It’s hard to believe that the second week of camp has come and gone. And what a week it was!

Beginning with our first Sunday Special Event Day, we experienced our Sports-a-Rama Apache Relay. Campers were assigned different events in a relay around camp: leap frog from the infirmary to the ceramics building; walking down Den Hill balancing a book on their head; hitting water balloons across the tennis court; row boating across the lake to name just a few of the events! The winner was the Ohio Nittnay Lions! The day ended with our traditional Sunday night socials and a trip to bowling for the Scouts and Inters.

Monday was a typical program day and the end of the first week of hobbies. In the afternoon, the Cadets and Scouts hosted the Camp Mah-kee-nac boys for a friendly intercamp. Non-traditional sports, Slip n’ Slide Kickball and Grenades took over the lower ball field. Monday night was our second round of Sports-a-rama games and bunk challenges.

Tuesday was no ordinary day here at Camp Watitoh…it was the 4^th of July!! Woken up by Shooter Jennings, “4^th of July,” the campers dressed in Red, White, and Blue to show their USA spirit. The TICs decorated the Mess Hall for lunch and the girls decorated their cabins at Rest Hour. Bucket Brigade, Team Sponge Bacon, Mission Impossible and Gaga were all part of a rotation of activities for the Red, White, and Blue Teams. The day ended with Watitoh’s first ever CHAOS! The marquis event for the TICs and Waiters was a relay race that consisted of: cracking an egg on their head, dizzy izzy and tossing tennis balls dipped in chocolate into their shirt, rolling in a bath of ice, searching for pennies in oatmeal, and belly flopping into a baby pool of water. It was messy, it was slippery, and it was awesome!!

Along with a number of other very exciting intercamps throughout the week, Wednesday was the Annual Romaca Swim Meet and the girls took 3^rd place. Wednesday night was the infamous Boys Belly Flop contest and the winner was…Jared Regenstein! Congratulations! The girls dressed in all black for the traditional “Hunt the TIC.” Yazzy was the overall winner and Yuma took home first place.

Thursday was a very special evening. After Sing Down, we introduced a very special organization to the Camp Watitoh community. As mentioned in the Spring Watitohan, Project Morry, is a year round youth development program anchored by a summer camp experience. We discussed with the campers the importance of community service and being able to give back to others who may not be able to afford the gift of camp. We showed the Project Morry video in preparation for our Day of Service on Wednesday, July 12^th. For more information and to watch the video, please visit their website at https://projectmorry.org/.

Friday was a partial rainy day at camp with activities going strong. Dodgeball, Bingo, Team-Building games, cooking, and more…We were able to squeeze in our first camp fire before the rain came. We had incredible talent shared by both campers and staff and enjoyed delicious s’mores at the conclusion.

The highlight of today was the incredible performance of the Little Mermaid. It was a night to remember! The campers sang their hearts out in the cutest of costumes and put on a production that was memorable. We couldn’t be happier for the entire cast and crew of the show and are so proud of everyone for their efforts. A huge congratulations to Carter and Carolyn for their commitment to the kids and to the Watitoh theater.

We are very much looking forward to the week ahead…British Empire Day tomorrow, Birthday Banquet Tuesday, the annual SING on Friday and seeing many of you on Saturday Visiting Day!

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Week 6 has come to a close and so has our most sacred tradition. Color War was a fantastic three days of competition, camaraderie, and spirit.

In the days leading up to Color War, we enjoyed our final activity schedule. Tuesday was filled with the Girls Camp Decathlon and the evening ended with a traditional campfire. With over 15 acts, we heard beautiful songs, both sung and performed, watched some cute dances, and indulged in delicious s’mores. A good night story of “Ferdinand” concluded the warm summer night.

Wednesday was the day the Waiters have waited for their entire camp career…Watitoh Gardens. With the Upper Seniors in charge of cleaning Boys Court and the campers on both campuses busy making signs, the day light hours were filled with much anticipation. In their orange and blue jerseys, the waiters “broke out” to a well-deserved cheer. Counselors stood strong as they warmed up on the court. It was a great game, played with a lot of heart by both teams, and an ultimate win by the counselors. Thanks to alumni, Scott Kinney, Rich Bettan, and Spencer Smolinksy, for their incredible referee skills throughout the game and for reminding us of the history this game represents.

Unbeknownst to the camp, Thursday was the last day of normal programming. Campers practiced their sports, climbed the rock wall, created art in ceramics, and rehearsed for Legally Blonde. There was a feeling in the air that Color War was breaking soon and whispers of speculation began to ensue. Thursday night we turned the Social Hall into a race track for the ever-popular Watitoh Downs. Last year’s Camper Generals presented an incredible fake break during the final race. It was a memorable night for everyone, and especially the winning horses and those who made the smartest bets!

Friday morning was typical on girls side while the boys competed in their own Decathlon. After hobby, the entire camp dressed in white and marched to the lower ballfield, where, together, everyone stood in formation to create “80!” Be on the lookout for an awesome post later this week to see the end result! Low and behold, at the end of the picture, we all chanted, “1-2-3-4, we want Color War; 5-6-7-8, we don’t want to wait, Egad, we want Olympiad!” And from behind, motorcycles and other loud vehicles circled the ballfield for another FAKE BREAK!

The kids knew it was happening but not exactly when…As campers waited for coed general swim, Watitoh boats criss-crossed Center Lake with flags flying and balloons soaring! The ski boat raced down the center flying the most traditional flag of all! Green Adaro vs. Tan Cerberus took over camp the next three days. Led by Camper Generals: Brandon Goodman and Eva Gilbert (Green) and Adam Bettan and Claire Kivelowitz (Tan), the teams competed in tug of war, land sports, swim meets, an all-camp track meet, the Apache Relay, and the sing. Tan took home the Apache and Green won all of Color War. Both teams played their hardest and demonstrated great commitment to the tradition, the spirit, and their activities. A huge shout out to our staff for their dedication as Chiefs, Coaches, Officials, Equipment Managers, Score Keepers and the organizers. Without them, none of it would have been possible.

Tuesday morning was a well-deserved late sleep followed by an awesome day at Six Flags! Batman! Fireball! Flashback! Mind Eraser! Superman! Games! The Carousel! Bumper Cars! Tea Cups! Ice Cream! The list goes on and on…Although exhausted after this fun day, there was an extraordinary night on both campuses. The Girls Closing Campfire was filled with songs and dances, speeches, and memories. The Waiter 2 Closing on Boys Side was nostalgic and full of heart as the Waiter2s passed down memorabilia and advice to our younger campers. It was truly a night for all of camp to recognize the meaning of family.

As the final days of camp come to an end, we still have many special events to look forward to. A day of “Choose your own adventure” on Wednesday followed by Memory Lane. Thursday night’s banquet and production of “Legally Blonde.” Packing day on Friday with Scroll and Wishing Boats to end the season…Keep looking at those pictures and know that your camper(s) continue “Living the Dream” for the next three days!

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Intercamps continued with the Romaca Tennis Tournament, the Cadets and Scouts Friendly afternoon of Non-traditional sports, and the ultimate win of the summer…taking first place at the Greylock Coed Swim Meet! Hip hip hooray!

Birthday Banquet on Tuesday was a wonderful night celebrating all of our campers and counselors who DO NOT have summer birthdays and the 80^th birthday of Camp Watitoh! The dinner was followed with a performance by Tom Carroll, a local Berkshire music legion, who always leaves with a standing ovation.

As many of you know, Visiting Day was incredible. We couldn’t have ordered a better weather turnout for all of our visitors to enjoy. The Oval was packed with happy campers sharing “their” Watitoh with parents, siblings, and extended family! A wonderful performance was enjoyed by all in the Social Hall and, once the parents departed, an impromptu water balloon fight broke out on the Oval! Within an hour, all campers were settled back into their summer home and the routine of camp was back underway.

Week 4 was non-stop. Sunday kicked off the week with Pan-Am Day on Boys Camp. David Akinsanya (Brazil), Jacob Marsh (Argentina), Zach Quick (Chile) led their teams in sports competition. With an extraordinary performance, Chile won the Apache Relay while Brazil took home the gold overall. We were all very proud of our Upper Senior Boys for their leadership and of our Waiters for organizing and executing the entire day. The girls loved their Capture the Flag morning followed by a swim meet in the afternoon.

Sunday night we welcomed back longtime camp favorites, Cliff and Senta Broder, for our annual Square Dance. Dressed in country western style, campers and counselors promenaded around Boys Court while chanting “into the middle with a great big yell.”

Monday, the Rangers, Juniors, Senior, Upper Senior boys traveled to Cooperstown, NY for the Baseball Hall of Fame. They enjoyed their day at the museum and exploring the local town. At the same time, the Scouts went to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, for an afternoon of sport’s history.

Tuesday night was a fan favorite, Cabin Feud. Boys vs. Girls in the 2^ndround of the Townsend Cup. It was an exciting night, with scores back and forth, that led to a 3^rd summer win for the Boys!

The week continued with trips, trips, and more trips. Our Inters girls went on a tour of the Crane Paper Factory in Dalton, MA and learned how to make paper! The Juniors enjoyed their day off camp at The Clark Museum in Williamstown and a stroll around town. Not only were these day trips underway but intercampus continued with the Danbee Gymnastics Meet, TICS soccer at Romaca, a USTA tennis tournament at Winadu, Debs/Inters soccer at Danbee, and Greylock 6^th grade soccer.

Thursday was another memorable day at Watitoh. Our sailing team went to Lenox for the Berkshire Cup, Counselors Tom and Daleen coached their team to a very close 2^nd place finished. A victory that exemplifies our incredible Waterfront instruction and dedicated campers. At the same time, the girls had a swim meet at Danbee and the Waiter boys played an exceptional basketball tournament at Greylock. Night time was filled with an all camp campfire where campers and counselors performed songs, dances, and shared stories. S’mores were enjoyed by everyone!

Friday was a typical morning at camp with a special event afternoon. A Sports-a-Rama Apache relayed was a hit with everyone followed by the Sports-a-Rama Name-that-Tune competition at night! It was the kick off to a beautiful weather weekend filled with regular activity and our crowd pleaser evening activity, Las Vegas Night!

Sunday was bittersweet, filled with some sad goodbye’s to our 4-week campers and exciting welcomes to our 3-week campers. We miss our 4-week friends and are excited for the next 3-weeks filled with amazing programming, special events, trips, and evening activities. There is a lot to look forward to in these upcoming weeks and we can’t wait to share it with all of you!

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It’s hard to believe that two weeks are behind us and we are beginning to gear up for Visiting Day on July 16! The past week has flown by with an incredible schedule of events, intercamps, evening activities, alumni visitors, and more!

After July 4^th, we were full speed ahead. Tuesday was busy with intercamps: 9^th Grade Girls Soccer Tournament at Lenox and 6^th Grade Boys Flag Football Tournament at Mah-kee-nac. We brought the Watitoh spirit and all of the campers had fun. The evening was filled with our infamous Auction Night. “Ken and Barbie” were the MC’s for the night and each cabin was given Watitoh money to spend any way they chose. Some of the big ticket items were: Late night treats and a sleepover in the Cooking Cottage, Waterfront Staff retaking their tag tests, and a special campfire with s’mores.

Wednesday continued more intercampus: Boys Tennis at Greylock, Waiters Basketball at Lenox, and a 2^nd place finish at the Romaca Swim Meet. Go girls! Belly Flop for Boys and Hunt the Counselor for the girls was a most traditional night on the campuses. Jake Goodman followed in his father’s footsteps by winning the Belly Flop!

Thursday was the Romaca Track meet and the Boys Taconic Tennis Tournament. Whew…we’re tired even writing this!! The Scouts and Inters enjoyed a trip to Candlestick Bowling while the TICS and Waiters enjoyed a night out in Pittsfield. The rest of camp cozied up for movies. It was “Zootopia” for the younger ones and “Mall Cop 2” for the older ones.

The TIC girls started the weekend off at a Basketball Tournament at Lenox while everyone else enjoyed a normal day of programming. The afternoon brought the beginning of a rainy weekend. But, to no avail, we all enjoyed “Pageant” as our evening activity. Each cabin and their opposite gender dressed up their counselors in pairs: Nemo and Dory, Shrek and Fiona, Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton, Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, and the TIC/Waiter choice of El Chapo and the FBI all made an appearance in the Social Hall! After a lot of very deep questions, the judges agreed that the winner of the night was Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter created by the Upper Seniors!

A rainy weekend it was at Camp Watitoh but that didn’t stop us from having fun! We were able to fit in a normal morning with boating on the lake and an afternoon filled with indoor games and Scattegories. Saturday night was one of the highlights of the summer when we got to watch the production of “How to Eat Like a Child: And Other Lessons in Not Being a Grown-up.” Our Junior actors were funny, creative, incredibly adorable, and wonderfully talented. Everyone in the audience was smiling from ear to ear!

Sunday was a sacred day on Girls Camp…British Empire! Captains: Rachel Goodman (Australia), Hannah Tomaskovic (Canada), and Abigail Brown (Great Britain) led their teams all day in sports, song, and spirit! They were wonderful leaders on girl side and it was a great day for all. The boys enjoyed their Sports-a-Rama swim meet in the afternoon.

The week concluded with our first social night. Our Debs and Cadets played Minute to Win It while the Inters, Juniors, Scouts and Rangers had an “Under the Sea” themed party at the waterfront. A rotation of games: Coke and Pepsi, Musical Chairs, and Skits made the night interactive and fun! Our older campers danced the night away with DJ Nick (Tennis Director!) all dressed up in “Time Warp” outfits.

The start of the week brought sunshine and a typical Monday schedule. Sports-a-rama was a huge success followed by Hobby Selection and Bunk Challenge!

Tuesday was our Birthday Banquet where we celebrated the 80^th Birthday of Watitoh and all of the campers who don’t have a summer birthday. The dinner was followed by a performance by Tom Carroll, a local Berkshire artist who has been coming to Watitoh for years. The week ahead has a busy intercamp schedule, more traditional evening activities and will end with the camp Sing and seeing many of you on Visiting Day! 

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Staff Orientation, the First Week, and the 4^th of July!

After an incredible week of staff orientation, where counselors from all over the world came together to learn the traditions and camaraderie of Watitoh, we have officially started our 80^th season as a camp community! Led by our tremendous head counselors, Chrissy and Zach, general counselors, specialists, program directors and support staff spent time reviewing the camp schedule, practicing activities, building their skills in child development and preparing cabins for arrival. Most importantly, our veteran and first-time staff came together as one and began to build community by playing, laughing, and connecting with our special summer home. After an incredible week, we were all ready to welcome our campers!

Arrival day was nothing short of awesome! From the Yonkers bus to Boston drivers to airport pickups, our campers arrived safe and sound and ready for the summer of their lives. Unpacking, camp tours, group games, and scavenger hunts ensued. Opening campfire (in the Social Hall!) was a hit, with talented acts by our staff, an encore of the 2015 Sing, acts from last year’s camp musicals as well as previews of the 2016 Drama Program! The night ended with our spirited counselors leading the entire camp in a high energy rendition of Cha Cha Slide!

Day two was filled with the obligatory health checks and tag tests at the lake mixed with cabin bonding and group activities. Girls and Boys enjoyed Sunday and Monday night evening activities as separates. Sunday night’s Hi Gal and Hi Guy was an opportunity for counselors to introduce their campers to the entire campus and campers to introduce their counselors in a fun, creative way! Skits, dances and songs had the girls and boys side laughing the night away!

Monday was the ultimate in camp activity. A normal schedule for all with land sports, water activities, arts, adventure, cooking, and more! The kids were smiling, active, and engaged!! The evening brought even more excitement to the campuses with Superstars for Boys Camp and Bunk Chase for the girls. If the ice wasn’t broken already, there was no escape from it on Monday night!!

Tuesday night was our first Sports-a-Rama…our normal Monday night sports league. Four teams: Newcastle Toppers, Leeds Paladins, Kent Panthers, and Belfast Wildcats brought their best game to the fields. The entire camp was taken over by spirit, sportsmanship, and healthy competition. At Flag Raising this morning, campers were recognized for all of those traits for each team.

Wednesday brought the first round of the “Townsend Cup” game show competition between Boys and Girls Camp. The Boys came out on top for Bezzerwizzer but the girls are ready for revenge in next week’s Cabin Feud! Thursday was the start to our golf program at The Cranwell Resort and separate campus activities.

The 2016 Intercamp season kicked off on Friday when the 13/14 year old boys played in a soccer tournament at Mah-kee-nac.   That evening, an all camp game of “Name that Tune” kicked off our first weekend at camp! Talent galore crossed our Social Hall stage on Saturday night, as many of our campers performed in the annual Camper Talent Show. We couldn’t have been prouder of all of the performers!

Big Sisters and Little Sisters and Big Brothers and Little Brothers enjoyed their time together on Sunday morning doing oval games and playing Tanks and Commanders. Due to the holiday schedule, Sports-a-Rama was held on Sunday night. It was a big event with tremendous athleticism and camaraderie all around camp!

Our weekend ended with the Annual 4^th of July celebration. Campers dressed up in American spirit-wear and followed a normal schedule of activities for the morning. The afternoon was followed by our traditional Red, White, and Blue relays on the oval. After the first cookout of the summer, the Court Jester performance rounded out our celebration!

It was an incredible first week of camp! Routines are established, camp programs in action, and campers settled into their summer home. We can’t wait to see what next week brings!

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Living the Dream…the last two weeks.   As the candle boats float from the beach to the edge of the “H” dock, on this last night of camp, it’s incredible to think back on the summer that has past. Each week of the summer represents a milestone and these past two weeks are no different. There is an aura in the air of excitement and curiosity of what the end of summer will bring.

Week 6 began with an exciting night of Sports-a-Rama followed by some of the all-time camp favorite evening activities. Tuesday night was the Kentucky Derby! Just kidding… it was Watitoh Downs! We turn the Social Hall into the races and campers pretend to be horses in an exciting night of odds and winners. Wednesday was the ever-popular and most exciting Watitoh Gardens. Our incredible Camper Waiters played an intense and close game against our Staff Team. The waiters put up a good fight and many of us thought they had the win, but history repeats itself and the Staff Team took the game 34-29. Next year, waiters! Thursday was our final Sports-a-Rama competition, Name that Tune!

 

All week long the cheers in the Dining Hall were getting louder and louder. From all corners of the building we could hear, “1-2-3-4, we want Color War!” We responded with “I scream, you scream, we all scream for Ice Cream!” And, low and behold, after an outdoor BBQ, an ice cream truck came rolling down the oval with balloons flying out the window. Our amazing camper generals: Sydney, Jack, Sophie, and Josh led their teams in an incredible Color War, filled with competition, great sportsmanship, camaraderie and undeniable fun! We are very proud of both the Tan and Green for their efforts and enjoyed watching all of the campers on and off the field. From the swim meet to the Sing, from the Apache to the score updates, Green Charybdis and Tan Tartarus will not be forgotten. A special shout out to Arts Director, Mike, for his amazing Color War banners.

 

Color War concluded and we celebrated with an all-camp trip to Six Flags, New England! As bunks of campers reunited, they tested their limits on rides such as Bizarro, The Wicked Cyclone, Sky Screamer and Mind Eraser!! For those of us who prefer to always keep two feet on the ground, lots of games were played and food consumed.

Plaque making, tennis tournaments, sailing regattas, waterski shows and more filled the last two days of camp.  Evenings were spent enjoying Memory Lane, separate girls and boys nights, and our Final Banquet. One of the highlights of the summer happened Thursday when our older campers performed Footloose! Not only were the songs a huge hit but it looked like the cast was having a blast! We’re so proud of all of our thespians and are amazed at all the time and effort it took to put this show together.

Saturday marked the end of an incredible summer, where friendships were formed, relationships solidified, veteran campers and counselors returned and new children and staff welcomed. We are so lucky to be a part of this incredible family and look forward to seeing one another soon.

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Week 5, is officially in the books!

The week began with normal programming and the traditional Sports-a-Rama Monday night games. Tuesday was a special day with most of our older campers in Boston, enjoying a full day visiting Faneuil Hall, Duck Tours, and Shear Madness. The younger campers played in the first ever Rainbow Games where counselors were dressed up in colors and campers had to find them hidden around camp. Once the color was found, the campers did a task and received a stripe on their arm in that color. But watch out! The Greenie Meanies were out to get the campers and erase all of their colors, forcing them to start the game all over again!! Everyone was running around camp constantly… laughing and ready for showers after Mohegan won!

Our golf and horseback program have been in full gear since the start of camp and many of our campers have been enjoying their golf lessons at the Cranwell Resort in Lenox and the riding lessons at Undermountain Farm. It’s been exciting to see their improvements these last few weeks!

Wednesday night was a split boys and girls camp activity. The girls wow’d us with their dance moves and spirit at MTV Night while the boys played an intense game of Bezzer Wizard on Boys Court. We love the camaraderie we see on these separate nights.
Regular programming has been active and exciting as usual! Girls tennis and soccer intercamps have been keeping everyone busy while the boys started practicing for our ever-popular Watitoh Gardens game. The photography hobby and reintroduction of the dark room was a huge hit with some of our boys while pioneering hobby made it on their first hike of Mt. Greylock of the summer. The water trampoline, waterskiing, adventure, and, of course Footloose rehearsals have been abound as well.

On Thursday night we all enjoyed a Watitoh favorite, a performance by Tom Carroll. A legend on Center Lake and in the Berkshires, Tom performs cover songs from the ‘70s-‘90s. Campers and counselors alike enjoy his annual visits to camp and make requests for songs such as “Cats in the Cradle,” “Sweet Baby James,” “Country Road,” “Wagon Wheel” and so much more! Our very own program director, Rick Jennings, joined Tom for a performance of Ryan Wilson by the Barenaked Ladies.

One of the biggest highlights of the week was Watitoh’s very first entry in a Dance Competition at Camp Lenox. With Sanibel at the helm, Watitoh’s girls participated in three group dances and a few solo acts. Everyone had a great time and returned to camp proud of being a part of such a momentous intercamp. We’re all looking forward to this becoming a tradition and are thrilled the new dance program has been such a success!

The weekend came and Watitoh hosted our very first Dream Day for prospective campers. Twenty-four campers spent the day doing camp activities and experiencing what it feels like to start “Living the Dream!” Parents received tours of camp and were invited to enjoy lunch off camp and explore the Berkshires. We all came together, in the afternoon, to enjoy the ever-popular s’mores, around the campfire and celebrate the amazing day had by all!

Sunday closed the week with a Girls Photo Scavenger Hunt and Boys NFL Day in the morning followed by a Sports-a-Rama Track Meet in the afternoon. The evening brought our Prom Social for the older kids, DJ’d by our ever-popular Tennis Director, Nick Loudermilk. Our younger campers enjoyed limbo, karaoke and a luau party extraordinaire at the beach!

Get ready for the excitement ahead…All of camp is on their toes about when Olympiad (Color War) will break. Will it be today? Tomorrow? Next week??? Who will be the generals? Who will be the chiefs of staff? Your guess is as good as ours. Stay tuned…

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Two weeks has flown by at Camp Watitoh…It seems like ages ago that we were all together as a camp celebrating our Birthday Banquet! A special night dedicated to those who don’t have a summer birthday, we all dress a little nicer, eat a wonderful dinner, and enjoy four tasty cakes that represent each season of the year. Campers and staff are called to light a candle and represent all of the different demographics of our wonderful camp community. The night ended with an amazing performance by hypnotist, Ronny Romm.
Other highlights of the week included Girls Camp Big/Little Sister Twins and Triplets Day, Gladiator Night for girls, Hunger Games for boys, and culminated in the traditional camp Sing. Each age group’s counselors rewrote the words to popular songs, with lyrics that reminded all of us of the special place we call our summer home. Not a dry eye was in the house when the TICS performed their ballad.

Week 3 was topped off with one of the best days of summer…Visiting Day! Parents, campers, and staff spent the day reuniting, enjoying camp activities, eating a delicious camp meal, and watching our annual Visiting Day Show. We loved seeing all of our camp families enjoying their day (even with a passing rain storm mid-day!) The weekend ended with the ever-popular Square Dance with Cliff Brodeur and Square One!

This past week has been one of the most fun-filled of the season. Intercamp games continued with basketball, soccer, swimming, and more, while campers enjoyed overnight campouts and great trips. Debs and Inters enjoyed learning about mid-century art at the Norman Rockwell Museum while the Junior girls spent an afternoon at The Clark Museum followed by lunch in Williamstown. The Scouts and Rangers enjoyed their visit to the Basketball Hall of Fame while most of Boys Camp went on a Cooperstown Adventure!
A big congratulations to Boys Camp for sweeping The Townsend Cup at Cabin Feud night! All summer the Boys and Girls compete in game shows and, for the 2nd summer in a row, the boys took the trophy. The girls tried their best! Wednesday night was Hunt the Counselor for both campuses. In cabin groups, campers search high and low for counselors, hidden all over camp. Once they find a counselor, they must “steal” his/her hat. Each counselor is worth a certain number of points (and they might be negative points!!) It is an absolute favorite evening for all of camp! Back by popular demand, Thursday night was the Watitoh Pageant and the week finished with a great campfire, filled with camper and counselor performances, stories, and s’mores.

The weekend was bittersweet, saying goodbye to our 4-week friends and welcoming new end-of-summer campers. Saturday night we had our annual Las Vegas night where campers were given homemade money to spend on games and palm readings. Sunday’s special event was the Pet Battle: The Savage Shelby’s vs. The Spirited Stanley’s (our two favorite camp pets representing!) The campers were split into coed teams and competed against wacky games and water relays. The weekend concluded with the Black and White Social for the older camper and a bowling trip for the Scouts, Debs and Inters.
Week 5 is off to a great start and we’re all looking forward to the many surprises in the last few weeks of camp!

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It is hard to believe that another week has gone by and…what a week it has been!

After a fantastic July 4^th celebration, we began a busy week of active programming, evening activities, and special events. The girls of Watitoh came in FIRST PLACE in the Romaca Swim Meet and THIRD PLACE in the Track Meet. To say the least, we are very proud of all of the girls’ efforts and enthusiasm to do their best! In addition to those two highlights, boys and girls participate in intercamp games at all ages in all sports. We are so glad campers are getting to show off their skills, both on and off camp!

Tuesday night was our annual Auction Night! Each cabin was given Watitoh money and able to bid on items. Some highlights include: Tubing around the lake, Chrissy (our girls Head Counselor) serving a meal as the waiter, Breakfast-in-bed delivered by Britton and Drew, Mystery Bags, the chance to rename an area of camp for the summer (the Oval was renamed “Middle Earth”). One of the most sought after auction items was the opportunity to sit at special “cocktail” tables at the “Living the Dream” Cabaret on Saturday night and enjoy special “mocktails” created by our cooking sensation, Judy Marshall.

Speaking of the Cabaret…Saturday night was a huge success with our first performance of the summer. Our younger campers spent two weeks planning and rehearsing for their big debut. Themed around “growing up,” campers sang ensemble and solo numbers from some of our favorite Broadway musicals; Newsies, Matilda, and the Lion King to name a few. We were all so impressed by our performers and the Drama staff who made it all happen. A special shout out to the arts department for great scenery and our maintenance team who created the “cabaret” atmosphere.

Our first trip night was a huge success! Debs, Inters, and Scouts all embarked on an adventure to a local Circus where they saw incredible animal and trapeze acts and ate their way through every Funnel cake and box of popcorn in site! The rest of girls camp enjoyed an outdoor performance at Jacobs Pillow while the boys took in a Pittsfield Suns Baseball game. Other exciting activities of the week include the Boys Belly Flop contest (to be finished Week 3!) and the girls Sports-a-Rama Scattegories competition!

Great Britain, Australia, and Canada took over girls camp on Sunday at British Empire Day! Captains: Alexis Daniel, Abby Flamm, and Yazzy Goodman all lead their teams with amazing sportsmanship, spirit, and comradery.  Competition in hockey, soccer, basketball, and volleyball took over the morning with a swim meet and track meet to close the day. While Canada came out on top, everyone had an incredible day celebrating the British Empires! While the girls dressed in their Red, White, and Blue, the boys had an exciting Sport-a-Rama Swim Meet to cap off their day.

The week ended with our infamous Costume Social. Campers and counselors spent the week designing costumes in arts and crafts and pulling out all of the stops for the night’s activity. A dance party for the entire camp included a congo line and an all-camp “whip and nee nee” flash mob! Our campers are so creative!!

Week 3 is underway and we’re looking forward to seeing all of our friends and families who will be visiting us on Saturday.

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