Camp Kids at Winter Weekend

We had Kenwood & Evergreen's Winter Weekend a couple of weekends ago.

Not the whole camp. Just 60ish seniors (13, 14, 15-year-olds) signed up for this summer. It's a long-standing tradition here, and honestly, it's such a culture builder.

Been 10 or so days, and it's still fresh on my mind. But it was and is also a great reminder of why this place matters so much to these kids.

Let's go old school, Bill Simmons-running-diary-style through this thing.

Friday 11:00am -- Meet the NYC bus with Violet. Cold happy kids. Remind them to tell their parents they love them!

5:00pm -- Buses arrive. Soooo cold, but everyone was geared up for the weather.

6:15pm -- Dinner in the bottom of Cypress, which is normally the dance studio. Kind of a funky little spot. Only a handful of places at camp are 100% winterized so we make it work.

7:00pm -- Sledding in the Hollow. All of these best friends just go to a sledding hill and mess around. Everyone's dressed like a marshmallow because you're out in the New Hampshire cold. My favorite is when kids tell me it's the first time they've ever gone sledding.

8:30pm -- Blacklight party. Great setup by the staff team. Imagine a camp dance but with glow sticks, a fog machine, and kids who haven't seen each other since August. The energy's ridiculous.

10:00pm -- Bonfire. We're outside and it's like 5 degrees. Kids don't care. Hot chocolate and camp songs on a frozen lake.

Saturday 7:30am -- Polar plunge. Not everyone, but the ones who did it went running into a hole in the ice screaming. Respect.

8:30am -- Breakfast in Cypress again. French toast sticks and good vibes. Everyone's tired but happy.

9:30am -- Outdoor time. Sledding in the Hollow. Sledding at JBF. Broomball on the pond. Kids going back and forth between them. It's cold enough for fires on the lake.

10:30am -- Pickleball opens. It's indoors in the unheated dining hall, which is kind of cool.

12:30pm -- Pizza lunch.

12:45pm -- Giveaways and group photo.

1:30pm -- We ran a "What do you want from this summer?"-session. Sat down with the kids to ask them their opinions on programs, traditions, stuff they want to ditch, stuff they want to come back.

2:15pm -- S'mores by the fire on a frozen lake is pretty sweet.

3:00pm -- Tackle football in the Hollow. This might be the best thing we do all weekend. Coed and everybody in their jumpsuits. Can't move that fast. It's just so fun and silly. Kids don't get to play pickup tackle football almost anywhere anymore.

4:00pm -- Sleigh or Nay which is a winter version of Yacht or Not (Sled Edition) where kids make sleds and then ride them. It's very low stakes, very creative, totally silly.

6:00pm -- Dinner.

6:30pm -- Friday night services led by Scott Brody, which was really special. Scott's been doing this for 30 years and it's one of the most meaningful traditions we have.

8:00pm -- Bingo. This is always the surprise hit of the weekend. A room full of 14-year-olds screaming "BINGO!" with full sincerity. You can't fake that kind of joy. The prizes are ridiculous. Just random stuff from the lost and found and Dollar Tree. Doesn't matter. It's the best.

10:00pm -- Movie in the Pavilion. Quiet wind-down. Some kids fall asleep, some talk through the whole thing. Both fine.

Sunday 8:30am -- Breakfast.

9:00am -- Packing up and saying goodbye. Lots of hugs. Some tears. Parents picking up kids who are already asking about summer.

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So what?

This weekend matters so much more than the activities that fill it.

It's a cultural anchor. A proof point. The seniors come up and remember why they love this place. New kids who've never been to camp before get a 48-hour preview that makes June feel real.

And for us as directors, it's a chance to see the community that's forming. Where the friendships are. Which kids need a little more attention. What the energy is.

Huge shout-out to Taylor and the full-time team, who put in so much to make this happen.

It's a 48-hour sprint of 110% energy and it takes full buy-in from everyone.

What really matters though?

Sledding. Bingo. S'mores on a frozen lake. Tackle football. Scott playing guitar. None of it complicated, but the kids loved every minute because they're with their best friends at the place that matters most to them.

The activities are great excuses to hang out. Bingo gives them something to talk over. Football gives them a reason to be outside, falling into snow. The blacklight party gives them a place to dance and be goofy together.

These kids went back to school these past weeks carrying camp with them. They're texting about it. Already planning for summer.

And when June actually arrives, they're not starting from zero. They're continuing something that never really stopped.

Which is the way camp should be. And how it already is.

We got this,

Jack