The Answer is Yes!
So much of what we do each day at camp is planned for: from the activities that campers will choose from in their chugim, yesodot or miktzo’ot to the daily schedule which must leave enough time to move from Village 2 to the Archery Field with 50+ campers to evening activities which are thoughtfully constructed to ensure that even Messy Night or Tie-Dye and Tacos are aligned with our 7 core values.
Of course, we value creativity and problem solving in the moment: anyone who has worked at camp knows that flexibility, whimsy and some cardboard are key supplies in a pinch when a space at camp is double booked or there is a little extra time between activities. We intentionally hire staff who, when pitched a curveball, will enthusiastically respond with, “The answer is YES! What’s the question?”
But what happens when our beloved PNW gives us less-than-24-hours-notice that a summer rainstorm will spend all day lingering over Jordan Road?
The answer is an all-camp production of The Little Mermaid. The answer is, “yes, we can organize, coordinate, delegate and engage nearly 200 campers ranging in age from 7-16 to write a script, create costumes and sets, and produce a full play in less than 24 hours.
While the story of Ariel, Scuttle, Sebastian and Ursula is not overtly Jewish … though of course we took some liberties when bringing out some Jewish thematic elements … the ability to adapt and find joy and laughter in times of disappointment, is uniquely and inherently Jewish. And that is our joyful Jewish moment of the week … enjoy the show!
