local
Pinemere campers gather during the summer of 2022.

What’s New at Jewish Camps
This Summer?
n March, the Foundation for Jewish
Camp released a “State of Jewish
Camp” report showing that enroll-
ment was close to pre-pandemic
levels. Local camps were exceeding
those numbers.

It was not even spring yet, but
optimism was in the air. Going into the
summer season, it still is. The question
of what’s new at camp this summer
brought many different answers.

Here’s the rundown from some of the
area Jewish camps.

6 JUNE 15, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Golden Slipper Camp
Stroudsburg Golden Slipper is adding hatch-
et-throwing, BB guns, wrist rockets
and more archery targets to its pro-
jectile range; 3-D printers, an engraver
and an etcher to its maker space; inflat-
ables, a trampoline, an iceberg float
and single-passenger kayaks to its
lake; and candle making and miniature
painting to its arts and crafts area.

Camp Director Justin Guida said a
big upgrade was not necessary, but
that many small upgrades were.

“Our goal is to create an experience
at camp. And that experience gets you
out of your comfort zone,” he added.

driving everything we do,” Seid said.

Camp Ramah in the Poconos
Kintnersville Like Ramah, Nock-A-Mixon’s changes
have to do with reopening post-COVID,
according to Director Gary Glaser.

Counselors can take off for 30 hours
again, instead of morning to night.

Visiting Day is back in full. So is the
out-of-camp trip schedule. In camp, more
guest entertainers will come, and DJs will
not have to stay behind cones at dances.

“The cool thing is, COVID doesn’t
run everything we do,” Glaser said.

Lakewood For Ramah, the big change is reintro-
ducing activities that were not available
during the COVID summers, according
to Executive Director Miryam Seid.

Ramah’s day camp will be returning to
indoor gatherings, including lunch in
the dining hall.

“I think there’s a shift this summer
where we’re hoping to go back to
pre-COVID operations where it’s not
Camp Nock-A-Mixon
Courtesy of Pinemere Camp Media Team
I Jarrad Saffren | Staff Writer



local
former JCC camper and counselor who
died in a car accident two years ago, is
a huge, outdoor stage with open space
and a flagpole, according to Director
Sara Sideman.

This summer, Sideman and her team
will gather kids and counselors twice a
week before the day starts. Eventually,
Sideman wants to start every day at
Ravi’s Bimah.

“As I said to my team on a Zoom the
other night, 20 years from now kids
don’t remember the soccer period.

They don’t remember what they made
during arts and crafts. They remember
being around other people and singing
camp songs,” Sideman said. “Those
are the memories I want to create.”
The unveiling of Ravi’s Bimah at the JCC Camps at Medford
Southampton Summer Day Camp
Southampton Southampton is adding science, tech-
nology, engineering, art and math, or
STEAM, experiments, projects and
team-based games, according to
Director Lindsay Blum Schlesinger.

“We’re going to try it,” Blum
Schlesinger said. “It’s a big push in the
educational curriculum.”
“Camp is a lot of recreational sports
and running around. But we also have
performing arts and arts and crafts,”
she added. “We wanted to give kids
an opportunity who may want to try
something else.”
Courtesy of the JCC Camps at Medford
Pinemere Camp
Stroudsburg A new complex at Pinemere will
include a recreational hall, an outdoor
amphitheater and a chapel. All three
should open “incredible opportuni-
ties” for campers, said Eytan Graubart,
Pinemere’s executive director.

Pinemere’s theater program will
be able to put on indoor shows with
better lighting and sound. The air-con-
ditioned, indoor portion of the complex
will also allow for safe activities during
heat waves.

The camp’s old rec hall was 100
years old, according to Graubart. An
upgrade was needed.

“We pride ourselves on being a
community camp where we could do
stuff together,” Graubart said.

JCC Camps at Medford
Medford, New Jersey
The JCC Camps are unveiling a new
facility in which all campers can gather.

Ravi’s Bimah, named for Ravi Bloom, a
Camp Galil
Ottsville Galil’s big addition will emphasize “com-
munity care,” according to Executive
Director David Weiss. Campers and
counselors will get to use a “hammock
lounge/wellness space” to “relax and
unwind,” Weiss said.

Camp Kef
Wynnewood The Kaiserman JCC’s day camp is add-
ing a program for second and third
graders in which they will create a
weekly newspaper and news show
for camp. It’s another creative outlet
for kids, according to Jordan Bravato,
Kef’s director.

Camp Harlam
Kunkletown Harlam is implementing a new pro-
gram, called Avodah, which means
work, worship and service in Hebrew,
for people with disabilities between
the ages of 18 and 28 to attend camp,
learn life skills and work. They will live
independently and help in the office,
kitchen and other areas, according to
Rachel Steinberg, the camp’s manager
of community outreach.

Harlam is also reintroducing out-of-
camp trips and adding two cabins, a
fire pit and a garden. ■
jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com Happy
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