Behind the Scenes: Preparing for a Summer
We have loved pulling back the curtain and taking you Behind the Scenes this year! We hope you’ve learned a little more about how camp works, whether it was hiring our staff, planning the camp menu, or designing our t-shirts.
We’ve got one last edition of this series before the summer, and it is a BIG one: taking you through how we get camp ready for a new summer! It’s a little bit of a trick question, because getting ready for the summer starts all the way back in the fall for our team. We work all year round to make every year the best one yet, but it really kicks into gear in May, and that’s what we’re taking you through today!
The Facility
Spring is when our summer preparations really become visible; you can see the hard work going on everywhere when you walk through camp! These are just a few things happening as we speak:
- Every cabin gets a deep clean. We bring in a professional crew to give each cabin and living area a good scrub to make sure they are bright and shiny when you arrive on Opening Day.
- All the grass and flowers get a little TLC. That lush Pageant Court grass doesn’t happen by accident! Our Maintenance crew keeps a strict schedule to make sure that mulch is spread, grass is planted, and our flowers are pruned so they look fantastic when you get here.
- We set up the inflatables in the lake. That’s right, the Blob doesn’t stay in Edith all year long! Every spring our Maintenance guys pick a date to blow up the Blob, trampoline, and Mount Edith slide and swim out (yes, SWIM) to anchor them in for the summer.
- Every area in camp is cleaned, checked, and improved. Starting in the fall, we have a big list of projects to work through to make sure camp stays in tip-top-shape. We make repairs and improvements all year long, and then in May everything gets a good pressure wash and once-over. There are so many hands in every department and space making sure that it looks its best for YOU!
The Fun Stuff
Our summer plans really do begin in the fall, but the spring is when the details get set in stone and it’s full-speed-ahead to summer fun! Here’s what we’re working on and getting excited about right now…
- We set the Evening Program calendar. This is when the details get set in motion for our incredible events to come. Order are made (Amazon becomes our best friend!) and we collaborate on many a Google doc to brainstorm the best ideas we can come up with. Just wait until you see what we’ve got up our sleeves for this year!
- We’re getting ready to welcome our Farm Barn animals! If you haven’t heard about our new Farm Barn activity area, you’re in for a treat. The countdown is on until our goats, sheep, cows, donkeys, and more furry friends arrive, so we are in full preparation mode to make sure their space is ready for them. We’re also having a blackberry planting party at the Farm Barn this week!
- We’re working hard on our Staff Orientation. Our summer staff start arriving in a matter of days (!), and will all be here by the end of the month for a week of training before our campers get here. Every year we refresh our Orientation to make sure we’re covering all the important topics and also having a lot of fun together.
- Our t-shirts, stickers, and other giveaways are starting to arrive! We love some SWAG at camp, and now that the designing is done, we just get to wait and see the boxes come in. It feels like Christmas day seeing these fun things come to life, and picturing how much you are going to love them when you’re here.
And so much more!
In reality, trying to list everything that happens in April and May here in Tuxedo wouldn’t be possible - it takes a huge village to pull the summer off and we are working around the clock this time of year! Every person is checking things off their list like crazy, and praying a lot. We are dialed in, focussed, and ready (as we’ll be!) for the summer ahead.
Every part of this work is worth it though when we’re this passionate about our purpose, and thinking about the sweet counselors and campers we’re doing it all for. A summer at camp is a true labor of love, and we are so ready for you all to get here and get this thing started!
