What happens when you bring more than 330 campers together, 200 staff, exciting games with prizes, delicious snacks and a beautiful sunny sky? Well, the obvious answer is a Crane Lake Camp 4th of July!!! And what a day it was!
Check out the video highlights of the day.
With a regular morning schedule, the campers enjoyed the many activities they had planned for them through lunch and rest hour, but the anticipation and excitement for the afternoon was brewing. Of course, you could see the patriotism all over camp, with nearly everyone wearing red, white and blue clothing and face paint. As Lilly Barany, Olim camper from Bunk Mountain View East, so articulately stated, “The 4th of July makes me proud to be an American, and I love to be with all of my friends who are also very patriotic. And here at camp, we all get SO into it by dressing up and celebrating in our own crazy way.” And Allison Krug, Lower Chaverim camper from Bunk Lodge East agreed, “I liked everybody dressing up and showing their patriotism. If I weren’t at camp, celebrating wouldn’t be as big of a deal, but being able to celebrate with my camp friends really made it special.”
After rest hour concluded, the entire camp came to main lawn, where the fun really began. The 2011 Machon (Counselors in Training) were in charge of running the annual 4th of July Carnival, and as mostly former campers, this was a major change for them seeing it from the other side. “It was a very interesting experience because I have always been a part of the camp playing games, but having to lead the booths and having to set up and clean up was amazing, and made me feel like I was really becoming a counselor doing all this work, ” said Josh Feinberg, a member of the Machon program.
The main lawn was jam packed with carnival games with prizes, bouncy inflatable rides, a mechanical bool ride, snack booths, a station where people could write letters to soldiers, and of course, the dunk tank! Avery Ostro, Upper Bonim camper from Bunk 22, couldn’t decide what he liked best, saying, “I liked all of the activities and also how we all got to spend time together as an entire camp community!”
After the carnival concluded, the celebration was far from over. Putting a new twist on an already exciting celebration, the camp enjoyed its annual Rib Night for dinner, with a country western themed atmosphere taking over this portion of the day. With dinosaur sized ribs, corn on the cob, barbecued chicken and delicious coleslaw, dinner was obviously a huge highlight of the day! Seeing barbecue sauce all over everyone’s faces from the gigantic ribs was truly a sight.
The celebration ended at the lake after dinner, with a patriotic song session lead by our songleaders, which included such staples as “God Bless America” and “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” as well as the reading of some American themed passages from well known Americans. After the singing of the camp Alma Mater and the bedtime ritual “Hashkiveinu”, the campers enjoyed red, white and blue popsicles as their evening snack on their way to bed. Sarah Fieldman, lower Nitzanim camper from Bunk 2, summed up the day best by saying, “Being able to celebrate the 4th of July with your friends rather than your family makes it just as special!”
From all of us at Crane Lake Camp, we hope your 4th of July was as great as ours!