Camp Blog

Welcome to Simcha Gardens! This morning everyone walked into the dining room for breakfast to find it transformed into a beautiful garden. Surrounding the stage were beautiful flowers and plants and even a miniature gazebo and windmill!

One of today’s activities included a new one, never before had in Simcha- Lucie B. Jumpin’ Fun where our campers learned all new kinds of jump rope tricks and had numerous jump rope contests! Elizabeth S. said the acitivity “was a lot of fun!”

Well folks, today’s big Super Bowl Bash was quite momentous! After lunch and the completion of commercial making, everyone gathered onto the tennis court for the big game! Our camper stars sported blue jerseys while counselors and staff wore red. Music blasting, crowd cheering, our game began! Touchdown after touchdown was scored by our campers as the crowd went wild! During half time, our spirited cheerleaders had us chanting,cheering and dancing with them. Despite the tremendous heat, the energy on and off field never stopped!

After our victory, everyone made their way to the dining room for a big celebratory dinner where we became re-energized. Afterwards, we headed off to the social hall for commericial viewing! Everyone laughed and cheered upon watching the hilarious commercials advertising tamiflu, purell, microphones, bandanas, and transporters, among a few.

Everyone (with the exception of our Israeli bunch who tie-dyed by Roofy Roofy!) then made their way across the road to the gym for the last part of our after-party featuring Steve Max, Simon Sez! This show is one our camp looks forward to every year as Steve never fails to be amusing while involving all the campers and staff in his performance. The campers as usual managed to outlast the counselors in the game of Simon Sez by not falling for Steve’s tricks! Among those campers called up from the audience were Mushka and Rachel.

As night activity ended, everyone made their way back to their bunks, tired from a long day, but in high spirits from such a fantasticly enjoyable one!

Welcome to the second annual Simcha Super Bowl! This is Tamara reporting live from Glen Spey, NY where preparations for the big event have begun since the early hours of the morning. We started off our day to the sound of helicopter engines circling overhead…that’s right, today our annual helicopter rides came to camp! What better way for our camper stars to kickoff (pun intended) their morning than to relax and gear up for tonight’s big game by enjoying a nice, serene sky ride around camp?

After the rides were finished, our Simcha filmmakers began producing their own commercials for the Superbowl, which are still in progress as I report to you. The commercials will be screened tonight during the after-party. Looking forward to previewing all the different and original ideas! Now it is almost lunchtime where our young team of athletes must load up before the game!

We shall be back with more updates live from Simcha Field!

The Birthday festivities continued tonight by dinner where we celebrated all the girls in camp who are of Bat Mitzvah age. Following dinner, there was music and dancing and even a pinata, which all the campers enjoyed taking a swing at! After a brief fire drill that followed dinner, we headed to the social hall for tonight’s night activity- a magic show performed by magician, Jeff Carson! Carson had everyone mesmerized by his magic tricks involving the use of ropes, bubbles, hankercheifs, cards, mirrors, hangers and balls. Many of our campers, including Becky and Arianna and staff members were called up from the audience to volunteer and assist on stage as everyone cheered them on! Today’s celebrations truly were a blast and a wonderful time was had by all! Looking forward to “Superbowl Sunday” (or Monday, I should say) tomorrow!

**The winners of the cake decorating contest: Tied for 1st Place- The Wedding Cake and the Israeli Heart Cake!!

Today Camp Simcha’s celebrated theme was…Birthday Parties! After breakfast along with our regular activities, our day began with a very special treat….none other than our favorite Simcha (motorcycle) Riders! Excitement was in the air as campers enjoyed their motorcyle rides around camp and reportedly joined in dancing with the motorcylclists afterward! A great time was had by all as we look forward to this activity every year!

During lunch, we welcomed our latest arrival to camp, Rachel R.! Following, we had a birthday party celebration that began with a Pass-the-Present game. Among the numerous presents that campers won, Eliana got a jump rope, Bassie R. received a yoyo, and Ryan’s gift was a Go Fish game. We then moved on to freeze dancing and Musical Chairs- at one point, campers had to drink a cup of water before they sat down!

After Musical Chairs, the campers worked on a chesed project: creating bead bracelets and coloring jewelry boxes for children of OHEL and Friendship Circle. Finally, cake decorating rounded off the birthday party. Each bunk received a sheet cake and had the opportunity to decorate their cake with frosting, sprinkles, chocolate chips, marshmallows, chocolate syrup, and an assortment of other yummy candies. Each cake was to be judged afterward based on it’s presentation- the winner still to be announced! After the celebrations, campers went off to their various activities- Ropes Course, Jamming, Calendar Making, Papercuts, Swoosh and Leather, among many.

Now off to dinner and then night activity, which is sure to be a blast! We’ll be back soon with more updates!

Our first shabbos in camp is already behind us and what a wonderful one it was! After a beautiful Kabbalas Shabbos Friday night, everyone made their way into the dining room, holding hands and singing for our first shabbos meal. Beautiful zemiros and abundant energy filled the dining room throughout the meal. Our ever lively Israeli bunch of staff and campers continue to add their own special ruach to the camp with all their song and cheer! As the dining room quieted down, we were privileged to hear beautiful Divrei Torah from a few of our awe-inspiring campers, followed by dessert and benching. As our younger campers made their way into bed, an oneg shabbos was held for our teen campers and staff members, complete with delicious cholent, more nosh and words of wisdom from our camp’s esteemed Rabbi Scholar. As the hours grew late, those still left awake began to retire for the night in anticipation for the event-filled shabbos day that was to come.

Shabbos morning began with an early breakfast for those awake early, followed by a delicious late morning kiddush for the entire camp. Everyone then went off to their various learning groups before returning to the dining room for our shabbos seudah. Following lunch, more singing and Divrei Torah, everyone gathered around the stage for the anticipated weekly shabbos skit. Our staff members and campers as usual put on a comical show that the audience greatly enjoyed watching. After the performance, many went off to play bingo in the canteen where snacks and prizes awaited, while others went on walks around camp with their friends or went to go rest in their bunkhouse.

As the end of the relaxing day neared, we went to shalosh seudos where we ate more yummy food (along with ice cream for dessert!) and heard the beautiful voices of all the many different and talented campers that made up our shabbos choir, headed by our very devoted Aviva Honikman. Havdallah followed with more song and everyone wishing that our wonderful shabbos didn’t have to end just yet. Motzei Shabbos began as music and dancing broke out in the dining room and Melava Malka was set up. The energy was contagious as everyone sang and danced their hearts out, eager for the start of another fun-filled week!

We’ve already made it to the third day of camp! After breakfast this morning, the Camp Simcha family gathered around for their family portraits, as today’s theme is…Family Reunion! We then headed off to all our fun activities- Photograhy, Sweet Shop, Woodworking, Swim, Dimensions, Pottery, Candle Works and more! Everyone then made their way into the gym for this morning’s special activity…Dance Dance Revolution! Wow, what rhythym we have here in camp! Everyone was on beat as we followed the musical cues and colorful arrows on screen to those on our dance platforms. Yael on platform #17 showed us her amazing dance skills as she was the coninuous winner of each dance!

After our great workout, we headed to the dining room for lunch followed by entertaining performances from our bunks. Nerds, Texas Cowboys and the Jonas Brothers..all of our different, amusing families put on a great show! Now on to Arts and Crafts, Pottery, Glass Fusion, Jamming, Challah Baking and Family Fued as our special activity before we prepare for our first shabbos together in camp! Looking forward to more bonding, singing, relaxing and of course..lots more fun and excitement!

Today, Camp Simcha celebrated the weddings of beautiful blushing brides and their “brooms.” All the divisions were given the task of using toilet paper to construct gorgeous gowns for their brides, and brooms and balloons to create handsome grooms. The brides confidently walked down the red carpet and under the Chuppah to the song of “A Whole New World.” The Hot Shots began the wedding procession with their two beautiful brides. Issabella was led down the aisle by Karen, her bridesmaid, while Elana was escorted by Rachel. Rotem and Hadar were the stunning Carnival Division brides and “married” Rabbi Nachman and Rabbi Natan. The Shpitzs were proud to congratulate their stunning brides, Tali and Rebecca, on their wedding day. Finally, the Jelly Bellies were graced with the presence of four gorgeous brides: Esther, Bat-chen, Ryan, and Jenny and two lovely flower girls: Maya and Leah. We paused two of the brides during their gown fittings to ask how it felt to be getting married. Rebecca said that it was “Kinda weird but good, while Issabella joked that she didn’t know where her mom was. The wedding ended with lively Simcha dancing.

Campers also participated in various different exciting workshops today. Dina C.’s favorite part of the day was woodworks where she made a bencher holder, while Elina loved tennis. Sara told us that she loved candle making and Shayna liked boating best; she got the best seat in the boat! Sorelle, who was dressed up as a beautiful Kallah, loved going boating on her “wedding day”!

After a delicious supper accompanied by Tali’s great singing and, of course, more dancing, we headed to the Social Hall for the very first night activity. Staff members from all areas of camp introduced themselves with their own entertaining versions of some of our favorite songs, and the hall really rocked as everyone danced and cheered along. The introductions were so exciting that we can’t wait to try out all the fabulous workshops and activities!

That will have to wait until tomorrow, though. Right now, it’s time to settle in, get to know the bunkmates with whom we will share some of the best moments of our lives, and rest up for tomorrow’s party — I hear it’s going to be a real blast!

https://www.campsimcha.org/963/

Welcome to Camp Simcha 2009 — Let’s Party! It’s the beginning of another incredible, fun-filled session at the greatest camp in the world!

As the long-awaited campers arrived from Brooklyn, Monsey, Baltimore, Israel, England, and other locations around the world, they were ushered into camp by hundreds of singing, dancing staff members dressed in some of the craziest costumes ever! Lively music by our favorite musician and DJ, Aviva, filled the entrance to camp as campers joined the fun. Returning campers couldn’t wait to see their old friends again and catch up, while the newcomers immediately began to make new friends and discover for the first time what Simcha Magic is about.

The enthusiasm around here is contagious. We can’t wait to see what fun and surprises this session has in store! But first, we’re going to head to the dining room for our first delicious dinner in Camp Simcha. See you later — if we’re not too busy partying, that is!