Category: General News

We woke up to a gorgeous sunny summer morning and everyone rolled into breakfast in their cozy jammies.  After we ate our delicious breakfast, it was time to get down to camp business and get outside for some serious fun. Camp was hopping and everyone was outside having a blast.  The Cookhouse was cooking some amazing desserts and the School of Rock was just rockin’. The fields were full of active kids and we were flying on the trapeze. Walking around camp its truly an awesome site seeing our campers hit homeruns over the Big Red Monster at the Wiffle Ball stadium while kids are getting blobbed off the water trampoline in the lake. Its non-stop fun from dusk to dawn.

Our Chenny athletes were busy playing and having fun.

Super Girls Soccer – CAW 5 vs. Lohikan 1

GC/CIT Girls Soccer – Starlight 3 vs. CAW 1

Freshman/Junior Boys Street Hockey – CAW 3 vs. Tioga 1

Middy Boys Baseball – CAW 11 vs. Starlight 6

Senior/Super/GC/CIT Boys Tennis – Starlight 4 vs. CAW 1

Super/ Senior Boys LAX – CAW 10 vs. Island Lake 3

Senior Boys Basketball Tourney at CAW

Westmont 27 vs. CAW Gold 17

CAW RED 39 vs. Tioga 30

CAW Gold 28 vs. Tioga 26

CAW RED 38 vs. Westmont 36

CAW RED 47 vs. CAW GOLD 26

Super Boys Soccer – Tioga 7 vs. CAW 1

GC/CIT Boys LAX – Towanda 15 vs. CAW 1

With all we have here, the most important components are being able to do these things with our friends. There was a large group of  Junior girls in jewelry making that spent their time in Arts & Crafts making friendship bracelets for one another. They each picked another camper to make this symbol of friendship for. They all sat around the table weaving threads of beautiful colored string, not for themselves but for their friends. The best part was listening to all of their conversation that was had during this group experience. They chatted and laughed and connected with one another as they spent their time creating something beautiful for a friend. As they finished each bracelet and put it on the wrist of their friend, it bonded them together as they experienced the act of giving something from their heart. How lucky are we to have these moments and experiences to connect with one another.

Chenny’s got Talent and it was our staff who put on the show tonight. There is nothing quite like seeing your counselor on stage singing their heart heart and dancing to entertain us all. Our LAX specialist Hunter said it all after he sang on a stage for the first time in his life. He stood up and said, “This was for my boys in Bunk O. I did this for you tonight and I did something outside my box. Face your fears. If I can do this, so can you”. Needless to say he got a standing ovation!!!!

Chenny out

 

 

The fun just continues here with our first divisional trips today. Our Cherokee Camp (Freshman – Middies) spent their morning in regular activities and lunched out side in center camp in the bright warm sunshine. There was rain in the forecast so after lunch, they all boarded the buses and headed to the movies. It was a great chilled out afternoon for our youngest campers as they munched on popcorn and got to see some fun summer blockbusters. Then it was back to camp for a BBQ dinner. The rain came through camp right when all of Cherokee camp was safe and sound back in their bunk playing fun bunk games. They had a fantastic day.

Mohican Camp (Inters & Collegiates) spent a full day at Dorney Park and they had the best day ever. They went on rides galore. It was a sunny beautiful day spent with friends riding roller coasters and having the time of their lives. Exactly what an ideal summer day looks like. When the buses rolled in and our campers rolled off the buses, some campers took off giant stuffed animals they won at the park.  It was a great day spent with great people.

Navajo Camp (Seniors-GC’s) spent began their day at Camel Beach for some fun in the water park. It was great way to beat the heat while having the time of their lives.  They swooshed down the toilet bowl, got lazy down the lazy river, slipped down the slip and slide and got bounced off the giant bungee blob. Then it was time dry off and head out to the Crossings for some fun shopping at eating and that is exactly what they all did. It was a packed day of fun for our Navajo campers

Our CIT’s enjoyed a packed day as they enjoyed breakfast at Binghams. If you have never been there, it needs to be on your bucket list as the world Best Breakfast!!! Then it was straight to Walmart and the Mall for some afternoon shopping. As they worked up an appetite, they headed to Hibachi for a delicious dinner. To round off their perfect day, it was a night at the movies. As the storm rolled through our area, the theater they were at experienced a power outage so they loaded they vans and headed back to camp. A fantastic day and night for our CIT’s as they had a blast on their trip day.

All the campers are safe and sound back in their bunks, all exhausted from an amazing day out. What a successful first trip day, full of memories that will last a lifetime. Your children were absolutely fantastic and every place our Chenny kids were today, we received praise on how well behaved and respectful our campers are.  Gotta love that. We sure do. As the trips were uber-successful, we dodged the storm and had the best day ever.  No rain can ever dampen our spirits up here as the fun will always continue at Camp Chen-A-Wanda.

Chenny Out

 

 

 

 

 

The entire camp headed out to the Scranton RailRiders (Yankees AAA).  We all spent the morning in our regular fun activities but everyone was so excited about heading out to the ballpark. We got a few games in before we all headed out this afternoon.

Senior Super Girls Volleyball Tournament @ Camp Wayne for girls

B’Nai Brith 2 vs. CAW 0

CAW 2 vs. Island Lake 0

Wayne Girls 2 vs. CAW 0

Middy Girls Basketball – Tioga 12 vs. CAW 8

Inter Girls Basketball – CAW 6 vs. Tioga 5

Collegiate Girls Softball – Westmont 9 vs. 8

 

The evening was all about baseball and we had a ball.  The entire camp filled the stands with Gold Chenny shirts in PNC stadium where we watched 4 great innings of baseball. The rain came down and the game was called in the fourth inning.  The night started out amazing as we cheered on Junior campers Zachary Friedman and Jordanan Brief as they threw out the first pitch. Am awesome sight to see and for Zachary and Jordana, a night they will never forget. We cheered for our favorite players, we sang songs in the stands, we did the wave and we all had a great summer night at the ballpark before the rain came down. What could be better than hanging out with your friends, eating ice cream and watching the ballgame?  The spirit was high and the energy was just so much fun tonight. Another standout night spent with great friends.

It was a Camp Chen-A-Wanda takeover at the stadium. Little kids, big kids and staff all proudly wearing their Chen-A-Wanda shirts, which define us as one giant family and as we departed the stadium tonight, the other fans and staff complimented on how well behaved, polite and respectful our kids were. We were proud of them and as we all rolled back into camp, once again we were home.

Chenny out

 

Every summer I sit in amazement and watch the relationships we all make up here flourish into something you cant quite put into words. For our new campers it is happening right front of their eyes and it occurs so quickly. When all you see are campers arm in arm walking together to activities or sitting on each other’s lap during line-up or just holding hands walking to The Lodge, you realize that we need this connection, we crave these types of relationships. We may not even realize how much we need it until we get here and it just happens so naturally. It truly doesn’t matter if you are a boy, girl, younger, older or staff, we all need that human contact and here is where we get it, freely and openly. It brings our friendships to a very different level than with our home friends. It is why our friends become our family.

We truly hope that the videos and pictures we post give you a glimpse into the world we get to live in for 7 weeks. What if the real world had this element of connection to one another?  Our experiences here are not without moments of frustration and conflict but having this connection with one another gives us the ability to move past the tough times quicker and provides us all with the tools to work things out because at the core is respect and love. As I sat with two campers who needed to work out some issues they had, they looked at each other, spoke from their heart and listened to one another. That is all it took to bring these two back to a place they both so desperately desired to be. They couldn’t do this at home because texting got in the way. It is face-to-face honesty and as I sat with them watching in awe of the true magic camp has to offer, I felt privileged to bear witness to how these two amazing young girls worked out any hurt feelings they had. Needless to say, they walked off arm in arm, with a better understanding of how they played a part in their disconnect and how easy it was to bridge the gap. If the outside world would just follow suit, life would be as glorious outside our gates as it is inside.

 

It was another amazing day of games played by all of our Chenny athletes.

 

Freshman/Junior Girls Soccer – CAW 5 vs. Westmont 1

Inters Girls Basketball CAW 4 vs. Morasha 14

Inter Girls Tennis – CAW 1 vs. Tyler Hill 4

Super Girls Softball – CAW 10 vs. B’Nai Brith 3

Inter Boys Roller Hockey – CAW 14 vs. Indian Head 10

Collegiates Boys Tennis – CAW 5 vs. Tioga 0

Freshman/Juniors Roller Hockey – CAW 0 vs. Starlight 15

 

It is Camper of the Week time and these campers deserved the recognition. They were chosen by their Group Leaders and Head Counselors as they exhibit everything it is to be a Camper of The week.  These campers participate in all the activities, have positive attitudes, are kind and respectful and are all around terrific kids. Congratulations to our awesome Campers of the Week:

 

Freshman                    Zoe Gorsky                             Alex Brandoff

Juniors                        Lucy Wexler                           Jacob Kaftol

Middies                       Remi Graff                              Matt Berger

Inters                           Alexis Siegal                           Jake Wolf

Collegiates                  Jenna Wolf                             Zachary Greenblatt

Seniors                       Phoebe Warshauer               Bennett Goldstein

Supers                        Dani Zuckoff                          David Smolowitz

GC’s                             Michelle Steinberg               Evan Goldstein

CIT                              Alexa Zysman                         Brett Wolf

It was Powder Puff World Cup tonight as our GC’s and CIT’s girls battled it on the soccer field under the lights. The crowd was full of excitement as they blew their vuvuzelas and noisemakers in support of both teams. Faces were painted, pom poms in hand and chants and cheers ruled the sidelines. Our GC girls claimed victory tonight with a final score of 1-0.  It was another amazing day and night in the best place on earth.

Chenny out

 

What an absolutely perfect day we had today. The sun was shining bright down on us all and camp was buzzing with a vibe you can’t fully imagine unless you are here to experience it. Your kids are living in a place where being outside and having a catch with buddy replaces sitting on the couch watching TV. The kids are spending their days jumping on water trampolines rather than texting friends. It is amazing to see and more importantly, valuable beyond measure. A new freshman camper summed it up perfectly when she asked me, “How did I get so close to my friends in only 7 days?”

Our sports teams had a great time on the fields and courts today. We are beyond proud of our Chenny athletes who always exhibit sportsmanship and great character as they compete. It’s so refreshing to see sports being played this way.

Senior Girls Basketball – CAW 28 vs. Starlight 26

Middy Boys Soccer – CAW 4 vs. Starlight 3

Inter Boys Baseball – CAW 16 vs. Towanda 6

Collegiate Boys Basketball – CAW 23 vs. Tioga 28

GC/CIT Boys Basketball – CAW 67 vs. Tioga 23

As perfect as our day was, the night was even better. Sign and Song is a long-standing camp tradition and tonight was the best show we have ever seen.  This camp favorite, is where each bunk make s a plaque and Girls side prepares a dance for the entire camp to see. So much time and effort is put into the plaques that will hang in our bunks forever. When the campers of 2014 grow into adults and have kids of their own, their plaques will still be hanging on the walls of the bunks they lived in. It is their mark that they were here the summer of 2014. It always amazes us to see the creative ingenuity that is put into every aspect of their plaque. This is camp pride at its best.

Girl’s side brought it tonight as they put on a spectacular show. From our adorable Freshmen to the talented and beautiful CIT’s, each girls bunk delivered jaw dropping performances that we will never forget. Can you imagine getting standing ovations after dancing in front of the entire camp? That is what we do here for one another. Each group took the stage and after every single one, the applause, chants and cheers were deafening. We love to show our undying support for each other here. It is like no other place on earth. Every girl that danced on stage tonight felt the love. They blossomed and soared so high it was hard to contain the feeling they felt. Tonight each bunk shared this awesome experience together. The competition was tough but our Group Leaders picked the winners for Lower & Upper Camp Plaques and Dances.

Congratulation to tonight’s winners. They were all outstanding.

Best Plaque – Lower Camp Boys – Bunk I Illusionists

Best Plaque – Upper Camp Boys – Bunk R Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Best Plaque – Lower Camp Girls – Bunk H #Swag

Best Plaque – Upper Camp Girls – Bunk O Out Of Control

Best Dance Lower Camp Girls – Bunk C Classic

Best Dance Upper Camp Girls – Bunk W Wanna Fight

Nights like tonight is what it’s all about and explains why Life is so Great at Camp Chen-A-Wanda.

Chenny out.