Shabbat in Camp Simcha started with an early breakfast for our younger campers and early risers. Breakfast was followed by division groups, where we got to play games to get to know each other better. After lunch, we had a skit by our campers/actresses. Then, we headed to the canteen for BINGO! Elana called out the numbers, and the winners got to choose from a wide array of prizes including stuffed animals, dolls, and board games. Then, some campers hung out in canteen, some went to the playground, and some went to play mini-golf. After supper, we had a choir where our campers dazzled us with their beautiful voices. With arms wrapped around one another, Shabbat ended with an uplifting kumzitz. As the Havdalah candle sizzled out, our dining room erupted with enthusiastic dancing and a concert, and in the Simcha style…lots of yummy food!

Imagine if…you lived in a haunted house! The dining room looks pretty scary today. We have monsters, ghosts, goblins, and even jello with eyeballs! Our special morning activity was Zombie Zumba where we learned the Waka Waka in Simcha dance. We watched a murder mystery where we ruled out all the suspects, even the most suspicious Miss White (Tali!) and finally figured out the Jeeves committed the crime! After lunch, we watched our zombie staff do the Thriller dance. Then, we got to chase around some “ghosts” with hands full of paint that stained their sheets.

Before Shabbat, the Simcha Spa opened and our campers got to get their makeup and nails done. Massages were also given and campers got to choose from a wide array of jewelry to wear for Shabbat. After we finished getting ready, our photographers went around camp to take pictures of our beautiful campers and counselors. Shabbat Shalom!

Today was chocolate day in Camp Simcha! Our whole dining room was decorated with giant candy bars, chocolate fountains, and Hershey kisses. Anyone who loves chocolate absolutely loved today, and even those who aren’t such chocolate fans (are there actually such people?!) had a good time because who doesn’t love sliding down a giant chocolate slide?

Our chocolate activities included candy molding in the sweet shop, chocolate building in the canteen, and a chocolate slide on the baseball field. In candy making, Sara made chocolate flowers and Leah made flower lollypops. While some campers chose to build a house out of marshmallow fluff, graham crackers, and chocolate in chocolate building, Eden decided to make a really cool old-school car! Out on the baseball field, we had chocolate fueling our slip-and-slide, which ended in a very chocolaty water fight.

At lunch, campers were each given their very own Camp Simcha chocolate bar, and five lucky campers found a golden ticket inside their candy! Willy Wonka awarded each winner with a fantastic prize. We got a chance to get our division heads all chocolate-y as well when each one called up a camper to help out in a chocolate-chip/whipped cream eating competition!

As chocolate day came to a close, we were treated to a magic show by David Garrity in the social hall. Tziporah and Leah got called to the stage to help with a really cool trick in which a hollow apple suddenly became full. Elisheva also got called up to help Mr. Garrity read our audience’s mind. Finally, Mushky got cut in half with a real saw, but David Garrity put her back together which was great because Shayna got to have her counselor back!

Special happy birthday to Tziporah and Bethany! Good night to everyone!

“Welcome to our family time, welcome to our make believe time…this is our festival, we know it best of all, we’re here to share it aaallll…” Arrival day today was loud, exciting, fun, and out of this world amazing! Campers were greeted by the excited cheers of our staff who were dressed up in their Disney best! We had six princesses, including Cinderella, Snow White, and Pocahontas greet each camper with a professionally choreographed dance. Mickey and Minnie were also at Camp Simcha to dance and take pictures with our campers. It was a scene straight out of Disney World, and beyond our wildest imagination!

After the grand welcoming and lunch, campers and counselors headed back to their bunkhouses to unpack. At 6 o’clock, we had supper where our head counselor, Rivky Schwartz, warmly welcomed our campers to Camp Simcha!

Following supper, we headed to the social hall for an exciting show by the French Twins! We were amazed by their acrobatics which included stilt-backbends and balloon-costumed flips. For the finale, the twins juggled with fire! After the show, some campers headed to canteen, some to karaoke, and some to the game-room. Others headed to bed to rest up for another great day and another fantabulous session at Camp Simcha!!

In case you’re wondering, Camp Simcha is once again filled with a tremendous amount of excited staff members eagerly awaiting the arrival of our fantastic campers! We’ve heard everything we need to know at orientation, we’re in the process of turning over our dining room into a land of make believe, and counselors are tirelessly decorating bunkhouses. Can you IMAGINE what camp will look like tomorrow?! The excitement is palpable! The staff is ready! Now all we’re waiting for is YOU, campers of Camp Simcha Girls!!! Are you ready to start imagining? Can’t wait to see you tomorrow for the start of the most exciting, wonderful, fun, and amazing session this camp has ever seen!!

So you’re in a wheelchair and think you can’t play sports? Think again. On Olympics Day in Camp Simcha Special, everyone is a top athlete. On Friday we had quite a sporty day for all of our campers and counselors to get out and enjoy themselves.

After learning groups in the morning, we all headed to the gym for the inauguration of Olympics Day, where our campers performed their “Rollin’ In Camp Simcha” wheelchair dance. Afterwards, the Wheelchair Sports Federation people came in to explain how the different activities were going to work, and lastly, our modified Olympic torch-toilet plunger was brought out to properly kick off the events.

Afterwards, we all went out to our various events, some played wheelchair basketball, and everyone had a great time being uber athletes. After lunch there was more Paralympics for whoever didn’t have a chance to play yet, while the younger division got to watch a mad scientist show in the gym, featuring ever-awesome dry ice! Watching the “smoke” billowing from different containers was baffling and exciting all at once.

After an awesome, sports-filled day, it was time to head back to our bunks and get ready for the last Shabbat of Camp Simcha Special 2010!!!

The good times never end here at Camp Simcha Special! Today was Underwater Day, and oh my, everyone was walking around in all sorts of different underwater costumes, from SpongeBob to The Little Mermaid, which definitely added a splash to the theme of the day. We even added a special underwater activity, SCUBA diving! A professional SCUBA diver was brought in to show our campers how it’s really done, and then they were allowed to go in and do it themselves, either in the pool or the lake! All of the other workshops were in full force as well, as campers are scurrying along, trying to finish up their various projects before the end of camp. The older division also had their chance today to put on a talent show, showing off all of their different abilities and extraordinary talents.

At the end of the day, we had an awesome special activity in the gym featuring the ever-famous Simon Says superstar, Steve Maxx!

The three oldest divisions were then treated to special post-night activity activities, including a nighttime pool party, a movie night, and some more of the new hit elective intensive workshops.

All in all, another fantastic day here at Camp Simcha Special!

Five days to go? Not a problem. We’re flying off into uber high gear! This morning during breakfast we all were wondering what that loud noise hovering over camp was. Upon exiting the dining room everyone was awed as they ran to the entrance of camp to take helicopter rides! Green, army fatigue-style T-shirts were given out to all of the campers and staff as each camper got a chance to soar high above the camp grounds.

Moving on, before lunch the whole camp went back to the entrance to wait for the ChaiBikers to arrive. 40 guys biked 135 miles from Lakewood to camp and managed to raise $200,000 for Chai Lifeline, an incredible feat on every front! We welcomed them through the gates in classic Camp Simcha fashion, with music, dancing, and an all-around party!

After lunch we had regular activities, until we were all called into the social hall for a special activity! Avi Junger became a Bar Mitzvah today, so we called in the world-renowned Jewish music superstar, Yaakov Shwekey, to come and entertain and help us celebrate this momentous occasion. The concert was rocking as usual, and it was followed by a celebratory dinner in honor of the Bar Mitzvah.

Finally, once we were all well-fed, it was time for camp to split up. The younger division went back to the social hall to show themselves and their amazing individual talents in the annual talent show, while the older campers had a splash at their pool party.

Once again, after a day filled with excitement and fun, it was time to go to bed and end this day in the same uber high-gear that it started in.

We had such an uber fun day here at Camp Simcha Special! The day was filled with activities, activities, and more activities! Today we even started this year’s newest addition, elective intensive activities, where the campers were given a list of 8 or so choices of activities or skills that they would like to do or learn, and they will be spending 2 hours a day for the next three days on those activities. It’s gone over so far really well, and the campers are all very excited to learn something new and different.

Besides for regular activities, tonight’s special activity in the social hall kept us laughing and entertained, as a ventriloquist and his puppet had several intensely funny conversations that we all enjoyed listening to. Afterwards, it was time to hit the hay as we anxiously await tomorrow’s uber-awesome fest.

Hehe, that’s not revealed until later. This morning during breakfast, everyone was directed out of the dining room to the parking lot across the road for our first fire drill of this session, which was done quickly, efficiently, and safely. Afterwards, it was time for some inspirational learning groups, followed by the first activity of Color War 2010, wheel chair races! Every camper in a wheelchair lined up at the start line and whooshed past at top speed towards the finish line with much fervor and excitement. Once we were all raced out, we all headed to team time to learn the team cheer songs, which we belted out in the dining room after lunch, with accompaniment from our very own Camp Simcha band, The British Invasion!

Taking a break from Color War for a little bit, we all headed to the social hall for an awesome performance by The Brain Show. Campers were called up, quizzed, and stumped as they were asked questions in a game show style.

Back to business, it was time for some activities. We had a massive car wash, meals on wheels, mini-golf, various water competitions in the pool and the lake, and an egg drop in the baseball field.

After activities, it came down to the final performances. Before dinner we had a major team time where we learned the Alma Mater songs. Both teams marched into supper, during which a theme related speech was given by campers.

At last, it was time for the Grand Finale. Emotionally moving Alma Maters were sung, comedic skits were performed, and “everlasting gobstopper” artworks were displayed.

The suspense kept building up in the social hall as Dembi stood up to announce the winner. After much deliberation and tension, we were all duly informed that the winning team was in fact…THE BLUE TEAM!

After a long day of intense competition, it was finally time to head back to our bunks and chill out and hit the hay, eagerly waiting for another amazing day here in Camp Simcha Special.