Color War is going strong in Camp Simcha! Swimming races are taking place in the pool, and boating races down by the lake. Some of the divisions are playing Steal the Salami. Whoever wins the races will get points for their team!

The game of the day is Battleship, hence today is Color War. Or maybe it’s the other way around – is today’s game Battleship because it’s Color War? Just something to ponder…

There’s more to it: Today is July 4th, American Independence Day, and the teams of Color War are red, white, and blue! Camp Simcha looks very patriotic in their Color War attire.

After breakfast, everyone stood up and said the Pledge of Allegiance in today’s honor. Then, we had some campers sang the Star Spangled Banner, in English, Spanish, and even Chinese! Alexis even did it in sign language!

Just like in the Improv show, there are three teams in CSS’s color war, red, blue, and white.

Below are the team names, colors, and captains / generals.

The Blue team is team Yam (sea) and they represent the Navy. Team heads are Bashi, Ayala, Meira, and Molly.

The Red team is team Aretz (land) and they represent the Air Force. Team heads are Leah, Racheli, Liat, and Dahlia.

The White team is team Shamayim (sky) and they represent the Army. Team heads are Tehila, Rivky, Caitlyn, and Simi K.

We can’t wait for tomorrow!

Improv is an acting show which performs on the spot. The group is split into two teams (red and blue) of two actors each, with an umpire, and the show begins! Each team challenges the other to act out a certain scene, and they are able to do it without any preparation! One of the challenges was to act out a scene in which all of the characters are boys, though the two actors were both girls! Another was to act out a summer scene. The umpire challenged one team to enact a scene in sixty seconds. He then made them reenact it in thirty seconds, then fifteen seconds, and then a last time – in five seconds! The actors also called up campers on stage to help with the acting. There are some very talented campers in CSS; thank you to Simi S., Jackie, Toby, Mattie, Melanie, Gittel, Frannie, Rachel, and others for making the show so great!

The umpire ended the show with a surprise. He commented how there’s nothing like having a healthy war between colors, like the one we had tonight. A “war” between the red team, the blue team, and the white team, himself. Everyone caught on quickly and began cheering, “COLOR WAR IS HERE!” And they were right! More updates on color war to follow.

Far beyond the fields and into the woods of Camp Simcha, the zip line and the flying squirrel are open. Campers are hanging from ropes and swinging in the air! As Bailue puts on her harness and gets ready to go up, she yells “on the way!” Then comes “flying” and she puts her hands out like a bird. Rock climbing is also available, and campers are using this opportunity at max.

For the game of the day, Apples to Apples, there is a special activity of Apple Mania. The campers are divided into two teams, Macintosh and Cortland. The object of the game is to get your teams apples into the other team’s bucket of water. So Team Macintosh has to get all the green apples into Team Cortland’s water, and Team Cortland had to get all the red apples into Macintosh’s. The catch? No one could touch the apples with her hands – she could only use an implement like tongs, a ladle, or a fork! When time is up, the team that has the most apples in the other team’s water bin wins! Water was being splashed all over as campers ran back and forth with their apples!

On the other side of the basketball court, another group of campers is playing Apple Hockey. Each team has to get its apples into the other team’s goal. Some girls are playing defense, and others are playing offense. Whichever team gets all of its apples into the other side wins the game!

The pottery room is one of the most beloved in camp. There are two types of pottery-making. The first is hand-building: each camper gets a slab of clay which they fashion into the shape of their choice. After they form their clay, they smooth it out with cards or small rolling pins. They use stamps or stencils and indent ridges to design their clay. The other type of pottery is wheel-throwing. This works by smoothing out clay on the wheel to make it into a cylindrical shape, like a bowl, a cup, or a round dish. Zlatie is making a washing cup on the wheel. She says that pottery is one of the reasons she comes back to camp, but the real reason is because she loves Camp Simcha! Many campers are making pottery dishes for the kitchen. Elana is making a big platter which she plans to give to her mother as a present; Blimie is making a spoon-rest; others are making bowls and plates and trays. After the clay is shaped and designed, it’s baked so it becomes hard. Everyone is excited to return to pottery for the next part of the workshop. They’ll paint the pottery and gloss it to make it smooth and shiny. When they’re all done, they’ll have a unique piece of pottery to take home!

There was only one man on stage tonight, but it really sounded like there were more! Jonathan the ventriloquist calls what he does “speaking from the stomach.” He is able to “throw” his voice and even change it so it seems like someone else is speaking! Jonathan brought out his puppets and we heard from Shmendrik, Chippy, Aunt Sarah, and Ezra. Shmendrik was the first of Jonathan’s puppet friends that we met. Renee and Leanor were called up to stage and they helped teach Shmendrik the right way to say “ventriloquist.” He thought he could throw his voice, and when he tried, we saw that he could; he started speaking in Jonathan’s voice, and Jonathan suddenly had Shmedrik’s accent! Chippy the puppet was a shy monkey, but he sang a song for us. He was even able to say a really long word, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!” Aunt Sarah was an old woman puppet who loved to speak in Yiddish, but didn’t like Jonathan’s knock-knock jokes. Ezra was the last puppet, a little boy who sang songs with Jonathan. By the end of the show, Jonathan made it sound like he and Ezra were singing at the same time! Everyone really enjoyed the show; Jonathan provided hilarious entertainment with his witty remarks, and the audience roared with laughter!

A mega-carnival is going on in the baseball field. Alumni and returning staff have come up to camp to celebrate with the Tour De Simcha riders, and some are helping run the carnival. At ring toss, throw-the-sponge-at-the-face, and other arcade games, campers can win tickets and then get prizes. Simi won a really cool mood ring with her tickets! Girls are going bungee jumping and flying in the air! Counselors are tied up in knots in the staff Twister game, and they have an audience of campers watching them. Of course, there is popcorn and cotton candy at the carnival, too. Everyone is having a great time!

In photo creations, campers are making projects to display their favorite photos. Everyone gets a wooden shadow box which they decorate with splatter paint, sponge paint, tissue paper, and ribbons. One girl even used plastic letters to write her name on her frame. Campers choose a picture to put in their frame and make pop-outs of it to make it look 3D. Then they put a glass cover on the box and they end up with a one-of-a-kind shadow box! The younger divisions are decorating pillowcases with paint, ribbons, and rhinestones. Everyone gets a pillowcase which has a plastic insert to put a picture in and they choose their favorite picture to display. Everyone has fun making projects which will allow them to keep their camp memories forever!