Hello Canadensis!

It’s been quite some time since my last blog, but when I got to my desk this morning, I made sure I was committed to reaching all of you in our Camp Cyberworld!  I hope this blog finds everyone in a festive and holiday spirit as December rolls upon us.  I hope all of our camp families and staff had a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Here in the Krug household, we have a lot to be thankful for this year with the arrival of our daughter Emerson, who was so excited to meet everyone during the November Canteen on the Fly events.  Me, Jaime and Emmy continued our family tradition of watching the Macy’s Parade in bed all morning.  That was followed by gorging our faces all afternoon with a magnificent feast prepared by my mom, who has been hosting the event for close to 38 years now!  Thanks mom for another memorable meal.

Speaking of being thankful, I got such a wonderful e-mail sent to me last week from 2015 Upper Inter Boy Daniel Gold.  For a school project, Daniel had to write an essay, expressing what he is thankful for this year.  I think the second to last line sums it up pretty nicely…

For our Winter office, we really enjoyed getting out on the road once again for our Annual Canteen on the Fly Events in Pennsylvania, Long Island, Westchester and Northern New Jersey.  In total, we got to see more than 200 campers and staff.  Special thanks to all of our staff, including Melissa Torban, Robin Forti, Heather Fisher, Dave Malter, Dani Corradetti, Brandon Herder, Brooke O’Donnell, Matt “Chipper” Jacobson, Britt Dvorscak, Sam Ginsburg, Allie Ernst, Lauren Gadol, Brett Levine, Matt Siegel, Elizabeth Menkowitz, Jordan Rosen, Ben Portnoy, Hannah Schepps and Lauren Grama, who took the time to meet us at one of the locations.  Go to our Facebook Page to check out photos from all of these locations.

The Canadensis Camp Spirit was also in full effect on November 18, which was wear your Camp Shirt Day.  If you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out our Facebook and Instagram pages to see all of the campers and staff that participated.  Me and Emerson got in on the action, too!

The Winter Office is getting busier and busier by the day.  Eric and Matt are hard at work with several projects that are taking place up at camp.  One of them involves a major renovation to our Rec Hall.  In fact, the building, which is one camp’s more historic facilities, has a whole new complexion as it will now feature a new outdoor stage.  This will allow for our Theater Program to conduct rehearsals outdoors as well as be an amazing new venue for some evening activities.  The stage will feature lighting and a sound system, too!  Here is your first look at the work in progress…

Pam and Cara are busy with the hundreds of staff applications that have started to pour in.  We are also in the process of finalizing our staff recrutiment trips for Winter / Spring 2015, which puts all of us (me, Eric, Pam, Cara and Matt) at a number of colleges and universities throughout the United States and overseas in places like Australia, England and Eastern Europe.  Meeting prospective staff in person is still the way we like to do things at Canadensis.  At the same time, we have heard back from so many staff that are interested in returning for another summer.  Of course, if you know of anyone that might make for a great Mature Goofball (in our opinion, the perfect definition of a Canadensis staff member), please direct them to our Staff Application here.

Next week, our Winter Office will be assembling the Mystery Boxes that we once again made available to everyone again this year for the Holiday Season, with all of the proceeds going to our Canadensis Cares! Program.  Canadensis Cares! is a scholarship program designed to benefit Canadensis campers whose families are impacted by adverse or unusual circumstances. In some small way, every member of the Canadensis community can help families facing circumstances less fortunate than their own.  There are still a few left, so if you haven’t ordered one yet, what are you waiting for?!  Fill out the order form at www.canadensis.com or call us at 484.674.1941 today!  It is for a great cause and any recipient of the box will be happy to receive the totally cool Canadensis swag that’s in it!

Of course, there is our Annual Camp Reunion on Sunday, January 25 to look forward to as well.  We hope that many of our campers and staff that were with us in Summer 2014 are able to attend.  Just recently, we announced our New Camper Event for Summer 2015.  This event is for campers that are currently in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade and an opportunity for children to meet others that will be at camp this year.  The event will be held on Sunday, April 19 at the Edison Hotel.  Specific times for age groups will be announced soon.

As always, my calendar is starting to book with some visits to camp families.  Here are some that I have done over the past several weeks…

In Woodbury, NY, I spent time with twins Hailey and Jesse Mair, who are currently in the 3rd grade and will be joining our Upper Junior division in 2015.  Hailey told me that she will be performing in a production of “Peter Pan” soon.  On top of that, she takes art classes at a place called Village Artist, plays the violin and likes Gaga.  When at home, she enjoys watching the new show “Nicky, Ricky, Dicky and Don” on the Nick Channel.  This summer at camp, she is looking forward to Archery, the Canadensis Today Show, Lacrosse and all the delicious items on our salad bar.  Jesse let me know that he currently takes Tae Kwon Do lessons.  The instrument that he is learning is the viola.  Jesse also takes art lessons at Village Artist.  On top of that, he also plays lacrosse.  Finally, Jesse is a big Lego builder and he showed me his impressive pieces.  At camp, Jesse can’t wait for Archery, Lacrosse, Windsurfing and the Canadensis Today Show.  Here is a pic…

In Upper Saddle River, NJ, I hung out with the Weisensels, where Adam (currently in the 3rd grade) and Rachel (currently in 2nd grade) will be joining us at Canadensis for their first summer in 2015.  Adam likes to play baseball and just recently finished up his Fall Ball season on his team, the Cardinals, where he plays catcher, third base and outfield.  He will also play baseball again in the Spring.  Adam plays tackle football as well and is a guard, linebacker and defensive end on his team the Bulldogs.  In the Winter, he likes to ski.  In addition to all of that, he is involved in karate and plays Minecraft.  This summer as an Upper Junior, he is truly excited for the Canadensis Baseball League and Color War.  Rachel plays soccer on her travel team, the Americans, where she likes when she is put at the striker position.  Rachel is also heavily involved in a competitive gymnastics and she is looking forward to the season, which begins in January.  Rachel is also a big fan of wintertime skiing.  When at home, she likes video games and Facetiming with friends and family as well as coloring.  At camp, when she is a Lower Junior, she is ready for soccer and Color War.  Here is a photo…

In Livingston, NJ, I got to know Josh, who will be part of our Upper Inter divsion in 2015 as he is a current 5th grader.  Josh plays forward and midfield on a travel soccer team, the Livingston Levelers.  This Winter, he will also be playing in a basketball league.  Then, in the Spring, he will play in a baseball league.  Josh is a big sports fan, too, and roots for the Yankees, Knicks, Giants and Red Bulls.  When he’s hanging out at home, he plays video games like Madden Football and NBA 2K.  When camp time comes, Josh is all about trying things like Hondas, Woodworking, Soccer, Baseball and all of the activities at the lake.  Here is a picture…

In Lafayette Hill, PA, I got to see Max and Alexa Baer.  Alexa is back for her third summer at camp and will be in our Upper Inter division while Max joins us for his first year as part of our Upper Junior division.  Currently in 5th grade, Alexa is very involved with her dance classes that ranges from hip hop to tap to jazz to lyrical to ballet.  She is practicing towards her annual big recital in the Spring.  Alexa wanted to give a shout out to all of the girls from Summer 2014’s Bunk 7 and had a secret message for them.  She wanted to tell them that, “She hopes the moth doesn’t grab your eyeball.”  Alexa is most definitely looking forward to the camp reunion in January as well as MTV Night in Summer 2015.  As for Max, who is currently in the 3rd grade, he plays halfback and goalie on his travel soccer team, the Colonial Clash.  Now that Winter is upon us, he is just starting his basketball league as well.  In the spring, Max will play travel baseball.  When at home, Max enjoys playing ping pong and playing NBA 2K12 on the Wii.  This summer, Max can’t wait to try the quads and is very excited about Color War.  Here is a photo…

I love getting photos of camper get-togethers, reunions, surprise run-ins.  As always, please keep them coming.  Here are some for me to share with you…

Well, that’s all the blogging for now.  More to come soon.  And, I promise that my next blog won’t wait until January.

Have a great day!

-Brian

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…

The Art Shack program this summer was a great success. We truly accomplished all goals set forth. Every camper that we touched seemed to have been incredibly receptive to all our projects and creativity. From crayon art becoming a camp wide phenomenon to prom success and color war madness the excitement continued in art all summer long.

Teaching decoupage at all ages, sculpting wire figures that were spectacular, decorating beautiful mirrors and involving the entire camp in candy art brought great joy to our entire department. Hundreds of beaded bracelets were made, campers were jeweled out and we loved seeing happy parents on visiting day blown away by a truly awesome art program!

Our electives were very popular, and great projects were made in the boys and girls bunk activity periods. From junior boys airplanes and bunk name plates up to supers spectacular frames and iCan nights learning cool new techniques with batiking, great creativity was had and happiness experienced by all.

I’m personally so happy to have brought the art outside by adding a waiting wall chalk board which was fun, and will be used for years to come. It feels good looking back at this summer and seeing the impact and memories of creative fun being had! It is a great accomplishment of our team and could not have been done so without each and every member.

It’s only up from here…

XO, Hallie & The 2014 Art Staff

 

There are some soccer players who can take the ball from one end of the field to the other and score by themselves. There are some basketball players who can make full court shots without the need to pass even once. There are countless athletes, artists, and musicians who can be successful by themselves, regardless of how many times they get called a “ball hog”. Not with Rock Band. They say there’s no ‘I’ in team, well there’s no ‘I’ in Rock Band either. Rock Band could not have been successful if not for the teamwork that was exhibited by all members involved. It was truly a great lesson for the kids to learn this year.

We had two bands this year. One was an experimental band that mixed lower seniors and upper juniors. We spent our rehearsals increasing our level of musical ability. Bringing together kids with such a difference in age was a great experience not only for the kids, but also for me. I got to see how even the most experienced musicians can learn something from the most unexpected places.

The second band was named “Plexiglas”. As a “pull out” program, campers have the chance to get away from their normal, everyday activities and spend some time with good music and good company as they rehearsed for their performances throughout camp. You may remember them from such performances as “The Best Day of My Life” on Visiting Day, “Radioactive” for Camparet, and “Color War” on the last day of camp (an original song written at camp). Teamwork, yet again, was key. Without the effort and participation of every single member of the band, the performances would not have been possible. Not only that, but they wouldn’t have rocked out as hard as they did without working together as well as they did.

It was a great summer for music, and the boys look forward to rocking on in the future.

Yours Truly,

Rock Band Mark

 

Mah Jongg was a big hit of summer 2014! The table located outside of the HQ made it a hot spot to see the game being played and to get involved. Although it was only offered as an elective to the older kids, many younger ones saw us playing and were eager to learn as well. By the end of the summer, there was a great range of ages, boys and girls that played.

It just takes one period to learn, as the campers quickly pick up the lingo and learn about the tiles. Some were able to play on their own, without any help, just the first day! During summer 2014, we created a Mah Jongg tournament, where campers who were not in the elective could sign up. At this morning-long tournament, campers played multiple games, keeping track of the number of points each hand was worth. It was very intense, as we had a winner just 5 points ahead of the rest!

I learned how to play Mah Jongg in camp too and it was great to see how enthusiastic the campers were to come to the elective!! It’s a fun game to play and hang out and chat with your friends as well. I hope it grows even more next summer!

Crack, Bam, Dot, Flower…

Caila

 

 

 

The basketball program at Camp Canadensis in 2014 was a great success and a joy to lead. Our clinic times consisted of instruction that was then backed up by playing games to reinforce those newly acquired skills. League periods saw the campers competing against each other in scrimmages, and in our elective periods we were able to play some fun basketball games and running drills that focused more on specialized and individual skill building.

At Canadensis, we were able to host and attend many inter-camp basketball tournaments this year. We also had our super leagues (Inter basketball league, NCAA, NBA, and WNBA) which were all a huge success and a lot of fun for everyone involved.

My staff and I would like to thank the Canadensis staff for all of their support, and the campers for their involvement! You truly made this summer an incredible experience!

-Shawn Cramer

 

Recipe for success: Add one seasoned veteran with one sweet New Jerseyite, sprinkle into the mix a talented A-cappellist with a flair for cooking, add the joy and enthusiasm from hundreds of campers and let the ingredients bake for aprox. 7 weeks. The results are the most delicious cooking program Camp Canadensis has tasted to date!

Yes, this summer Jojo, Jenna, and Suzanna made ordinary ingredients into extraordinary culinary delights. Among the dozens of tasty dishes, our campers learned how to cut and fry a simple potato into the best fries they ever ate. We made mixed berry crème brulee with an essential tool of all top French chefs; the kitchen torch. Along with proper instruction and adult supervision our future chefs learned to properly brulee “to burn” the turbinado sugar to a golden brown (not black because it tastes too bitter). As program directors we are asked to have a “Big Idea” for the summer. It could be something we ask our camper to achieve over the summer or an accomplishment of some kind. This year our “Big Idea” for cooking was a little less tangible but so important to me. Our “big idea” was to instill the idea into all of our campers how important family recipes are. So often we eat grandma’s cookies or Uncle Jo’s rib roast or Aunt Sally’s special salad but we never think to ask for the recipe or more importantly if it’s possible, make the recipe with them.

Last week I ran into a friend who so fondly remembers her mother’s chicken soup. As we were talking she said she had asked all her friends and family if they knew what her mother put in her soup. No one knew. When I told her “I have your mom’s recipe” her eyes lit up and she jumped into my arms.

We wish all of you a great school year and we thank you for a wonderful summer.

Love,

Jojo, Suzanna and Jenna