Dear Humans in the non-Simcha world,

We know you were jealous of Epic ‘11. You followed us on Facebook. You read the blog. You continually watched the videos we posted on YouTube. You drooled over the fun we were having day in and day out. Under your breath you could be heard humming “I’ve got a Feelin”, “Tonight Tonight…”, or “Rollin in Camp Simcha.” In the privacy of your car you would treat yourself to a mini-upROAR. You tried capturing just a small piece of the Epicness we were having in our world.

But let me let you in on a little secret… Epic ‘11 is SOOOOOOOOOO last year.

To my fellow Simchonians, welcome to a whole new dimension. A world that has yet to be discovered by humans. A twilight zone between reality and dreamland. A summer for the record books.  A continuous picture perfect moment. A high that puts Graceland to shame. An experience that will stay for you for a lifetime. A rollercoaster ride that will leave you breathless at every turn.

Welcome to TIKUN’EY TWELVE.

You will not be disappointed.

Now, in case you haven’t heard, let me fill you in on the theme and word of the summer.

The word of the summer is…wait for it… TIKUNIM! Last year’s word, Epic, may have sounded epic but had little depth.  In contrast, this year’s word holds a message that can be carried for life. It traces its roots to the Hebrew word Tikun, which loosely means “to heal, repair and transform.” It can be applied to everything from our world to ourselves. The lesson of the summer is to take everything that’s thrown at us and use it to better and perfect ourselves…and of course have an amazing time doing it. And don’t you worry, our summer will go wayyyyy beyond uber and epic. They just haven’t yet invented a synonym that encapsulates CSB 2012 🙂

Now on to the theme. This year’s theme is Game On.

The NY Times recently had an article about games. The article explained that Game-studies scholars (there are such things) like to point out that games tend to reflect the societies in which they are created and played. Monopoly, for instance, makes perfect sense as a product of the 1930s — it allowed anyone, in the middle of the Depression, to play at being a tycoon. Risk, released in the 1950s, is a stunningly literal expression of cold-war realpolitik. Tetris was invented exactly when and where you would expect — in a Soviet computer lab in 1984 — and its game play reflects this origin. The enemy in Tetris is not some identifiable villain (Donkey Kong, Mike Tyson, Carmen Sandiego) but a faceless, ceaseless, reasonless force that threatens constantly to overwhelm you, a churning production of blocks against which your only defense is a repetitive, meaningless sorting. It is bureaucracy in pure form, busywork with no aim or end, impossible to avoid or escape.

Do to the aforementioned soliloquy, Game On is a perfect theme for Tikun’ey Twelve. In contrast to last year’s theme, Great Escapes, which seemed to emphasize escaping the moment, this year’s theme (and word) are about living in the moment: To take everything that’s thrown at us and use it to perfect ourselves; To become better people and have an amazing time doing it.

As Michael Jordan once said, “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Camp Simcha, get your game face on.

CSB Tikun’ey Twelve: It’s Game Time

Over 200 CSB2012 staff  arrived in on our beautiful, luxurious, and comfortable camp grounds today for CSB2012 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 psyched to see what came next. Dembi led us to the baseball field where with the help of some water hoses we created a massive mud slide. We spent the rest of the afternoon breaking ourselves in for an amazing 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 “Game On’, and plot and plan the most amazing Camp Simcha boys session ever!!!!

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

CSB2012: Let the games begin

Meet Matti from Camp Simcha Special.

The last night in camp featured a beautiful banquet, complete with meat carving stations and candy galore! Ten campers graduated from Camp Simcha Special and the banquet was also their graduation ceremony. They were presented with their diploma on the stage, wearing their caps and gowns. It was the twelfth year of CSS, so there was a huge birthday cake to celebrate. After dinner, we headed to the Social Hall. We said our thank-yous to everyone who made this summer happen and made it what it was; we couldn’t have done without each and every person in camp! Then we watched the newest CSS video from this session. Well, it wasn’t over there. Everyone went out onto the lawn and we watched a slide-show of pictures, including camper-counselor photos. Then, there was an amazing display of fireworks! At the end we looked at the sky and realized that tomorrow night when we look up, we’ll be seeing the same stars as the ones we see tonight! keep that in mind everyone! Have a great rest of the summer and can’t wait to see you next year!

Everyone was thrilled when we realized Avram Fried was here for the last Camp Simcha Special concert of 2012! We sang and danced together, taking full advantage of our last day in camp. Everyone had a great time!

Nearing the wood-shop, the sound of saws cutting through wood can be heard. Inside, campers are making wooden works-of-art. This year, the projects are doll-houses, kitchen decorations, and ring-holders, all created from wood! They nail the wooden pieces together and then stain, paint, and shine them. Campers wear special eye-gear and hand-gear to protect themselves from dust as they cut and sand the wood. Wood-working is hard work, but it’s rewarding and our campers are strong!

An ice cream truck just showed up to Camp Simcha! Wait on line to get your choice of an ice cream cone, soft ice cream, or slush. These sweet refreshing treats are a perfect way to celebrate Candyland Day. Just the way summer should be.

Our Simcha actresses have been practicing for last night’s Broadway event since the beginning of the summer. The actresses got their costumes on and their makeup done. After dinner, the seats in the Simcha Theatre begin to fill up. The lights slowly dimmed and the curtains parted. All it took was a sprinkle of pixie dust and before we knew it we are off to Simcha Land with Peter Pan, Tinkerbelle, Wendy, Michael, and John. Congratulations to the entire Peter Pan cast on a brilliant performance! After the play, Peter Pan (aka Shirah) noted that playing Peter Pan “was amazing—the practicing, the singing, fighting captain Hook, and I actually got to fly!”

Meet Peri, one of our Camp Simcha Special campers.

Don’t break the ice! It’s a winter wonderland here in Camp Simcha. Snow flurry machines are shooting (soapy) snow everywhere! The dining room has become a skating rink, and the windows are frosty from the snow. Everyone is bundled up in sweatshirts, hats, scarves, and gloves, and there are even some penguin visitors walking around camp!