawaiian chicken, chicken lo mein, sweet and sour chicken, bar-b-que ribs, assorted dips, and fresh fruit.

After we were stuffed to the gills, we headed to the social hall for the closing ceremonies. Dembi started off the show by naming and thanking every staff member in camp. First the waiters, then lifeguards, then specialties, medical and nursing staff, administrative staff, and maintenance staff. Each group got a well-deserved standing ovation. We then graduated two members of the oldest division, Avi D and Yoshi. Dembi explained to the audience that Camp Simcha Special was originally created for boys/girls and young men/women. It was created so that people who may seem different than us externally, have a place to go for two months a year. A place where they can be themselves, spend time with people who truly understand them, and not be pitied or shunned. At a certain age, however, we feel that these teenagers are able to take the lessons and security they have gained from their years here, and use it to face the world as the great people they are. Avi D. then addressed us, and he told us that although he only spent one session here, it has made a lasting impression on his life. He will never forget Simcha and the great time he had here. He thanked everyone for giving him a great summer.

Dembi then called up the counselors, by division, and asked them to pick up a present from the stage. He went on to thank the counselors for their tireless efforts over the past two weeks on behalf of their camper. He told the campers that the only payment their counselors wanted is a thank you-in the form of a hug. At his count of three, every counselor handed over the present to his camper, and every camper reciprocated with a long embrace. It was an event you had to witness.

Dembi went on to thank the campers for being an inspiration for us all, and for giving us the most epic session ever!

We then settled into out seats to watch the CSS 2011 Memories movie. That was followed by a music video that was produced start to finish in camp. The music and video was written and recorded right here on campus. Coming soon to YouTube near you.

We then gathered in the baseball field where we were treated to a spectacular fireworks display. What a way to end an epic session.

There is still yet to come. Check our blog daily for updates.

It’s the last day of camp, yet we’re pumping at full throttle here in SimchaVille. In the morning, our campers ran from one special activity to the next finishing up any started projects. There were bracelets to finish in the leather shop, mugs to finish in pottery, wallets to finish in ductagami, and pictures to process in the dark room.

That was before 1:04.

At 1:04, we took it to a Whole New Level. Our post “Tisha B’av” spectacular kicked off with rocket launching in the baseball field. When we were certain that we had gotten the FAA attention, we moved to the dining room where the live band was raising the roof with their usual array of awesome music. We danced out hearts out…but that was just the beginning. We then went outside to the porch where every camper had a chance to shave his counselors beard (and head) in any way he chose. There are currently a bunch of bald counselors around camp! Besides for that, the mock barbershop worked out pretty well.

After that, we were told to head to the social hall for “special activity.” We were greeted by Avraham Fried and an amazing band. He wowed us with his classics and shared his usual enthusiasm with us. We responded with our usual insane amount of energy. We sang, danced, jumped, and stomped; there was fun for wheelchair’ers and non-wheelchair’ers alike. He shared the stage with many campers, and even had a duet with some of the campers. He took many requests from the crowd. Avraham engages us Simchonians very well, and we thank him for being a part of the Simcha family.

After that we headed to the field again where the Mad Sciences treated us to a sweet treat. There, lined up, were 50 bottles of diet Coke. A camper pulled a string, and we were treated to a beautifully choreographed sprinkler and fountain show.

We are all busy packing now. The banquet is in 30 minutes. Stay tuned.

Camp fatigue settling in? Are you ape?

It sure didn’t feel like the 3rd to last day of camp on Sunday when Camp Simcha escaped to the zoo. Actually, the zoo came to us! The morning kicked off with a personal petting zoo in the baseball field. Our campers got to experience goats, rams, bunnies, sheep, snakes, and llamas (did I spell that correctly?) first hand. Every camper got a seemingly endless supply of animal food (am I the only one that thinks that it looks like overpriced cocoa pebbles?). When they were in the mood of some adventure, our campers headed over to the stable where they enjoyed pony rides, hay rides, and horseback rides.

As the afternoon progressed, every division gathered in the gym where they made an animal related commercial, and recorded it. The judges are now reviewing the clips, and they will announce the winner of the competition tonight. When they were done recording their clips, campers rushed around to different workshops to finish any unfinished projects before the session ends. The leather workshop was where I found Aber, Yehuda, and Yosef working on bracelets, key chains, and wallets. They carefully lines up their leather stamps, and pounded them into the leather. In ductagami, I found Forrest constructing a green and brown baseball cap out of duct tape.

There’s nothing like sitting around a bonfire, linking arms together with your friend, and singing your heart out. That’s exactly what happened last night in camp. At around 10:15 P.M., Bentzi Brown and Co. set up a tremendous bonfire behind the pool area in camp. Campers and staff alike gathered around to sit, link arms, and truly release their emotions through slow, melodic song, as opposed to the usual wild n’ crazy dance party music that we are used to listening to. Our head counselor, Ari Dembitzer, spoke about our innate instincts to help one another in a moment of need and the need to look past physical and religious differences in people. It was really a great way to bond with each other, as well as unite us emotionally, giving us the courage to face our fears. Because we are never alone.