Today will stand out as one the best days of summer 2011. The spirit was at an all time high here as faces were painted, hair was sprayed with patriotic colors and everyone was sporting red, white and blue gear. It was all about being an American and having great pride in our country. The campers got into the spirit and the vibe on camp was contagious.

We had a full day of games and here are today’s scores:

Freshman, Junior & Middy Boys Roller Hockey – CAW 0 vs. Seneca Lake 16

Middy Girls Soccer – CAW 6 vs. Wayne 0

Senior & Super Girls Lacrosse – CAW 6 vs. Bryn Mawr 13

Super Boys Soccer – CAW 13 vs. Tioga 0

GC/Waiter Boys Baseball – CAW 0 vs. Wayne 8

The excitement continued with our Minute To Win It, tryouts. Our Rec Hall was packed with hopefuls as they all tried to move a cookie from their forehead into their mouths without using their hands. Campers were also challenged to stack 5 dice onto a tongue depressor sticking out of their mouth. The campers who completed the tasks move on to the next level of competition and are vying for a spot in the big show. I think we have camp craze on our hands.

As the sun faded away behind our beautiful Fiddle Lake, it was time for fireworks. As we walked up the hill to the amphitheater, glowing from the red, white and blue glow necklaces and bracelet’s, we knew this was going to be a very special night. We celebrated together as we had a giant dance party waiting for the night sky to sparkle with lights. They could hear us in the next town as we sang on the top of our voices and danced like nobody was watching.  After our dance party, the campers settled into their seats as they watched in awe as the sky lit up with our very own firework extravaganza.  There is something so special about watching fireworks with your camp friends. It defines what summer is all about. We all shared the beauty of tonight with each other and will never forget the time we had. A truly spectacular evening!

Chenny out.

Camped cooled down today with a nice rain after a full hot week. We’ve been running full steam since we have all arrived and having some rain activities was a fun change of pace. The sun peeked out throughout the day so we got a ton of games in between the showers.

Our teams played hard, fair and showed great sportsmanship. Today’s scores:

Junior/Freshman Boys Basketball – CAW 23 vs. Poyntelle 10

Junior/Middy Girls Softball – CAW 2 vs. Poyntelle 4

Inter Girls Soccer – CAW 10 vs. B’nai Brith 0

Super Girls Basketball – CAW 22 vs. Wayne 9

GC Girls Soccer – CAW 4 vs. Wayne 4 (Chen-A-Wanda wins in overtime with a 4 to 1 penalty kicks)

GC/ WAITER Boys Soccer – CAW 3 vs. B’nai Brith 2

Super Boys Tennis – CAW 0 vs. Starlight 5

It was our Camper Talent Show tonight and with so many acts, we had to make this program into a two-part series. One thing is for sure, our campers got talent!! Our campers entertained a packed house with their singing, their dancing, their joke telling and everything in between. The talent show is a camp favorite as we see the shy blossom and the outgoing shine. The courage it takes to step on that stage and put yourself out there is a huge feat but when you have the entire Rec Hall cheering you on, it changes who you are.

Something tremendously special happened tonight for everyone here at camp. The singers received a standing ovation and the dancers heard cheers and massive applause for their talent. We have the most supportive, encouraging summer family here and tonight spoke volumes to everyone in the Rec Hall.  You are free to be exactly who you are here without judgment. It’s magical to experience it first hand. These moments will stay with us forever.

Chenny out

Without a doubt, today was amazing. It was a regular schedule of activities for our campers and they enjoyed every minute of it. As the day went on, the temperature got hotter and everyone wanted to cool down. Our lake, pool and the Zone were full of campers beating the heat. It was picturesque watching it all happen.

Games, games and more games….

Inter Girls and below Basketball – CAW 28 – Island Lake 0

Collegiate Girls Lacrosse – CAW 9 – Starlight 17

Senior Boys Basketball – CAW 20 – Westmont 31

Super Boys Baseball – CAW 6 – Island Lake 3

GC’s Boys Roller Hockey – CAW 5 – Wayne 4

GC’s Boys Tennis – CAW 2 – Tioga 3

Everyone had busy dancing feet tonight in the Rec Hall, as it was a giant Dance Dance Revolution Party. Music was bumpin’, feet were dancin’ and all the campers got a great workout tonight. After a full day of activities and a full night of dancing feet, campers were ready to hit the hay.

Another fantastic day ends at Chenny with happy campers. As our first week comes to an end, we are all looking forward to Sunday sleep in to get a few extra zzzzzz’s .  We are having the time of our lives!!! Life is just simply amazing here.

Chenny out

All the campers got dressed in their camp T’s today and headed over to the new courts to take their bunk pictures. Everyone looked great, cheerful and excited to capture the moment of their 2011 summer. It’s crazy that we have just ended our first week of camp. So much has happened in the past seven days. Friends who just met are now forever connected. The magic has happened and we are all experiencing it together.

Great effort to our teams who played today. We are always proud of your effort and sportsmanship. Here are today’s scores:

Senior to Waiter Boys Roller Hockey / CAW 5 – Wayne 4 (triple overtime) GO CAW!!!

Middy Boys Soccer / CAW 3 – Wayne 7

Senior Girls Basketball / CAW 19 – Blue Ridge 21

We had 100’s of campers from our Freshman to our CIT’s, audition today for Chenny Idol. All our hopeful vocalists brought on the talent as they sang a Capella in front of our judges.  As each one entered the studio, they all had one goal and that is to be named Chenny Idol 2011.  Can’t wait till the Top 10 is announced!!! Stayed tuned.

We have some very talented staff members as they performed for us tonight in The Staff Talent Extravaganza. Our staff entertained us with their jokes, their dancing and their singing. Most importantly, their courage to get up on that stage and give it their all. Our School of Rock House Band, had the entire Rec Hall on their feet as they jammed and we all sang and danced along with them. The spirit and pride is contagious here at Chen-A-Wanda!! We are all experiencing something quite special this summer and boy does it feel good.

Chenny Out.

Days like today make us all sit back and say, this is why we are here at this place. The weather was ideal, the mood was great and camp was full of happy campers.

Tons of games were played today and here are the scores:

Collegiate Boys Tennis /CAW 0 – Starlight 5

Collegiate Girls Tennis / CAW 0 – Starlight 5

Senior Boys Baseball/ CAW 7 – Equinunk 9

Super Boys Basketball / CAW 37 – Weequahic 20

Waiter Boys Softball/ CAW 18 – Nesher 6

The evening activity was “Round Robin” and the campers loved it. Each division had their own activity to play and what a great night it was.

Freshman Girls baked with Grandma and made her famous chocolate cake. Junior Girls loved creating giant art sculptures in Arts & Crafts from every random thing they could find around camp.  It was boys vs. girls in the Rec Hall as the Middy’s battled against each other in a giant dodge ball game. Our Freshman & Junior Boys were having the best time tonight under the lights in the Wiffle Ball stadium. Our Inter Boys and Girls went to the Chen-A-Plex for a movie. It was a nighttime pool party for all of our Collegiates. All the Seniors got into an intense kickball game and had a ball.  While the entire Super division played Ultimate Frisbee under the lights. Our GC’s had a cookie cake cook off in the Cookhouse and we couldn’t tell what was more fun, baking it or eating it!!!!

Days like today fill our hearts with pure camp joy. How lucky we all are to have moments like this in our lives. As we remind ourselves that for ten months our kids work hard, study harder and experience life’s daily stresses. But here at camp, we just play!

Chenny Out.

It’s amazing how much happens within our days here at camp. It’s only our 5^th day and the friendships we have made look as if we’ve been together forever. That’s what happens here. We rely on each other as we all share this magical experience together. You will see groups of campers together in activities but it’s the conversations they have, the funny stories they share, the support they give one another that make this journey so worth it.

Our fields and courts were busy with games and Chen-A-Wanda swept every game we had today. Following are todays scores:

Senior Girls Soccer – CAW 5  Tyler Hill 3

Inter Girls and Under Tennis – CAW 3  Tyler Hill 2

Middy Boys Basketball – CAW 24  Tyler Hill 22

We are so proud of the great sportsmanship they all showed today.

Sign and Song was OUT OF THIS WORLD tonight. The best show we have had yet. The Rec Hall was packed, booming with cheers, chants, songs and dance.  Even our counselors who had the night off, stayed and in to watch the show. Standing room only and it was so worth it.  The plaques were fantastically creative and the girls dances were unbelievably great. Wait until you see the video.  The judges (our Group Leaders) had the hard decision to pick the winners but here they are.

Best Plaque

Lower Boys  – Bunk B

Upper Boys – Bunk P

Lower Girls – Bunk B

Upper Girls – Bunk W

Best Dance

Lower Girls – Bunk D

Upper Girls – Bunk W

It was a great camp night that we will all remember.  The lights are out and all are asleep. Summer 2011 has started off to be one amazing ride!!!

Chenny Out.

We had another fantastic day here at CAW. Today was the first day of Hobby and the campers loved choosing what activity they wanted to do. There were more tryouts today for our Volleyball, Gymnastics, Lacrosse and Golf teams. All the campers who are interested in joining some teams have been busy working on their game.

We have three games here at CAW tomorrow (Wednesday) all against Tyler Hill. Middy boys basketball, Inters and under girls Tennis and our Senior girls soccer. They are all excited to play and we can’t wait to cheer them on. Go CAW!!!!

It was a big day for our Chenny Actors as the cast for West Side Story was announced. The excitement is contagious as the cast members are psyched about the big show. Our talented cast is ready to entertain us and this show looks to be award winning.

Love was in the air tonight and we caught the fever with The Chenny Dating Game!! Each division played and it was hilarious. Our bachelors and bachelorettes had a great questions and fantastic answers to make the perfect match. A great night full of laughter and love!!!

As the campers are getting used to their activities and schedules, we are all melding into one big summer camp family. It is a sight to see and great to feel. We are all so very lucky to be here and experience the magic of this safe, warm and welcoming summer home.  Only day 4 in and we are loving every minute of it!

Chenny Out.

What a day we had up here at CAW. Days like today define what a fantastic camp day should be. The sun was shinning, the mood was great, the campers were energetic and you could feel the joy of being here. It was full day of activities and the campers loved it.

It was big day of auditions for our Theater Department. We had well over 100 campers trying out for our show, West Side Story. Everyone headed up to the studio and rehearsed their parts. Some campers sang, some campers danced and some got dramatic and acted out scenes. They were all terrific and were so proud of their auditions. Bravo to our Chenny Stars!!!

Today was busy day for our Athletic Department with tons of tryouts on both girls and boys camp. Girls camp had tryouts for Basketball, Soccer, Tennis and Softball teams. Boys camp had tryouts for Basketball, Baseball, Tennis, Roller Hockey and Baseball. We have fantastic athletes here at CAW and can’t wait till the tournaments start.  This summer will be filled with fantastic sport instruction, terrific tournaments and great sportsmanship. Our athletes can’t wait to get out there and play!!!

We ended the night with a fantastic evening activity. Project Dynamite thoroughly entertained us with their comic juggling act. The campers loved it. All you heard were roars of laughter and cheers from the Rec Hall as our campers enjoyed being entertained tonight. A great show!!

We are in full stride and loving every minute of it. As one new camper said to us today, “This place just makes me happy. Life really is Great at Chen-A-Wanda.”

Chenny out.

The sound of reveille rang through camp this morning waking up all of our campers.  You could feel the energy throughout camp this morning, as all the campers were eager to start their day of activities.  The sun was shinning and it felt great to be here. There is something very special about waking up in this place. You know that the day is going to be full of fun activities and you get to play all day long and that is exactly what we did today.

Boys camp had their swim test in the morning and girls followed in the afternoon.  Now that the tests were complete, campers could enjoy the lake and pool and boy did they!!!

On girls side it was all about Sign and Song.  Each bunk gathered together as they chose their song and started practicing their dance. All you saw across camp were groups of girls working together, laughing together, connecting and getting the moves down. It was fabulous watching the bonding occur. You simply couldn’t tell who were the new campers and who had been here for many years. That is the magic of this place. We all become one big summer family and it happens this quickly.

It was a Deal or No Deal kind of night in the Rec Hall and the campers got into it. Those campers who were chosen to play kept looking at their division for guidance. Was taking a deal for a pizza party for their division a good deal or should they keep picking cases looking for a better one? We all had a ball and in the end, everyone group got a great deal.

First full day of summer 2011 was a great one. We can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us.

Chenny out.