Happy almost Visiting Day! Holy cow, how did this time of the summer sneak up on us so fast? We’ve been preparing for this very special day and we anticipate that it will be a fantastic day for all. Please peruse yesterday’s blog for more details about tomorrow’s festivities.

Today was another beautiful day here at camp, with temps in the mid-80’s. We reminded our campers to drink lots of water and stay hydrated all day long. We hosted an 8^th & 9^th grade boys soccer game here at home this morning. Our 6^th & 7^th grade girls went out of camp to play in a tennis tournament.

Today was the start of another huge tradition here at Island Lake,…WE BROKE COLOR WAR! It was great because no one expected it to be in the middle of the afternoon during snack break. We cancelled 3^rd major and 3^rd minor in order to start our Color WAR team meetings. Oh I bet you want to know the names of the teams, huh? Well it’s EAST COAST VS. WEST COAST! East Coast is grey and West Coast is blue. Following tomorrow’s Visiting Day, Sunday through Tuesday will be all things Color War! WOOHOO!!!!

Tonight’s evening activity is the amazing, fantastic, superb hypnotist, Brad Henderson! Our campers and staff will witness Brad hypnotize about 20 of our counselors on the theater stage. This is another one of our campers’ favorite evening activities. They get to watch their counselors embarrass themselves while doing hysterically funny things in front of the camp.

Today’s special feature is CANTEEN last night! Until tomorrow, when we’ll see all of your smiling faces bright and early for our annual Island Lake Visiting Day, ILCUTHERE!

Happy Lazy Day! Today our campers slept in and we had brunch at 10:30am. Groups 1 & 2 then went to a bowling alley in Binghamton, NY while groups 3 & 4 went to a local town to see Tarzan, the movie. It was a nice and relaxing day for our campers with beautiful sunny skies and warm temps.

Saturday is approaching fast and with that comes our one and only annual Island Lake Visiting Day! (Cheers in the background,…woohoo,…yay!) We know you’re excited to come up to camp to live out your youth and we’re excited to have you join us and see your children. We will have lots of activities and exhibits going on all day, as well as a huge lunch buffet. If you prefer, you can take your children out of camp for the day.

I’m sure you plan to bring lots of junk food, baked goods, and sushi (Lol!) to shower your children with affection, so please keep in mind that we discard all of the food 2 days later. Do not bring so much that your children have to throw away lots of great homemade brownies, cookies, bagged chips, chocolate, grandma’s secret recipes, etc. We truly hate to waste food, so don’t shlep too much up here.

Please refrain from bringing bottled water and drinks, too. We have amazing well water here at camp that tastes even better than bottled water. Bottled drinks will also be discarded so save yourself the muscular strength of carrying these heavy items into camp.

Visiting Day hours are from 9:30am-3:30pm. If you leave camp for the day, please bring your children back on time for our other annual super duper, huge, extravagant Water Fight! Parents are fair game if you’re still here for the water fight so just remember; quick and speedy goodbyes are easier on your children. We expect that some campers will be in tears so our staff will be around to help them through what’s usually just a short moment of sadness. The water fight is a great distraction to get children through their difficult goodbyes. Please work with us and know your children are in great hands here at camp.

Today’s special feature is the COOKOUT we had for dinner. Evening activity for tonight is GROUPS. On the Boys side: Group 1- Canteen Casino (don’t worry, it’s just for fun- no real gambling going on with the little boys!): Group 2- Pool Party: Group 3- Campfire: Group 4- Gaga. On the Girls side: Group 1&2- Zumba (now this I gotta see!): Groups 3&4- Lip Sync Battle (I don’t think LL Cool J or Chrissy Teigen will be making special appearances, sorry!)

Have a great night and until tomorrow, ILC U THERE!

Happy Neon Wednesday everyone! Today is “Neon Day” here at Island Lake so our campers and staff are all sporting their fluorescent yellow, pink, green, orange, blue, etc. clothing for fun. Can you believe that Visiting Day is only 3 days away? Where did the summer go? It’s flying by way too fast. Guess that’s what happens when you’re having fun.

Speaking of fun, last night’s evening activity was a great time. Our Island Lakers always enjoy camp-wide games by the Simon Sez guy (Steve Max). After Steve Max, we had ETB, Early To Bed. We had our staff meeting during rest hour while our campers were supposed to be writing letters home to all of you moms and dads. No promises since you’ll be here in 3 days, but we hope they all wrote home to you.

Tonight is LTB, Late to Bed, since tomorrow is Lazy Day. With LTB, our campers will have an extra half hour added on to their curfew. Tomorrow morning everyone can sleep in late, as our 8am breakfast is optional. We have brunch at 10:30am for the camp and then we will all head out for a day of fun. Groups 1 & 2 are going bowling and groups 3 & 4 are going to the movies to see “Tarzan.”

Today was our 2nd session tubing trip down the Delaware River. It was the perfect weather for a lazy river stroll with temperatures in the mid 70’s and the sun shining strong.   We also had 2 separate volleyball games, both here at camp. Our 8^th & 9^th grade coed team excitingly won their match against the other camp this morning. Our coed 10^th and 11^th grade game was played this afternoon and unfortunately they didn’t take the win. Lastly, our 8^th & 9^th grade girls tennis team played this afternoon out at another camp. This was their next round as they make their way towards the finals in Wayne County.

Tonight’s evening activity is GROUPS. Here’s a list of what we have for the kids: BOYS: Group 1- Sk8 Arcade (bunch of games for the little boys in the skatepark): Group 2- Kong Pong: Group 3- Messy Twister: Group 4- Pool Party (with girls group 4):  GIRLS: Group 1- Scavenger Hunt: Group 2- Campfire: Group 3- Gaga (for the lower half of group 3) & a Campfire (separate fire pit than group 2 & for the upper half of group 3),: Group 4- Pool Party (with boys group 4)

More Color War fake breaks happening here at camp. Tomorrow is Lazy Day so we can’t break Color War then,…or can we? (Wink Wink) Until then, ILCUTHERE!

Today was another beautiful day in Starrucca, PA. We woke up to cool temps that slowly warmed up throughout the day to the low to mid-70’s. The sky was partly cloudy but with lots of sunshine throughout the day.

We had another busy day here at camp. We hosted the 10^th & 11^th grade Wayne County Boys Volleyball tournament with 7 other camps in attendance. We enjoy hosting the 2 boys volleyball tourneys every summer, the first one for younger boys in session 1 and the second one for the older kids in session 2.

Our dancers went to a nearby camp to participate in a Dance Competition. They left early this morning and returned this afternoon. Our dancers scored gold, which was high up in the rankings. The girls all said they had a great time, as well. Our golfing fanatics went out of camp this afternoon to a nearby golf course to play 9 holes. Our 6^th & 7^th grade boys played lacrosse against another camp here at home this morning.

The talk around camp these days is Color War! The big question is, will Color War break before Visiting Day or afterwards? We’ve been shooting off fake breaks with our traditional gun shots, 1 or 2 in total at a time, equaling a fake break. Once we shoot off 3 gunshots it will mean that Color War has begun. Stay tuned for more info regarding Color War,….

Tonight’s evening activity is Steve Maxx, the professional Simon Sez guy. He has performed at NBA and NCAA basketball halftime shows and he makes his rounds to the sleep away camps in the tri-state area every summer. Steve Max has been performing here at Island Lake for over 17 years and our campers and staff still have a ball with his large camp-wide Simon Says games. It should be a fantastic evening activity for everyone.

Today’s special feature is WATERFRONT! Enjoy and until tomorrow, ILCUTHERE!

Today started off as a beautiful day in Starrucca, PA. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the grass was growing,…until the rain came rolling through. We had some light rain right after lunch but not enough to affect any activities in our 2^nd major. We’ve had quite a bit of rain lately but fortunately, activities haven’t been affected all that much. The sun came back out later in the afternoon hours to be followed by rain once again at dinnertime.

We had a lot of activities going on for our campers, especially this morning. Here’s a list of all that our campers participated in today:

1. Climbing Trip– today our pioneering/ropes/climbing campers went to Prompton State Park in Honesdale, PA. At the park they repelled, took a top rope climb, and crawled to the top of a tunnel, all while belaying safely.
2. Girls Swim Meet– our female swimmers went to a nearby Wayne County camp to participate in this specific once per summer swim meet. Our campers competed against almost 15 other camps and we placed 7^th
3. Basketball Tournament– 11^th grade and under girls went out of camp to play in a basketball tournament at another local camp.
4. Tennis Tournament– 6^th & 7^th grade boys went out of camp to play in a tennis tournament and they did FANTASTIC! Luc L. won 1^st place in 6^th grade doubles. David P. placed 3^rd in 7^th grade singles. Trey S. & Eli B. placed 3^rd in 6^th grade doubles, and Jaden R. & Elijah R. placed 3^rd in 7^th grade doubles. It was a great day for our boys tennis team and we’re very proud of them.

Today’s special feature is a double edition: FISHING & MAGIC! Due to the rain, tonight’s evening activities have had to be altered. Some campers will be watching movies while others will be playing indoor activities.

Enjoy the photos below and until tomorrow, ILCUTHERE!

Happy Sunday fun-day! We woke up to misty rain and dreary skies but hey, it didn’t break our campers’ spirits. The skies slowly cleared and activities resumed as usual. By afternoon the sun shined once again and today turned into a beautiful warm, sunny summer day. Our campers are now settling into their majors for the session and trying lots of new activities for their minors.

We had a few sporting events in and out of camp today. This morning’s tournament was here in camp. Our 8^th & 9^th grade girls played against another camp and they kicked booty and took names! That’s right, our girls beat the other camp 12-3! Whoop whoop!  This afternoon’s sports were all away games. Our 8^th & 9^th grade girls played soccer and our 6^th & 7^th grade boys played baseball out of camp.

In archery news, our campers had an ILC Shootout amongst their peers once again. The kids broke up into teams of 2 and competed amongst themselves against other teams of 2. Lots of action has been going on for our Island Lakers.

In other departments, our theater kids are busy learning songs, staging, and lines for 101 Dalmations and Xanadu. In cooking, they’re making “busy day cake with whip cream” (Yum!). Rock Shop has lots of bands rehearsing, as well as lessons going on all day. In Pioneering, they’re busy on the climbing wall, ropes courses, giant swing, zip line, building fires, and hiking around trails. In magic, they are practicing close-up, card, stage, illusion, and much much more to become the next Houdini. On the water, our kids are swimming, boating, sailing, skiing, wakeboarding, jumping on the Aquaslide, and playing on all of the other lake toys.

In circus, they’re twirling on fabric, flying on all of our different trapezes, climbing and swinging on the Spanish web, rolling on the globe, juggling pins and balls, flipping on the mini-tramp, walking the tightrope, as well as participating in many more activities. In art, they’re creating amazing projects from scratch. Just wait until Visiting Day when you can go to our art building to check out the exhibit. Some of these projects are seriously incredible! You won’t believe that children have created these outstanding projects.  All of these activities I just mentioned only touch upon everything that has been going on here at camp.

Tonight’s evening activity is Mr. & Ms. ILC. This is amongst one of the more popular evening activities here at camp. The girls’ bunks dress up male counselors and the boys’ bunks dress up female counselors to look, act, and perform as the opposite gender. Mr. & Ms. ILC is a light-hearted, fun beauty pageant and quite entertaining for everyone involved, as well as our spectators.

Today’s special feature is ROCK SHOP! Below are photos of rock bands practicing for the rock concert at the end of the session, as well as private lessons and practices down by the lake. Enjoy the remainder of your weeekend and until tomorrow, ILCUTHERE!

Hi Island Lake families! Today was our 2^nd Rookie Day of Summer 2015! It was a great success, as several future Island Lakers experienced a day in the life of a camper. We hope the children had as much fun as we did!

Today was also our first full day of majors and minors for our 2nd session campers. The sun shined throughout most of the day and the temps went all the way to 80 degrees.   Our happy campers were fully engaged in our major and minor schedule.

Today was the 31^st annual Dr. William Perkins Memorial Run in Honesdale, PA. A busload of campers left early this morning to participate in this run, which has become a tradition for our Island Lakers for over 20 years now. The run took place at a park to raise money for the nearby hospital. Our campers ran a 1-mile race, a 2-mile race, as well as a 5K race, and they placed very well overall.

In ILC sporting news, our 8^th & 9^th grade boys played in a tennis tournament here at camp this morning and they won. Next for these boys is the Wayne County semi-finals tournament. Our 8^th & 9^th grade girls played in a softball game this morning here at camp and they won, too! Woohoo, go Island Lakers!

Tonight’s evening activity is COUNSELOR HUNT! The counselors all hide around camp (only in public areas but of course) and our campers have to run around and try to find them all. Once caught, the kids find out if the counselors they captured are worth positive or negative points. The bunk that captures the most counselors with the highest score at the end of the activity is the winner. They will win bragging rights and LTB (Late To Bed).

Well, that’s about it for today. I hope you’re having as nice of a weekend as we are here at camp. Until tomorrow, ILCUTHERE!

Happy first full day of 2^nd session! With mostly sunny skies and temps in the low 80’s, it made for the perfect day to run around and have some fun here at Island Lake. Our campers stayed busy with their 4-minors of auditions, level testing, and trying out activities that they’d like to sign up for as their majors.

Later this afternoon we held our special traditional ILC activity,…Panic! I announce items from the bunk and the kids run to retrieve them and bring them out to their group leaders/judges in the middle of their campuses. The bunk with the most points wins LTB (Late To Bed). We get creative and announce things such as 2 campers wearing last summer’s blue & grey Color War t-shirts doing leap frog from their bunk to the judges. Another item may be as simple as a red Island Lake canteen token. I play music after announcing each item so our campers can sing and dance along while playing Panic. It’s a fun activity for kids of all ages.

Once Panic was over our group leaders went around to all of their bunks to sign their campers up for their majors. All of our department heads were in the office to assist in case there are activity conflicts during the same major. We assist the campers with their schedule to make sure they can take every activity they’d like and be sure no one is closed out of an activity.

Tonight’s evening activity is GROUPS! Here’s a run-down of what each group is doing: BOYS: Group 1- Pool Party: Group 2- Gaga: Group 3- Capture the Flag: Group 4- Kong Pong. GIRLS: Group 1- Theater Games: Group 2-Team Building Games: Group 3-Dodgeball: Group 4- Messy Twister (Wait till you see pictures of this activity. All I can say is, it’s very MESSY! Oh and a LOT of fun, too!)

Today’s special feature is PANIC! Enjoy and until tomorrow, ILC U THERE!

Happy Changeover Day! With sadness we bid farewell to our 1^st session campers this morning. On a brighter note, we welcomed our 2^nd session campers this afternoon with open arms. It’s always difficult to see good friends leave. Fortunately, this was a small changeover day and many more campers stayed than left.

Last night’s performance of “Zombie Prom” was truly unbelievable!   The kids sang, acted, and danced their hearts out. Between our wonderful theater staff and our talented campers, the show was a huge success!

With our 1^st session performances all done now, we will start over again in the 2^nd session with auditions tomorrow on 4-minor day. Our younger camper show will be “101 Dalmations” and our older camp show will be “Xanadu.” Our sports tournaments will continue into the 2^nd session, as well.

Speaking of which, today our gymnasts went to another camp to participate in the big Wayne County Gymnastics Competition. The results aren’t in yet but our girls did great. Lila S. placed amongst the top in the floor routine. We also had a male swimmer come in 1^st place in a swim meet at another camp. Go Zach W.!

Tonight’s evening activity is “Make Your Own Mess” (aka “Make Your Own Sundae”)! Campers will go to the canteen with their bunkmates to make ice cream sundaes and get to know their new friends better.

I don’t have any photos for you today, but there will be tons of them posted on our website of this morning’s goodbyes and this afternoon’s hellos. Until tomorrow, ILCUTHERE!

I cannot believe that today was the last full day of session 1 here at Island Lake. These past 2 ½ weeks have flown by way too fast. It’s going to be sad to say goodbye to many of our amazing campers tomorrow morning. I hope they had the greatest experience here at ILC & I hope to see them all at camp again next summer. Parents of session 1 campers, you should have all received an email with changeover day information. Please read it thoroughly to make sure you are properly prepared to pick up your children at the bus stops tomorrow.

Last night’s Circus Show was absolutely FANTASTIC! Our performers put on a stupendous, outstanding, magnificent show. We recorded it so parents, you can order a copy after the summer. Tonight is our older camper performance of “Zombie Prom.” It should be another wonderful ILC production.

Today we offered all 3 of our majors and just 1 minor in order to have our once per session “super cleanup” in the afternoon. Those campers who are staying for 2^nd session had to clean their cubbies and find those missing shorts, matching socks, and brand new t-shirts they didn’t know their mom packed for them for camp. (wink wink!) Those campers who are going home tomorrow (tear!) had an opportunity to pack during this time. We then had our big Rock Concert in the late afternoon. Our rockers worked all session with their bands to perform for the entire camp. They jammed out to old school tunes, as well as pop hits, and looked stylish all the while.

Today was a light day in sports. The only intercamp game was our 6^th & 7^th grade girls’ basketball team who went out of camp. Although we didn’t win, the kids said it was the best time they ever had losing a game to another camp. Actually, in the words of our athletic director Danny, “the kids said it was the funnest loss we’ve ever had.”

Today was our “Sibling Photo Day”. After lunch our camp photographer took pics of just about all of our siblings and then he posted them to our website’s daily photos. I just so happened to have snuck in my little point and shoot camera to get my own set of pics for you to all enjoy here on my blog. I took random photos of siblings who were posing at the moment, so I apologize if I don’t post a photo of your children.  I’m sure there is a pic of them on our website’s photo album.

Well, that’s about all the news that I have for you today, our very last day of the 1^st session. For those of you with children coming home tomorrow, enjoy your last evening of peace and quiet (Ha!). I truly hope your campers come home happy, healthy, and with tons and tons of amazing ILC summer 2016 stories and experiences to share with you. To everyone else, ILC U THERE!