After waiting for 10 months, opening day for first session came quicker than we could believe. As everyone pulled up in their cars filled with family and friends, the excitement was contagious. Now that everyone is unpacked and settled in their bunk, the Crane Lake bubble is finally complete.
Today, campers were greeted by old and new friends. Hugs, smiles and laughs were all exchanged as the campers filled the community with joy and happiness for another amazing summer.
Once the campers were settled in, parents enjoyed a meet and greet with other parents from their child’s Olim Class. This small gathering allowed parents to get to know one another and share their child’s camp story.
This summer we are celebrating the 18th summer as a Union for Reform Judaism camp. So after lunch, we celebrated with delicious blue and white cupcakes!
We had an opening day ceremony in the Outdoor Sanctuary as we passed the Torah L’dor V’dor, generation to generation, from the oldest, Machon, to the youngest campers, Nitzanim. The full time staff read Crane Lake Camp’s mission statement to kick off the summer. We discussed the importance of this week’s Jewish value bitachon, confidence. The Outdoor Sanctuary was filled with new and old faces, gleaming smiles and loud singing voices.
As the exciting day comes to a close, campers and counselors are heading back to their bunks to do some fun bunk bonding activities and bedtime rituals. Everyone has been waiting for this day to come since last summer ended, and we couldn’t be more excited. Summer 2015 here we come!
By Lindsey Blackman, Communications Specialist