To our returning parents, welcome back. And to our new parents, welcome to the Woodchuck, a nightly blog written by a different member of our administration team each evening. I was lucky enough to get the first one: opening day.

As I write this, everyone has arrived safely. The cars have pulled away, the buses have been emptied, and every camper is settled in their bunk, surrounded by friends and group leaders.

It was supposed to rain all day. But Andy Friedman must have been watching over us, because not once did it rain past breakfast, the grounds stayed dry and the welcomes went on without a halt.

Twenty-three days ago, our first round of staff brought the camp population to 25. Tonight, we’re close to 600 and you can feel the energy these kids carry in with them. Watching old friends reunite after ten months apart, and seeing new campers folded into their groups within minutes, reminds me why this place is so special. My favorite moment of the whole day is when campers find out who their group leader is. The excitement on their faces is something else. I’m hoping our camera team caught a few of those.

To our new parents especially…thank you for trusting us with your most prized possession. They are in the safest hands. About 90% of our group leaders are former campers themselves, so they know exactly how it feels to walk in for the first time, and our administrative team has well over 100 years of camp experience between us. I can promise you this: by the end of the day, your child will have a new friend, and by the end of a summer they will have many best friends. 

They say there’s magic in the trees here. Today proved it.

— Daf