Tonight the Yeshiva University Maccabeats stood on stage in front of us, Camp Simcha. Before they began the night, Dovid H., one of our Campers, opened up his voice to us, and what an opening it was. When the hands went up and the feet began to move, we knew the night would be ruled by the beat of our feet, and so it was.

The Maccabeats had expected to play their usual A Capella style, casual crowd, proper dressed procession…but we had other plans. The first words out of the mouths of the crowd roared “untuck your shirts! Untuck your shirts!” and the proper dressed entertainers untucked, and so began the night.

The entertainers started slow, with a few of their first songs. However the pump up of the crowd made it something more, something body moving, and the crowd in the Social Hall of Camp Simcha made a mosh pit to A Capella music. After a little body surfing, the group brought back Dovid H. to join them and as his backup, they quieted the crowd and the night so we could all listen and be uplifted.

Before their close the Maccabeats brought up Staff member Mordy T. to help beat box on stage. They finished with the song the crowd had been demanding all night, their version of Matisyahu’s “One Day.” This hit single rocked the crowd. And as we shouted and jumped to the beat of the song, the crowd gathered toward the Maccabeats to close the night.

In the words of one of the Maccabeats “We had so much fun!” Well we here at Camp Simcha are glad to bring those who entertain, here to be entertained.

Today in Camp Simcha we celebrate those things that go bump in the night…those creatures that give us a fright….and all the spook that is a delight!

We have ghosts, goblins and gremlins! Cob-webs and skeletons are the theme for today. Faces painted white and green, black clothes, and hair that is quite out of the scary zone of imaginationland.

The cauldrons are boiling and the witches are screaming in our all-out haunted house dining room.

Before lunch our campers took their precious time to “beautify” their counselors with paint, toilet paper and much more. The “Freakify Your Counselor Contest” in the social hall produced some scary looking creations.

Later, the Social Hall was transformed into into a haunted house laser tag hunt and a flour fight broke out after some delicious baked goods were made in the bakery.

Music, dancing and every sauce/cheese/pasta dish known to man were all a part of the party thrown in the dining hall Saturday night.

Before we begin special Mention goes to…. Coby B. for saving the helpless counselor Moshe D. drowning in the LAKE (even though he can’t swim)!! Noah E. for graciously giving his balloon to Correy, even though he REALLY loved it! Danny L. for cheering up a homesick camper! Who all received Giants hats and sweatshirts, and a Coby Ipod EACH! Wow you guys are amazing!

At dinner on Friday night we heard a superb speech from Ariel K. The meal was followed by the delivering of the awards for extraordinary kindness.

After a great lunch, we all gathered around the stage for some quality entertainment Camp Simcha style. The first play was a hilarious story about “Dudi” who clearly should have brought his underwear to the airport (no need for subtitles as we had translation in every language). The second play was something about chest hair. Division scores at this point Meir-2 Foxy-1 Dr. Scott- 1 Elad.

After the plays we went outside for an all new scavenger hunt in which we moo-ed, ribbit-ed, and quack-ed, as we found the treasure. Meir’s division took the win and increased their lead by one.

Then came BINGO, everyone’s favorite, in the social hall. There were so many prizes including jets hats and sweatshirts there was even a Lenox alarm clock. Our top winners were Adan who won an Apple Ipod Nano, and Bruce as well won a Nano and got his Division another point. That put Meir at 4!!! Congrats to our Leprechauns.

As the sun set, we went out to the porch to sing, enjoy the beautiful scenery, and enjoy the oratory skills of Mendel O. Binyomin Z. and Meir A. Then there was an awesome concert and late night pasta buffet for everyone. Basically, the day really rocked!

The social hall was filled with laughter and reverence for the antics of “The Twins from France.” The twin acrobats flipped, jumped with stilts, unicycled, threw fire, and shocked the audience with their talented act while forcing them to laugh at their professional bumbling.

Later, campers experienced what it really means to be covered in chocolate, and they realized it was delicious. The campers were almost able to build their chocolate wonderland, but the idea of a chocolate fight was too much fun to pass up.

And tonight, we begin our first Camp Simcha Shabbat 2010!

Today in Camp Simcha we celebrate the centuries old delight we enjoy in many forms. CHOCOLATE!

What if the world was a chocolate one? Full of Willy Wonka, edible environment-like creations.

We have Oompa Loompas, chocolate rivers, and flying elevators!…ok, some of that we don’t actually have, but we do have our imaginations, and today, they have a sweet tooth.

Howdy Partner,

Wild Wild West was the “What If” today in Camp Simcha Imaginationland.

The dining room was full of a saloon, corner store and full Wild West garb. There were cowboys in full get up-boots, big brimmed hats, bandanas, and, of course, the trusty Colt sidearm… reach for the skies!

The Genies division went on a treasure hunt as they rummaged through the Camp looking for some of that “California yellow,” and those 49ers found their gold. Afterward they gathered some s’mores around the fire, while our Israeli chevra set up a big bonfire behind the pool, and had some old style corn, fresh from the stalks.

Our first day at the lake involved high speed boating for those with adrenalin needs, canoes, and rafts for those wishing for something calmer, and bumper boats for those who love their own personal attack boats, loaded with the mechanized squirt gun. Some campers even caught a few fish.

At dinner, we heard from the Genie, Leprechaun, and Mahna-mahna divisions, each with their own cheer. Moreover, to top off the night, we were visited by the world famous Skyriders. With their trampoline and snowboards, they made great height as the eyes of the audience were opened, and our hearts pounded. Even a Staff member joined in on the action. Off we are to a great start…there is only one question to ask- ARE YOU READY FOR CAMP SIMCHA 2010?!!!

Camp Simcha’s got the rhythm… Camp Simcha’s got the beat… Camp Simcha’s got the boogie woogie in their feet!!! uh huh uh huh uh huh uh huh uh huh!!!!!!!!

After a delicious breakfast, the arrivals of the most amazing campers in the world began!!! Campers traveled from across the US, Canada, South Africa, Austria, England, Argentina & Israel.

The rain did not stop us from dancing and singing in Uber Uproar 2010. We put up tents and eventually our singing was so loud that the rain stopped. Yup, at Simcha we can stop it from raining.

Afterwards, we had a scrumptious dinner, and then a special night activity in the social hall: a magic show! The show was amazing and the campers loved it. It was truly a magical experience.

The night ended with yet anther round of Uber Uproar: singing, dancing and having a great time.

Check out our gallery for amazing pictures!

Over 200 CSB2010 staff “rained” in on our beautiful, luxurious, and comfortable camp grounds on Tuesday, July 13th, for CSB2010 for 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 Pee Wee, one of our resident MURSES. We were inspired, informed, interested, uplifted, and UPROARed. Following the orientation speeches we followed Sergeant Dembi for a tour of the camp grounds, during which we were introduced to the staff hotel, dining room, bunkhouses, lake, etc. We sang, chanted, and slacked.

We were all Uber psyched to see what came next. On the enormous hill in front of the bunkhouses near the mini-golf course, there was a huge Slip n’ Slide set up for the staff to get a little wet n’ wild. It was truly a Slip n’ Slide like no other, because we don’t just put regular water on our Slip n’ Slides, we go all out, with soapy water, chocolate syrup, and all sorts of other slippery and crazy concoctions. It took a while to get fully recovered from the intensity of the Slip n’ Slide, 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 “Imagine If?’, and plot and plan the most amazing Camp Simcha boys session ever!!!!

We then had a tasty dinner served by our Head Chef Ruevin.

After dinner, we had 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.

A day full of glorious uproaring, über-ness (über is a cognate of both Latin super and Greek meaning hyper, as well as the English over and above), orientation has come to an end. Our campers arrive tomorrow. Can you imagine?

Now that all the girls from CSS 2010 are safely home, we would just like to say that we miss you all tons! Here’s a recap of our fantastic summer:

(Sung to the tune “Simcha Magic”, written by Shaindy & Avital)

Simcha magic feel it in the air
Can’t explain it just know that it’s there
Simcha magic what a feeling it’s hard to believe
I’m gonna take it home with me

Simcha Magic Feel it in the Air
From the moment each of you came here
Imagine if you were in a Land of Make Believe
Disney dancers, magic was achieved!

Dazzled by Jabali Acrobats
We were on the Moon- Imagine that!
Laser tag and Carnival, Helicopter rides,
Avraham Fried’s concert put us on a high

Imagine that you were a Millionaire
Game shows galore to win our share
Steve Max the Simon Says Man had us laugh and follow
Imagine the World made of Chocolate tomorrow.

Chocolate creations, competitions, Chocolate slide,
The Bas Mitzvah with chocolate fountains on the side
Imagine if you were in the Wild Wild West
Square dance, Bonfires, horse back rides- the best.

Imagine if you were a Super Hero
On to Garrity’s Magic Show
The pre-Shabbos Simcha Spa made us look beautiful
We love Shabbos in Simcha Special!

Imagine if you lived in the olden days
Outdoors breakfast- in the morning haze
Eli Gerstner, petting zoo and colonial fair
We watched our staff get eggs in their hair!

Imagine if you were a Super-star
Laughing with Improv -it was bizarre
Simcha’s Got Talent was a great hit
We loved seeing our campers do the splits!

Underwater with Scuba science we swam
Sushi making was filled with lots of glam
With the trampoline show, we reached great heights
The jumpers almost touched the ceiling lights!

Imagine if you lived in a haunted house
The dining room decorations had a mouse
Excitement filled the Freaky Fotos scavenger hunt
The solo circus included scary stunts.

Imagine if life was a Fairy Tale
Was it champagne or was it ginger ale?
A Fairytale ball with Shloime Dachs was a blast
Finally Ever After and fireworks last.

The new infirmary we appreciate
To all those who toiled to make it so great
Going bowling was so much fun, we’d like to go again
As twins and in the spa with our friends.

Swim – Lake and Workshops 2010 were so amazing!
Arts and Crafts, Dark Room, Leather, Candles and Baking
Creative Memories, Swoosh, Teambuilding, Sweet Shop, Roofy Roofy,
Ropes, Wood, Mosaics, Scrapbooking, Pottery, and Karaoke.

Intensive Workshops were top grade,
Embroidery, Drums, Keyboards, Drama, Pottery and First Aid.
A few short trips gave us all the thrill that we did need
Horseback riding and Bowling at great speed.

Rabbi K, Bency, Avi, Rivka and Estie made things run,
Rivky, Zahava, Chumy, Sara, Goldy, YC and Shana made it fun,
The Doctors, medics, Rachael and the nurses made us safe,
Ruvain, Shaindy and Tzippy had us gain weight.

Simcha magic feel it in the air,
You all contributed to bring the magic here,
Summer 2010 was a slice of heaven
We can’t wait for summer 2011!