ParentSpace Blog

WOW….where do I begin?!?

This morning, you were able to feel the excitement in the air. Our amazing staff worked seamlessly to assemble our day’s fare. By 8am, 2400 water bottles, 353 towels, 500+ deli sandwiches, among many other things, were carefully arranged by the staging area. After orderly packing and loading the busses, we were off on our adventure.

We made sure that our travel time didn’t go to waste. Our dance captains, Scott and Moshe, took the time out to make a Liberty dance tutorial video for us. We watched it a few times, and perfected any moves that we hadn’t already mastered. Before we knew it, we were at the Liberty ferry port.

Our campers got off the bus with exuberance, and they were greeted by 100 fresh piping-hot pies of pizza. You should have seen the look of bewilderment on the security guards, as we went through with the pies, the rest of our lunch, and all our musical instruments! When we were all checked onto the ferry, we unleashed our Simcha spirit. We chanted, sung camp songs, danced around the deck, and had a mighty fine time. The other passengers couldn’t resist our energy, and opted to join in. And people on other boats, and on the shore, all turned to witness our Simcha Epicness. After a quick stop on Ellis Island to drop off our spectators, we arrived at our destination, Liberty Island.

Camp Simcha stormed the island with gusto. We quickly made our way over to the lawn right in front of the statue and assembled in orderly rows. Dembi then gave us a short pep talk. He explained that Lady Liberty is the embodiment of freedom for the world. Her glowing torch burns even through the toughest of times. He went on to explain that today, Camp Simcha will show the world what true freedom is. Our torches and our camp are the true beacons in the darkness. He went on to fittingly name our song “Lighting up the Night – Simcha at Liberty.”

By the time he finished prepping us, a professional sound system had been set up, and a large crowd had begun to form. With the speakers blaring, Camp Simcha premiered Light up the Darkness for all our spectators. For our first rendition of the dance, we did the dance without our torches. You can see the smiles spreading across our campers faces as they performed the dance that they had worked so hard to master. By the time we finished our first rendition, almost every person on the island had gathered in front of the lawn to see the show. Dembi led us right into an Epic rendition of upROAR as we stomped, danced, screamed, sung, and showed the world what Camp Simcha is all about. With cameras flashing, and the crowds cheering us on, we performed Light up the Darkness one more time. This time, however, we used our Simcha torches! The effect of 350 Simchonians raising their torches up high, and waving them in unison, was unbelievable. And most importantly, the look of empowerment on our campers faces after showing the world what true freedom is, was a sight to behold.

After signing a few autographs for our fans, we headed to the side off the statue to eat lunch. Finally able to catch our breaths for a moment, we sat under the shade of the trees, munched on our pizzas and sides, and enjoyed the music of our live band. And then we received our next EPIC surprise. Yehuda Green showed up for a live concert! After recovering from the shock, we went wild. Yehuda wowed us with his classics and shared his usual enthusiasm with us. We responded with our usual insane amount of energy. We sang, danced, jumped, and stomped; there was fun for staff and campers alike. After observing just a few moments of our concert, many of our spectators opted to join in on the fun, and sing and dance with our awesome campers. They seemed to be having just a bit more fun than they’ve had in a while! Our campers also had a chance to ascend the statue at a scheduled slot during the concert.

After we were all danced out, we headed back to the ferry. However, our energy did not wane one bit. While waiting at the port, we singled out all the park employees that were there, and cheered them on by name. We then raised the roof with our psyching chants and cheers. Most of the people that were there said that we were the most energetic, impassioned, and inspiring group they’ve ever seen.

We finally made it back to the buses, and after a snack, headed to our next destination. We arrived at CoCo Key Indoor Water Park a short while later, rejuvenated and psyched for part two of our adventure. The park sure didn’t let us down. We had a blast on the Parrot’s Perch: an aquatic jungle gym which included slides, water cannons and 300 gallons of bucket dumping fun. We turned slam dunks, into splash dunks at the Coral Cove. And when we needed to relax, we waddled down nearly 300 ft of the resort’s lazy river.

It was quite a unanimous consensus on the ride back that today was amazing. Our campers came back with memories to last the year. The Lighting up the Night music video is below

Today’s escape was.. well.. magical! The dining room was decked out like Hogwart’s Great Hall, complete with polyjuice potions and broomsticks. Round glasses, with scotch tape in the middle, abounded. Breakfast consisted of pumpkin juice, porridge, rolls, orange juice, scrambled eggs, toast, buttered toast with jam, and corn flakes (no I didn’t check the book, there’s Google for that). And despite the accursed weather, the day turned out just splendid.

After a scrumptious breakfast, us wizards headed to a camp wide Harry Potter character search. Different staff members dressed up as various characters from the books, hid throughout camp, and campers ran around camp collecting their signatures. They found a dementor roaming in the forrest, Moaning Myrtle in the girls bathroom, and Hermoine on the porch of the candle shop. Every camper that collected all the signatures got a Cat in the Hat T-shirt.

After another rendition EPIC rendition of upROAR by lunch, we headed out for four consecutive awesome activities. Deron headed to the leather shop to create a belt. He first selected the leather that was the appropriate thickness and then cut a strip the proper size. He then proceeded to dye it the color that he wanted, and after it dried, he polished and shined it. He finished off his belt by punching holes and adding a belt buckle. A camper that was wearing a belt informed me that he had made the belt three years ago in the leather shop, and it was still in perfect shape. Perhaps we should stop out-sourcing everything and make all our products right here in Glen Spey!

Yitz headed to the Ductagami workshop where he made an apron for his mommy. He selected some vibrant colors and then carefully laid them out to create a sheet. He then added a loop for the neck and waist. He now has a versatile and washable present to bring back home.

Throughout the day, different divisions had an opportunity to hone their wizarding capabilities. An expert magician had come to camp, and he spent the afternoon teaching tricks to our campers. Our campers had a great time learning card tricks, wand tricks, and rope tricks.

At supper, we had another rendition of upROAR. This time, however, we also practiced the dance for our new CS song which we will be performing in NYC tomorrow. The song was recorded right here in our newly constructed studio. Campers had a blast recoding the lyrics, and the camp as a whole had a great time practicing our dance steps. You can check out a preview here.

The day closed with another magical experience. Camp Simcha witnessed The Extreme Magic of Eric, a show like no other. Using an unusual mix of exotic birds and other animals -along with the newest big-stage illusions, daring Houdini escapes, mind-blowing stunts, and close-up sleight of hand – this award-winning teenage magician provided incredible, memorable entertainment and loads of fun for all of us.

Tomorrow will be an amazing and liberating day. Follow us on Twitter @campsimcha for update

This morning, when our campers walked into the dining room, they were met by a CS staff, who, rather than clowning around (ouch!) were pulsating with energy. They also noticed that they weren’t in much of a dining room at all. Over night, our staff members worked to convert the dining room into an over the top circus tent. It was complete with a moving animal carousel, elephants and monkeys, and many camp caricatures. There were also concession stands scattered around, and campers were able to walk over and order cotton candy, snow cones, and hot dogs. By lunch, we had our usual upROAR complete with dancing, stamping, singing. Today, we had the lions to compete with but of course we were louder.

After lunch, we headed out to the ball field for our annual Epic Dr. Lenny Water Fight. Dr. Lenny is known to be an expert in the oncology field, but today he showed off his adept water-gun handling skills. Our campers had a blast as they had a chance to cool off and soak the medical staff in the process(only some-the rest were on call).

From there, our campers headed back to their bunks and prepared for the circus parade. Each division had to work together to create a show complete with costumes, songs, and floats. The results were Barnum-and-Bailey worthy. Our oldest division decided to all dress like elephants, cover their float in grey, and march to the song: “Do your ears hang low?” Our other divisions each did something creative including a mime theme and an animal theme. The parade finished by the social hall and then each division had to put on a circus performance for the rest of the camp. Each division had their own twist, and all the shows were very entertaining.

After the parade, we had one last afternoon activity. Mitchell and his friends headed to the woodshop to build something. Mitchell created a a wooden name plate for his front door. His friends made a launch pad for a rocket their going to launch at the end of the session. It was captivating to watch them carefully draw out their plans on paper, then saw the wood, sand it down, and put it together.

After supper, we had a chance to witness a real circus performance. The Jabali African Acrobats dazzled us with balancing feats, impressive juggling, original jump-rope techniques, and human formations. And although they looked more professional in their outfits, our camper Corey did us proud under the limbo pole, minus the leopard prints. And speaking of limbo, we would like to make it very clear that limbo is the ONLY time we lower the bar here in Camp Simcha. Everything else is E-P-I-C.

The Epic 500 has been recognized by NASCAR as the official race of 2011. With that in mind, our campers walked into the dining room for breakfast and were instead greeted by a car show! There was a racetrack, flags, lights, and even cars on spinning tables! And a lucky camper got to walk away with the keys to a new Lamborghini (donated by HotWheels).

After breakfast, in line with today’s theme, the youngest division headed to the baseball field where they did some car-washing. Now, this was no ordinary carwash. Everyone walked away sopping and covered in shaving cream! Some staff members felt they were too clean and decided to go mud sliding!

By lunch, the car show was still going on, but we added an extra intense rendition of upROAR in anticipation of the weekend. Our campers danced, climbed on staff members’ shoulders, and screamed so loud that they were able to b heard over the din of the race cars racing outside.

After lunch, we headed to the social hall for our special activity. Rodderick Russell, the sword-eater from last night, had stayed overnight in camp, and was giving his second half of his performance today. This morning he tweeted: “Getting ready for the last & what I anticipate will be the most challenging (& rewarding) show of the tour!” He went on to give an epic hypnotist show. He convinced some lucky contestants that they were rock stars, very smelly, and that they had forgotten the number 6. It was a very entertaining show to watch. After the show, Rodderick tweeted: “I was correct – what a show!!! I’m blown away by the energy and zest for life!!! *I* am inspired! And it was definitely rewarding! Wow!” Indeed, that’s what we do best here. Thank you.

It’s Friday, Friday

Gotta get down on Friday

Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend

Friday, Friday

Gettin’ down on Friday

Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend

Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)

Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)

Fun, fun, fun, fun

Lookin’ forward to the weekend

Epic Camp Simcha Weekend HERE WE COME!

Forsooth! Today hath been replete with a good many extraordinary activities. After breakfast, our oldest division headed out to a shooting range to practice their shot. In the medieval times, they shot bows and arrows. We’re a bit more advanced, and our campers got to shoot real rifles including an Ak-47 and a M4. Before heading out, each camper created something which to him represented illness. He then used that as a target on the range and realized that it’s in his power to completely take control of illness.

By lunch, we entered the dining room which was converted into a medieval castle. It was replete with stone walls, a set banquet table, a throne, and life sized model horses guarding the gates. And thou knoweth that we don’t stop singing, dancing, jumping, screaming, roaring, shrilling, bouncing, hopping, or leaping, just because we have a bit of free time. Indeed, during lunch, we gathered in the middle of the room to do the aforementioned. And after lunch, to give thee a nice addition to the usual schedule, we went to the fields to play a manor vs. manor game of capture the flag. Our knights worked vigilantly to defend their respective flags while the cavalier tried going on an offensive to capture the other team’s prized possession.

After the game, Or N. and Or F. headed to the arts and crafts room. It was there that they created their name out of wooden blocks and carefully painted it in their native flag colors. They planned on putting the name on top of their fully stocked stable back at the manor. Gal K. decided to make some chickens out of dixie cups and paper to add to his coup. Mikey took charge of defending the castle, and headed to the pottery workshop. He rolled out a chunk of clay to his desired thickness, and then carefully cut out a sword and shield. It is now baking in the oven, and he should have it by tomorrow afternoon.

Dinner was a medieval supper outside on the lawn. It was replete with stew boiling in a cauldron and meat roasting over the stake.

From dinner, we headed to the social hall for a special activity. We were met by Roderick Russel, a Guiness world record holder. He dazzled us with his three-part performance consisting of mind reading, fire eating, and sword swallowing. For the first part, he wowed us as he guessed peoples’ favorite playing card, and which camper drew which picture. For his second part, he swallowed fire, breathed fire, and lit his tongue on fire. And for his finale, he swallowed a 2 foot metal knife!!! Epic.

Today’s news is brought to you by the letter E (EPIC!) and by the number 11…

We watched our band perform on PBS as we ate breakfast, and when we tuned in again during lunch, Dembi was there, decked out in his ever-present frog hat, to lead the upROAR. Our campers rocked to the songs of Stamp on the Ground, I Gotta Feelin, and Yalili. Lunch also served as a meet-and-greet for Elmo, Grover, and Grover, who dispensed autographs to any camper who asked.

By lunch, we heard a rumor that cookie monster was famished. We therefore headed to the canteen for our Monster Cookie Baking Contest. Our campers got to create a cookie dough, and then decorate it with marshmallows, mike-and-ikes, twizzlers, and other sweet accessories. Moshe and Yechezkal started off by rolling out their dough; they then added a blue glaze, some green jelly beans for eyes, and red marshmallows for a mouth. Ofek probably thought he was suposed to decorate his own face, and he ended up looking like a big marshmallow head. They were then judged for the best cookie and then popped them in the oven. They got to enjoy their delicious treats just an hour later.

Max heard that before they make Sesame Street puppets, they first design them in wax models. He therefore headed to the wax and candle workshop. He started by making three wax molds of his hand – both right and left – in different stances. When he was satisfied with his gorgeous models (Tiffany has contacted him about using them to display their rings), he started again and made a nice multi-color candle for his mommy.

After supper, Camp Simcha was thrilled to welcome Steve Max. Every year, Steve comes and plays the craziest largest game of Simon Says. His tricky strategies leave even the brightest people confused. Counselors and campers were head to head in an intense battle. The winner of the battle got to go head to head against his son, who is a Simon Sez champion. Of course, our Camp Simcha representative was crowned champion. At the end of the night everyone said goodbye to Steve…after Simon told us to,.

We at Camp Simcha had a real ball today, as we escaped to the world of sports and ball games. When our campers walked into the dining room for lunch, they were transported to a whole new world. The dining room was redecorated to like a different ball fields complete with bleachers, turf, and flags. Towards the end of lunch, we all gathered in the middle of the dining room where we heard a rockin’ concert from our own personal band: The American Revolution. The campers danced, climbed on staff members’ shoulders, and screamed in an Epic Eleven rendition of upROAR.

After lunch, our campers spread out to demonstrate their sports acumen. Our youngest division played gaga in the social hall while our Israeli division played volleyball in the gym. Another division gathered to create sports pennants. Creativity and team spirit was readily apparent, as campers collaborated to make signs supporting their favorite sports teams.

The lake was a beehive of water sports activity. It was there that you could find Eytan fishing (hey, ESPN considers that a sport!). After just a few moments, he caught the first fish of his career. Charlie and Yoel went a bit more extreme and took the motorboat for a spin. They had a blast pushing the throttle and riding the waves.

We had a surprise early supper at 5:45 of steak and fries – very befitting of a football tailgate party. We then headed to the social hall for a special activity. We we’re greeted by 8th Day, the up and coming Jewish band. Although it was an abridged show, there was not a person that left the room un-exhausted. They wowed us with their slow melodies and pumped up the room with their famous pop and rock songs. We sang, danced, jumped, and stomped; there was fun for campers and staff alike. They shared the stage with many campers, and even had a duet with some of the campers.

In most camps, that would be the end of the day. In Camp Simcha, that was just part 1. After a short break to catch our breath, we headed to the gym for another special activity. Yesterday, we watched an amazing acrobat show. Today, we we’re greeted by Air Elite, a team that combines acrobatics with a sport- basketball. With the aid of a trampoline, they performed the most EPIC dunks possible; flipping and twisting in every possible formation. And when the sound system failed for a few moments, our amazing staff stepped up, made some a lot of noise, and raised the roof.

Steve Nash might have competition in the dunking department.

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; It’s about dancing in the rain.”

That’s the attitude Camp Simcha takes towards everything, and it was on full display today.

With our costumes on, our faces painted, and our overflowing energy, we all headed out to the main gate to greet our campers. It was there that we welcomed our amazing campers Camp Simcha Style. The rain didn’t stop us as we sung, dance, and splashed in the falling rain. The rain, which in other camps would be an excuse to watch TV, became a catalyst for the most exciting arrivals ever. One by one, every camper was greeted and given his own personal introduction. After that, the campers were taken for a check at the infirmary before coming back outside to meet new and old friends.

When the rain turned into a flood, we didn’t want to make our neighbors jealous; therefore, we set up tents leading from the front gate to the dining room, and moved the party inside. The American Revolution, our personal band, psyched up the room with their usual array of epic songs. The energy was endless, and we welcomed campers well into the evening. Just when we thought we were done for the day, a bus filled with the Israeli Division showed up and the party started again. This time though, we used a blend of American and Israeli songs and everyone was quite pleased.

After the buses disembarked, the campers had a few moments to catch their breaths before heading to the dining room for a scrumptious dinner. From supper, the camp rushed to the gym for our special night activity.

It was there that The Skyriders, a professional gymnast and trampoline team, greeted us. They are a world-renowned team that performs at NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB half time shows, among others. The leader is the world silver-medalist for his genre, and is a Guiness record holder. They dazzled us with their flips and tricks. They did their contortions while wearing snowboards, water-boards, and skis!

After a great start, however, it was time to get a good night sleep before tomorrow’s amazing program.

The staff members of Camp Simcha are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the greatest campers on Earth! They have spent the last 24 hours getting oriented (lots and lots of speeches), disoriented (Mud sliding and mud dodgeball), and straight up psyched. The energy is palpable.

The Greatest Show on Earth is now ready to begin! Rain or shine, the show will go on. The staff is all dressed up in the wackiest costumes. Operation Red Nose is in full effect, and not a face has gone unpainted. The place is in TOTAL uproar. And Dembi’s Got a Feeling’…

ENTER EPIC ELEVEN

Over 200 CSB2011 staff “rained” in on our beautiful, luxurious, and comfortable camp grounds today for CSB2011 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 EPICly psyched to see what came next. Dembi led us to the baseball field where the rain-storms, with the help of some water hoses, had turned the field into a muddy mess. That didn’t stop us; we divided into two teams and had a massive dodgeball game in the mud. It was a great way to psych us up, and set the tone for the 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 “Great Simcha Escapes’, and plot and plan the most amazing Camp Simcha boys session ever!!!!

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

Enter Epic Eleven