Author: Elissa

A father of a camper mentioned something to me yesterday at Visiting Day that stuck out and was worth mentioning in tonight’s blog. He was overwhelmed with emotion as he described how his daughter shines here and is authentically herself here. “She is free to be exactly who she is here and for that I am eternally grateful”, he said.  “There is no inhibition, no worries that she will be judged here.” There is no way to pretend to be someone you are not day in and day out. The mask comes off here and the real you is encouraged to emerge. You get to be yourself, without judgment or ridicule. There is acceptance and appreciation here. His daughter shines here. She found her stride here. He thanked me and enjoyed the day with his beautiful daughter. I watched them throughout the day and as she was smiling cuddled up beside him, she exuded a confidence from the inside out. We have watched this camper blossom and become her authentic self. This is a world like no other as this is the story of what happens inside our gates.

It was beautiful day for our athletes who put their everything into each game. We are proud of their effort and the sportsmanship they exude on the fields and courts.

Senior Girls Tennis – Tyler Hill 3 vs. CAW 2

Super Girls Soccer – Wayne 3 vs. CAW 0

Inter Boys Soccer – CAW 6 vs. Westmont 0

Collegiate Boys Basketball – CAW 30 vs. Westmont 26

Super Boys Basketball – Westmont 39 vs. CAW 27

Super/GC LAX – CAW 16 vs. Lohikan 5

GC/CIT  Boys Basketball – CAW 52 vs. Island Lake 10

Camp is where shine and tonight we were as bright as the sun, as our campers took the stage in the Camper Talent show. There were 13 acts that stood up on our stage and performed in front of the whole camp. That is not an easy fete for anyone but this Chenny audience was overwhelmingly supportive giving standing ovations after each performance. Imagine being 8 years old and singing all by yourself as a packed house was singing along with you. That initial shaky voice very quickly grew stronger with each note. Looking out a the audience who was rocking out, clapping along and singing with you gives you something you can’t quite explain; a confidence that will be with you forever. To be present at these moments is seeing the best part of humanity. Every year this evening activity restores my faith in how good we are to one another here. A collegiate boy camper took center stage and started playing his guitar. A few keys were missed but he kept the beat and within just a few moments he had us all singing Radioactive along with him. We joined in with him and as he looked out at the entire Shields Hall singing with him, he had his moment to shine. It was electric and everyone in that hall had chills upon chills. We are a community, a family of sorts and tonight allowed us to be our authentic self and shine. Our Chenny kids are remarkably unique, brilliant, and talented and they put on one fantastic show tonight.  Just another day in paradise.

Chenny out

 

 

You helped make visiting day 2014 an absolutely remarkable day. We hope you enjoyed your time at camp and got to see for yourself how special this place truly is. There is nothing quite as magical as watching you run to your camper and hug them so tight you just don’t want to let go. We know how much today means to you and your family and we hope that we provided a day you wont forget.  For 3 weeks, your kids have been navigating their way through this experience, beautifully coping with whatever comes their way and have grown by leaps and bounds. It is such an emotional day for everyone but rest assured your kids, even those who shed a tear upon your departure were in stitches tonight as they watched their favorite counselors get hypnotized and do things that were off the charts hilarious. The laughter was out of control as tonight’s evening activity was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

It is a joy waking up to the bugles and playing with your children all day long. We have 4 more weeks of pure bliss here and we are not going to waste a moment of it. Thank you again for the unwavering love and support you give to all of us up here. We felt it today and hope you did too. Enjoy the rest of your summer because we will most definitely be enjoying ours. Chenny families ROCK!!!!

Chenny out.

 

 

We all know what is happening tomorrow and we just can’t contain the excitement. We spent the day getting our summer home ready for you and it looks beautiful.  In just a few short hours, our families will be lining up down camp road and visiting day 2014 will officially begin.

Our athletes were focused and fierce today as they played hard on the courts and fields.

Junior Girls Basketball – CAW 16 vs. Nesher 6

Senior Girls Basketball – CAW 18 vs. Lavi 14

Middy Boys Soccer – Wayne 4 vs. CAW 0

Inter Boys Basketball – CAW 34 vs. Wayne 22 (CAW has moved into the Championship)

Senior Boys Baseball – CAW 11 vs. Wayne 6

GC/CIT Boys Softball – Seneca Lake 12 vs. CAW 3

Another fantastic week has passed by and another hardy congratulations to the following Campers of the Week!!!!

Freshmen –                          Haylin Roth                   Jesse Ryback

Junior –                                Ashleigh Brett                 Max Leff

Middies –                             Lexi Tave                         Mason Berlin

Inters –                                Emily Burke                    Dylan Bortnick

Collegiates –                       Skylar Kohn                  Jack Santoro

Seniors –                             Sara Ackerman             Eli Kellner

Supers –                              Lexi Bernstein              Max Moritz

GC’s –                                  Ashley Epstein              Jared Kohn

CIT’s                                    Ally Kaplan                  Zack Schiege

The night was all about Boys Lip Sync and they put on quite a show. From our most darling Freshmen all the way through to our styling CIT’s they rocked the house tonight. The performances were awesome, entertaining and heartfelt. Shields Hall was rockin’ but there could only be one winner from lower camp and one from upper. Tonight’s winner for lower camp went to the Middies for their incredible performance homage to Miley Cyrus. You have to see it to believe it!! It was a tie between the GC’s and CIT’s for the upper camp win and what better way to break a tie than a game of rock paper scissors. A nail biting effort by both divisions but when CIT Jacob Rubenstein chose paper and GC camper Sammy Metzger threw down Rock, tonight’s Boys Lip Sync Upper camp winner went to the CIT’s. It was a great night full of laughs, entertainment and dance all brought by Boys side.

Only a few more hours until you get to hug your children. We can’t wait to see you in the morning!!!  We wish you nothing but a joyful day with your family tomorrow. Happy Visiting Day!!!

Life is Great at Camp Chen-A-Wanda

Chenny out.

 

The VOICE

As we have been in our camp bubble for just shy of 3 weeks now, there is no denying what is coming around the corner. The excitement is building as we are getting ready for visiting day and the campers can’t wait to see their families roll through those gates in just 2 days. It was a fun busy day here as campers were making beautiful signs to welcome their families and proudly display their bunks. Arts & Crafts was full of happy smiling faces creating works of art for you to see and enjoy. Boys camp was busy practicing for their big show tomorrow night, Boys Lip Sync. Each division worked on perfecting their dance and lip sync. Each group worked in unison as they came together as a division preparing to entertain us all. We can’t to see them up on stage.  Boys Lip Sync is a highlight of the summer and from the looks of it, this year won’t disappoint.

It was another great day for our Chenny athletes as they played hard and had fun.

Freshman/Junior Girls Soccer – Westmont 3 vs. CAW Gold 1

Collegiate & up Gymnastics Tournament at Bryn Mawr – CAW took 8^th Place

Senior Girls Softball Tournament at Tyler Hill – Tyler Hill 10 vs. CAW 2 / Westmont 5 vs. CAW 0

Super Girls Tennis – CAW 3 vs. Lohikan 2

Middy Boys Tennis – CAW 3 vs. Starlight 2

Collegiate Boys LAX  – Westmont 16 vs. CAW 3

Collegiate Boys Tennis – CAW 3 vs. Lohikan 2

GC/CIT Boys Tennis – CAW 5 vs. Starlight 0

There is one thing that cannot be denied and it’s that we have some extremely talented campers here at Camp Chen-A-Wanda. We are in search for The Voice and this is not an easy fete with the ginormous pool of talent we have here. Tonight was the Live Battle Round and we were all blown away with the talent up on our stage. Each coach chose a song for their battling pairs who entertained us all with their big beautiful voices. Based on tonights performances, each coach chose the performers who they wanted to continue on their team to the final round. It was a night to remember and the list of 24 performances was brought down to the top 12. Congratulations to those who are moving on to the final round. In just a few weeks, these 12 acts will perform a song of their choice live in front of all us for one last time. The final vote will be made by all the campers and the winner will be announced that same night!

Team Natasha – Daisy Chaskin / Dylan & Madison Grabow / Daniel Gur

Team Grossman – Laine Bishop / Amanda Behrens / Max Rovner & Matt Leviss

Team Kessel – Ashley Suckoff / Arielle Ashkenase / Justin Oresky

Team Weaver – Jordan Leeds / Sami Miller

Wild Card Save: Ally Heller

As one of the contestants exited the stage after her performance, she looked exhilarated and summed it up when she hugged her teammate who she just battled and said, “That was so much fun and you were just amazing up there. We did GREAT!”  The joy for performing in front of a packed house will forever be a highlight for these campers. We provide the stage and the moment to shine is all theirs. There is nothing quite like seeing a camper embrace those moments. It’s breathtaking and beautiful.

Chenny out

 

 

 

 

 

The sun was shining bright on all of us here at Camp Chen-A-Wanda and it was a perfect day. Days like today we wish we could bottle up and play on repeat. Everyone had a ball at our carnival today. If you weren’t sliding down the giant slide or getting your brain scrambled on the sit on spin you were playing ring toss or tic tac toe for prize tickets. We all munched on popcorn, crunched on snow cones and devoured giant puffs of pink cotton candy. The music was blasting and a giant dance party broke out in the center of carnival. The happy mood here always allows for some great random dancing. It’s fun to watch it all happen but so much better to get out there and dance like nobody is watching you. It’s easy to do that here. There is a freedom to let go and let loose here and as we boogie down with the cupid shuffle or jam with the electric slide, we are left feeling exhilarated.

It was hard for our athletes to step away from the fun at Carnival but both games that were played today ended in  Chenny victories.

Middies/Inters Boys Softball – CAW 17 vs. Nesher 4

GC/CIT Boys Baseball – CAW 3 vs. Nesher 2

The fun continued into tonight’s evening activity with Wild and Wacky Races. We raced on hobby horses,  got pied in the face, played name that tune and giant word scrambler and of course, some of us got slimmed.

It’s a Chen-A-Wanda tradition to give out carnival T-shirts and this year we didn’t disappoint. Collegiate camper Emily Sobel was the inspiration for our T’s as she uttered a phrase to me this past winter that stuck out and was pure brilliance. “Camp Chen-A-Wanda – Where missing your parents is totally worth it.” She couldn’t have been more on the mark. It is the essence of CAW – you may miss your parents buts its so worth it!

It’s days like today that leave an indelible mark with us forever.  The days of homework, tests, college applications, crazy after school schedules, Hebrew school and the daily stress we feel for 10 months, just doesn’t exist here. Here, we spend the day eating snow cones, walk around with sticky cotton candy faces and trying to hit the bulls eye to dunk our favorites counselors. The biggest stress of the day was deciding which prize we wanted after cashing in all our prize tickets we got at the carnival.  Your kids deserve days like today and it’s our absolute joy providing it for them.

Chenny Out