Well, today was the last full day in the winter office! Tomorrow we’ll come in, finish up as much computer work as possibly, and then start getting all of our office boxes ready to be picked up by Eric Forti and the PreCamp Staff. Once the computers are off and the files are packed, we won’t see them again until Monday morning, when we OFFICIALLY OPEN THE CAMP CANADENSIS SUMMER OFFICE!!! Yes, you all know what this means… next month counselors will begin driving down the camp road, followed a week later by ALL OF YOU!!! I honestly can’t believe this day has finally arrived… I should probably start packing, right?

Today I got to have lunch with Rebecca Waxman, and we chatted about her community study project and how excited she is to go off to Syracuse next year! This blog is going to be VERY different without Rebecca around to be featured in most of my dinner blogs, but I’m looking forward to getting to spend the summer with her, and with ALL of my favorite camp friends who will be going off (or back) to school in the fall.

Well, it’s the end of the day here in the winter office, and I’ve got TONS of work to do around my house before I can leave for camp this weekend. As always, I’ll get it all done in time, but I know you all know the craziness that is preparing to leave for camp. Just imagine packing for May – September at camp! CRAZY! I promise to take lots of pictures and keep you updated on all the silly precamp happenings.

Well, that’s all for now. Next time I’ll be blogging from Canadensis!

Hi to all and sorry for the delay in blog postings. I am up to camp (well sorta) as the past week and coming week I am going back and forth between camp and Philadelphia. I have been busy moving out of my Philadelphia home and putting stuff into storage so that my renters can move in.

This past weekend I celebrated Mother’s Day with my entire family (my new niece who is adorable!) as well as Robin and her family. We all had a great time and in true Forti spirit, my mom put on a nice brunch this morning for our extended family. Of course I offered my help, but my mom did most of the work as usual and we all had a really fun time. I hope that everyone remembered Mother’s Day and said thank you to their moms for all they do for us “kids”. My mom is an amazing mom and although I know I don’t always show my appreciation to her, she truly is a very caring and loving person. So, make sure you say something nice to yours!

In camp news, it’s freezing. Actually, it literally is freezing up at camp! Unger reported seeing snow flurries this morning and our poor Australian/Kiwi staff are shivering all day. Wasn’t it nice of Justin Winch and Unger to postpone the cleaning roof gutters job around camp due to the high winds on the roofs! Last night camp lost power for about 6 hours also due to the high winds. Fortunately, no trees down to report around camp, but many fell out on the public roads and so our power company had to come out last night and fix the down lines. We hosted our semi-annual Special Olympics weekend (if you recall we donate camp to them twice a year) and so their talent show was moved from the Rec Hall to the dining hall due to the power outage. Our dining hall has a backup generator powering all of our refrigerators, freezers, lights, ovens, etc. ensuring we can keep our food and be able to cook it!

Reminds me of my freshman year at camp (Summer 1993 I believe?). The power went out on the last day of camp and our slideshow/video presentation, which we still do on the last night, had to be shown in the Rec Hall using a portable generator! Craziness. One other time that we lost power, we drove around on pickup trucks with ice cream around camp because our canteen ice cream freezers are not hooked up to a generator! So, the reward for us campers was free ice cream. Ah, the small things in life, but see how I remember that from almost 20 years ago.

Well I better get going and finish up my work as it’s Sunday night and I think I am entitled to some TV catch up?! Hope everyone is doing well and don’t forget, Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there!

Also, if you haven’t heard we have extended the ANCHOR FOR TODAY deadline to May 19th. For more information about Anchor for Today please click here.

Have a great day!

Blog posting coming soon, but in the meantime HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all of the mothers out there! I figured I would post this video, because I am sure it makes my mom oh so proud of me each and every day:)

Hello Canadensis!

It’s been a while since my last blog, but all I can say is that things have been so busy putting together the BEST SUMMER EVER that the blog had to be put on hold for a bit. But, I’m back with a May MegaBlog for you all to enjoy.

This past weekend, the summer unofficially kicked off with our 4th Annual CIT Weekend up at camp. First off, the weather was so amazing that you would have actually thought it was summer. The weekend was a combination of different activities but also included several meetings putting our CIT Leadership Program in place. Hats off to Pam Levi and Cara Corradetti for planning such a wonderful get-together. Highlights of the weekend included the CITS spelling out “CANADENSIS CITS” along Lake Lenape using their bodies, designing the 2010 Seniors T-Shirt, a campfire with S’Mores and a lot of wonderful reminiscing of summers past as well as great discussions about the upcoming summer. Here are some pictures from the get-together. More pics will be available in the Media Room of our website very soon.

Seeing our oldest campers in action made all of the staff particularly proud.  For those new to Canadensis, our CITs spend 2 or more periods each day with a lower camp bunk and get involved first hand in creating an amazing camp experience for our younger campers.  Our CITs are a true asset in providing guidance for these campers.  After all, they have been at camp the longest and know exactly what camp is all about.

Speaking of our youngest campers, I really didn’t have a chance in my last blog to mention how wonderful our New Camper Bowling Event on Sunday, April 18 was.  So, I guess I just did.  It was wonderful!  Our new Juniors and Lower Inters had a great time bowling, eating pizza and getting to know one another with a game called “Camper Bingo.”  In addition to the winter staff of me, Aunt Terri, Eric, Pam and Cara, we were fortunate enough to have Girls Head Counselor Robin Hasson, Assistant Girls Head Counselor Karen Sharir, Boys Head Counselor Will Armon and counselors Pete Tarnoff and Jason Calabretta in attendance.  From this event, we have already heard that many campers have arranged future get-togethers before camp.  Awesome!  Pictures from this event can be found in the Media Room at www.canadensis.com .

Of course, Eric and I have been able to have some get-togethers of our own with some of our campers over the past few weeks as well.  We first saw Brad Skolnick from Englewood Cliffs, NJ.  Brad is in the fourth grade and will be a Lower Inter at camp this year.  He is also a second generation camper as his mother Heidi went to camp.  Brad is very busy all year round with soccer as he plays on both an indoor and outdoor team and can be found playing both goalie and forward.  He also plays on a basketball team in the winter and a baseball team in the spring.  At camp, he can’t wait for GaGa, Soccer, Basketball, Canteen and the Summit on the lake.  Here is a picture…

In Rye Brook, NY, I met up with Lower Senior Drew Schinik, back for his fourth summer, who will be joined by his brother and Junior Zach Schinik at camp this summer.  Both are busy with their respective sports season.  Zach told me that he has been playing baseball, football, basketball and soccer while Drew has been involved with both baseball (two teams) and football.  For the upcoming summer, Zach can’t wait for all of the sports, Color War, Hondas and Waterskiing and Drew is really excited about the trip to Lake Placid this year.  Here is a photo…

In Scarsdale, NY, I met up with Madeline and Griffin Frankel, who were both excited to tell me how pumped up they are for another amazing summer.  Madeline is back for her 4th summer at camp and will be in our Freshman Girls division while Griffin joins us for his 3rd summer as part of the Lower Inter Boys.  They had just returned from a great family trip from the Bahamas.  Madeline told me that she has a dance recital coming up in June for her Hip Hop Dance class.  Griffin let me know that he and bunkmates Oliver Shaw and Alex Frieder went into New York City to take a trapeze class.  He also told me that he recently had a sleepover with another bunkmate, Oliver Harris.  While there, I also got to meet their new dog Cooper.  Here is a pic…

Then, it was onto South Orange, NJ to meet 5th grader and Upper Inter Girl Leah Otner.  Leah has been involved recently with a theater class called the Performers Theater Workshop in which she learns about acting, singing and dancing.  The class has been working hard towards a performance in June.  She also plays tennis and volleyball.  Over the winter, she enjoys going to Vermont for ski season at Smuggler’s Notch and Mt. Snow.  This summer, she is really looking forward to waterskiing, the camp shows (either being onstage or backstage), special event Wednesdays, Color War and meeting a whole new bunch of friends.  Here’s a picture…

As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, things have been so busy in putting together all of our preparations for the upcoming summer.  Last week, me, Eric, Pam and Roy met up in Central New Jersey for an entire day to review our master schedule of activities.  Planning a summer for over 400+ campers and 150+ counselors has its challenges, but we were able to work through all of the tweaks in making sure that each division has a well rounded activity schedule each and every week.  We also added several new Electives to the mix, including a Canadensis Today Show Elective, World Games and Outdoor Living Skills.  Elective choices will be e-mailed out in a few more weeks!

In addition to the return of the Canadensis Today Show, I hope all of you have been keeping up with Cara’s blog and the announcement of the all new Canadensis Tonight Show which will also be available to parents, grandparents, alumni and friends online this summer.  This show will be quite different from the Today show and plans are in the works to get as many campers and staff involved in its taping and production.  For now, I know everyone is having fun submitting their Canadensis Tonight Promo Pictures.  Me, too!  Here is mine…

In looking at the summer schedule, there are also so many great things returning to camp this year.  Activities like Rak Don are on the calendar along with Brad Henderson magic clinics and shows, Wild-N-Wacky Challenge, Pike County Inter-Camps, Super Leagues, Revolutionary War Day and Carnival Day!  Also, don’t forget…we are bringing Halloween to Camp Canadensis this summer, too!  Bring a costume!  Also, coming soon will be a vote for our campers and staff to pick the Drive In Movies for the summer so be on the lookout for that.

Over the past few weeks, I have been speaking with many of our counselors and staff.  Needless to say, they can’t wait for summer to arrive and be back in the Pocono Mountains.  To get in the spirit, Upper Inter Boys Group Leader Mike Lindquist told me that he was coaching a Little League baseball team in Eugene, OR.  Because Mike lives and breathes camp, guess what he called his team?  Named after a Color War team, his boys are known as the Blizzard.  Here’s a photo…

For all Canadensis Alumni, we are getting further to celebrating camp’s 70th Birthday and hope to see as many of you at the Reunion on Saturday, June 19!  Aunt Terri has been hard at work creating a very special Carnival themed day for families and friends.  If you haven’t done so already, please RSVP by calling our winter office at 484.674.1941.  All those that RSVP will get gift sent to them.

Of course, we also hope to see many of our families at the Open House at Camp on June 6.  Over the past few summers, this event has been a great way for campers to get familiar with camp and the staff as well as participate in a number of activities.

So, as you can see…a lot going on.  How many days until camp?  The clock is ticking down.  Tick…Tick…Tick.

See you all very, very soon…Brian

We are still accepting videos for Anchor for Today thru NEXT WEEK! Below you can find the details for the contest and prices for the winners.

Here are the rules: 1) Make a 1-2 min video of YOU hosting Canadensis Today by yourself or with your family or camp friends. 2) Upload your video to YouTube.com and email the link to contest@canadensis.com or send in your video tocontest@canadensis.com Make sure to include your first and last name and if you’re entering as a camper, parent or alumni.

We will then select our finalists and post them online for the Canadensis Community to vote and choose the winners!

Camper Winner: 1^st Place: Will Co-Host alongside Eric Forti and Will Armon this summer. 2^nd Place: Read the Menu and Birthdays on an episode of Canadensis Today. 3^rd Place: An autograph picture of Eric Forti and Will Armon and a Mule ride with ERIC AND WILL.

Staff Winner: The opportunity to file a report for Canadensis Today during Staff Orientation 2010.

Parent Winner: The opportunity to file a report for Canadensis Today on VISITING DAY 2010.

Alumni Winner: The opportunity to file a report for our Special 70^th Birthday Party on June 19^th at the Alumni Reunion.

**ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE IN BY MONDAY, MAY 10TH**

Got questions? Email jcal@canadensis.com

CIT weekend turned out to be the perfect day! We had bright sunshine and warm weather, perfect for a day spent with your best friends at your summer home. The CITs of 2010 are already making big plans for the summer, and having them up at camp made me realized just how very soon we will all be back together.

Of all the things we did together, this activity (which was completely unplanned) was my favorite:

Well, in exactly 2 weeks I will be blogging from the Main Office up at Camp! I can’t believe I only have 13 days to pack everything I need for the summer and get ready to move. It’s very overwhelming, but I absolutely cannot wait to see all my camp friends from last summer who will be coming up early for pre-camp! I hope everyone is as excited as I am!

In other news, this weekend was Dani’s musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and it was a blast! Saturday night brought out friends from all over the place, including Danielle Faden, Becky J, Dave Yedid, Rebecca Waxman, Karen Sharir, Rachel Bachman, and Max Blum. After the show we all went back to my house to play with my puppies and watch Max Blum do his best impersonation of a flapper dance. I’ll post some pictures as soon as I get them off my camera.

Canadensis Today Returns Daily Beginning June 18th!

Be on the look out for NEW shows throughout May and June leading up to the season premiere on June 18t! And don’t miss a VERY special Canadensis Today on June 19th Celebrating 70 Years of Camp Canadensis! Have a story idea for the Today Show? Email TodayShow@Canadensis.com.

Hello Blogland! Can you believe that April is almost over? Camp is coming faster than I could even imagine, and I am so excited to pack my bags and start moving up to the 18325.

Over the weekend I had an extremely camp themed dinner with Karen Sharir, Jason Calabretta, Pam Levi, Eric Forti, Robin Hasson, and Will Armon! We went to a little pizza place in Philadelphia and had the BEST pizza ever! The next morning we all woke up and drove off to New Camper Bowling in New Jersey, and met so many of our new Junior and Lower Inter campers! It was so much fun, and really got me in the camp spirit… although I think I’m always in the camp spirit…

I’ve also been doing a LOT of planning for the new CANADENSIS TONIGHT show coming this summer. We will begin casting soon, and have already started to cast a few writers and production staff, but there are MANY more spots to be filled, mostly by CAMPERS! Here are a few promos to get you excited:

Sorry to my loyal followers, some of whom have been complaining about my lack of posts lately. April begins crazy time and between camp, planning our wedding, and renting out my condo in Philly, things are a bit hectic! Although things are busy, this is the best time of year because camp is just around the corner.

As I type this, camp is right outside my window! I am sitting in my office with Matt Unger and we are busy preparing camp for our opening weekend, which is on April 30. Also joining our group rental that weekend is our CIT’s of 2010 who I know are so eager to get up to camp. Matt arrived here on Monday and has been hard at work doing all of the little things (and not so little things) to make sure everything is ready. Our kitchen staff will be arriving next Monday and some of our precamp counselors on Wednesday. We have staff flying in all the way from New Zealand for next week already. It’s unreal how time truly flies.

It’s 5:26 right now, which means Matt would be getting the soda from the secret hiding spot for camper’s birthday parties at dinner, Sam Ginsburg would probably be falling asleep at his desk, and I would be trying to get a few emails done before dinner. Now it’s 5:28 (yes, I am a slow typer!) and the pizza man would be delivering 5 pies per camper’s birthday, so I would be yelling at Sam to wake up, jump in the mule, and get the pizzas! Just kidding about Sam sleeping, but while all the campers are in their cabins for shower hour, it’s a good time for the Ops (Operations) Staff to get some downtime (just a few minutes though) before heading off to the dining hall.

Flash back to this past weekend- On Saturday, Will Armon arrived to PHL airport around 12:30PM, so I picked him up and we went out to lunch at a local diner. It was men’s time because in a few hours, Robin would be arriving from Florida. Jaycal also took Amtrak up from DC to join in the fun weekend planned. Well, not so much fun because Sat. afternoon after I picked everyone up, we went back to my place and they all watched me starting to pack up my condo! I lived in this apartment/condo for the past 6 years and so of course I have alot of junk. Now that I am getting married on Sep 5 (at CAMP!!), Robin and I will be getting a larger place in the suburbs of Philly. I need my space, ya know, although she definitely feels the same way. Anyway, Saturday night was a mega dinner at Taconelli’s, which is a great pizza place here in Philly. You have to pre-order your dough a day ahead and all they sell is pizza and soda. Robin made an awesome salad for us to enjoy, which you can bring with you, along with cupcakes from Jaycal from Georgetown cupcakes! Pizza, cupcakes, and soda…sounds good to me! Karen Sharir, Cara Corradetti, and Pam joined us at dinner along with Andrew (my best friend from growing up) and one of Pam’s friends. It was a blast and we had so much fun catching up with everyone.

Sunday morning the alarm went off at 6:30AM because 4 of us had to use one bathroom to get ready for the day. We headed out to pickup everyone from the night before and we all crammed into my Honda Pilot (yay 3rd row back back seats). We arrived a few minutes early, so we ran to Dunkin Donuts for some quick coffee and egg white flatbread sandwiches. The new campers began arriving, as well as some of last year’s juniors, and we had 3 different sessions of kids. It was a blast seeing everyone and made us all (staff included) excited for camp! Special shout-out to counselor Pete Tarnoff for also helping us out that day.

By the end, I was wiped out! I guess I am not back into the camp groove just yet and was so tired when we returned to Philly that I cleaned up a bit more of my condo, had some salad, and went to sleep.

Monday was a busy day in the office because I knew I wouldn’t be there on Tues & Wed. Hold on one second…

“Girls camp please report to the dining hall for dinner now”.

Sorry, it’s 5:35PM so it was time to announce girls camp to dinner. Back to Monday…the office was busy with tons of staff and parents calling with questions. It was great to hear from everyone. Monday night, Pam and I went to see the Green Family. We went to catch up with Rachel (returning camper) and also get to see her younger brother Jason, who will be participating in our Tour and More Weekend for prospective campers this summer. Tour and More is an overnight experience for young boys and girls who are interested in getting a taste of Canadensis. We have had an overwhelming response so far and are so excited about that weekend, as is Jason Green! Also at the house, we saw Rory and Jordan Mitchell who live just a few houses down and enjoyed some great pizza. Rachel surprised us when we walked in with this awesome poster…thanks Rachel!

We also took this photo after eating some yummy cookies and strawberry shortcakes for dessert.

Tuesday I went to an Eco-Conference in Allentown, PA. It was a conference for camp directors about things we can do to “go green”. Ironic, that I was at the Green’s house the night before, right?! I got a few cool and innovative ideas, but most of the ideas were larger scale things for us to work on during the winter. The good news is that ALL of the cabins now have light timers installed (most are behind the wall and you would never know they are there). After 30 minutes, the lights in the cabins will go off and all you have to do is push the switch up again for another 30 minutes. When we looked at how much time the campers spend in the bunks, it seems like it’s usually less than 30 minute intervals. The good part of this is that the lights won’t stay on all day when you accidentally forget to turn them off before leaving your cabin! I also spoke to our trash company again today and confirmed that we will be continuing our participating in the Single-Stream Recycling Program that they offer in our area. So, small steps towards improving our environment. We also have a few other ideas that we are looking into and I will update you more in the future.

Coming back to today, things at camp really look awesome. It was a sunny day so of course that always helps. The fields are all mowed already, the water is on to 85% of camp and Tom is finishing up the water to the rest of camp tonight and tomorrow. The hot water heaters are all lit for the most part, which means we are READY for camp! Of course we have tons to do- put the nets back up, add sand to our beachfront, fix minor things here and there, etc. but when the water gets turned on, that’s a big step towards completing our pre-camp tasks.

Sorry this blog was so scattered today, but I have so much on my mind! My brother will probably be so embarrassed if he reads this, but he has been stuck in London since last Thursday (remember that he just became a father 3 weeks ago to my niece!), so think positive thoughts that his flight home tomorrow will be ON SCHEDULE. I also know one of our staff members stuck in Dubai headed to London- positive thoughts for all in Europe right now affected by the volcano…