Hello Canadensis!

I hope this blog post finds everyone in full and festive Fall fervor (how about that for alliteration)!  Things here in the camp winter office are all abuzz as we have now have our sights on plans for Summer 2015, which will also be our 75th Anniversary Summer!  That’s right…75 Summers!  So, in order to make next year extra, extra special, we have to plan now!  Thanks to all of our campers that submitted the online end of the summer survey with all of your feedback and suggestions on how to make things so wonderful for camp in 2015.  And, thanks to all of our staff who spent their time in end of the summer wrap up talks offering their insights as well.  As always, we use this information in our planning and thoughts when constructing the summer calendar of programs.  For us in the year-round office, our camp fun begins now!

But, before we fully jump into Summer 2015, we just recently announced the date for our Summer 2014 Annual Reunion.  It will be on Sunday, January 25 at Funtime America in Eatontown, NJ from 10:30 am – 12:30 pm.  We hope to see as many of our campers and staff in attendance to reminisce one final time just how great Summer 2014 was!

Speaking of reunions, with it being our 75th Anniversary Summer, camp will be hosting an Alumni Reunion on June 14, 2015.  So, all alumni, near and far…Mark Your Calendars!…Tell your old bunkmates!….Make your way to the 18325 in June!  And, let us know if you have any great ideas for the reunion and we’ll do our best to incorporate them into the weekend.  

Of course, we can’t wait to see as many people as possible at one of the upcoming Canteen on the Fly events.  Have some ice cream and receive some cool Canadensis swag.

Now that Fall is officially here, it allows me and the family to enjoy several fun annual rituals.  A few weeks ago, me, Jaime and Emerson headed to Wightman’s Farms with family and friends for our yearly apple picking event.  The day also incorporated hay rides, pumpkin sling shots, pumpkin picking and shopping for a lot of fresh, local produce.  Coincidentally, we also ran into New York Giant quarterback Eli Manning, who was also enjoying the day with his family.  Here are some pictures from our day…

As many of you know me very well at this point, the Fall is my second favorite season for the reason that it is also Football Season and the time to root on my beloved Giants.  With that, home games are filled with incredible tailgates.  A few weeks ago, several Camp Canadensis families joined in on the fun.  See the picture here…

Fun in the Fall started with one of my favorite offseason activities, which is meeting all of our camp families in their homes and talking camp.  First off, in Merrick, NY, I got to hang out with 5th grader Sam Pollack, who will be coming to camp for his first summer in 2015 as an Upper Inter Boy.  Sam just recently got elected to his school’s student council, where he recently started putting together ideas for school spirit days.  He is also involved in a bowling league.  Pretty soon, he will start practices and games in the Bellmore-Merrick Basketball League.  He is a big sports fan and roots for the Golden State Warriors in the NBA and the Yankees in the MLB.  He also likes Gaga, trampolines and drawing caricatures.  At camp next summer, he is looking forward to the sports inter-camps, quads/hondas and cooking.  Here is a picture…

In Syosset, NY, I spent some time with 2015 Lower Inter Girl Julia Schwartz.  Currently in the 4th grade, Julia enjoys to dance at the World Class Performance Center.  She is already preparing for recitals in the Spring in both hip hop and tap dance.  Julia is also active in gymnastics and plays tennis.  When at home, she plays the drums and takes care of her two dogs, Jett and Bandit.  In the Winter, Julia likes to ski.  For her first summer at camp, she is excited for all of the lake activities, tennis and hanging out with all of her new friends.  Here is a photo…

In Muttontown, NY, I got to know Jake (4th grade) and Kate (2nd grade) Solomon, both who will be at Canadensis for their first summers in 2015.  Jake told me that he just recently got the part of the Constable in a theater performance of Fiddler on the Roof.  The show is in December.  Over the Winter, he will also be playing on a basketball team.  When he’s at home, Jake enjoys playing Minecraft and watching his favorite TV shows, Pair of Kings and Mighty Med.  When Summer comes, he can’t wait to try the quads, the foam pit, Gaga and the Canadensis Today Show elective as part of the Lower Inter Boys division.  As for Kate, she currently takes gymnastics lessons and plays on the Jericho Travel Soccer Team.  She is also on a swim team.  When at home, she could be seen watching her favorite TV shows, Pair of Kings and Labrats.  When she gets to camp as a Lower Junior, Kate told me that she is excited for the ropes course and zipline, gymnastics and the foam pit.  Here is a pic…

It was great to also get some wonderful e-mails this past month, letting me know that there have already been some camp get togethers and bunk sleepovers.  We hope that there will be many more weekends of camp friends seeing each other.  And, if you have some great photos, please send them to us.  We’d love to see them!  Here are some great pictures from the past few weeks…

In one week, the Fun in Fall mantra will be at an extremely high decibel level as I would like to think that many of our Canadensis campers, families and staff will be enjoying Halloween, whether it be in the fashion of traditional trick-or-treating or attending some sort of Halloween party.  Send us pictures of you in your costumes!

Well, that’s all of the blogging for now.  More to come soon.

Have a great day!

-Brian

I’m excited to introduce a new reoccurring blog segment: Cooking with Jojo!  Jojo grew up at Camp Canadensis, her father is the former director, and she’s loves camp with all her heart!  Since becoming the cooking director, she has made it one of the most popular programs at camp!  Everyone looks forward to cooking with her and her staff during their bunk activity periods (everyone has it built right into their schedule!) and the elective and iCan nights she runs are always very popular!

During the summer of 2014, Super Seniors Ali Beyda and Bria Donohue were brainstorming great ideas for camp, and they thought it would be amazing to have a cooking section on the website, so all year long kids could get new recipe ideas and spend time in the kitchen making them with their families, or with camp friends during reunions.  Thanks to their great idea, we hope to blog often with great inspiration from Jojo!  Here’s her words…

“I tried a new recipe to bring to Break-Fast. Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake.  I used a mixer and it is from William Sonoma Essentials of baking.

It was scrumptious. The layers of batter, streusel, batter, streusel made a beautiful presentation when it was sliced. I like to use a fluted bunt pan for the extra decoration.”

(Recipe is from the “Quick Breads and Coffee Cakes” cookbook)

We are so excited to announce our Canteen on the Fly dates for November 2014…hopefully you’ll come by to see us.  Everyone is invited, and these events have been a great way for new campers, returning campers, staff and families thinking about camp for future summers to all spend some time together!  Find the location nearest you, and save the date!

Here’s some happenings I’ve been up to in the past month…