And the 2016 winner of Island Lake Color War,…by only 150 points,…drum roll please,….the EAST COAST GREY TEAM!!!  It was a fantastic 3 days for our campers and counselors.  Sweet dreams and until more details tomorrow, ILCUTHERE!

Today is the 3^rd and final day of Color War. It’s been a fierce but friendly 3 days of competition between the West Coast and the East Coast. Yesterday’s rain let up after dinner so we were fortunate to be able to play the TEAM SPORTS for evening activity. The winner of the sports was the Grey East Coast. Yesterday’s decorum points went slightly more to the Grey team, as well.

With yesterday’s activities tallied, along with the decorum, at breakfast this morning the East Coast was still in the lead by 184 points. It’s still anybody’s game. The HATCHET was still out there as of breakfast, as well. A 3^rd and final clue was given out and the kids’ minds were racing with ideas as to where it could be. The funny thing was, the hatchet was pretty much right in front of their eyes yesterday while up on the soccer field for Track & Field! The Grey East Coast team finally found the hatchet this morning during their team meetings. They earned an additional 100 points for finding it today, on the 3^rd day of Color War.

This morning the team meetings were followed by our last day of SPORTS. Here’s a list of the sports that our kids played in with their different groups: dodgeball, tchoukball, gaga, soccer, basketball, softball, touch football, and water basketball. The overall winner of the sports this morning was the grey team. As of lunch the East Coast grey team was ahead.

After lunch we had team meetings and then our big APACHE RELAY. The Apache spans over the course of a few hours and it involves a few hundred campers on each team for a total of 194 tasks each. The kids run from one location to another throughout camp and tag a child in a specific department to do an event before tagging another camper to then run to a different department to perform another event.

The Apache is a big camp tradition and it involves all of our departments here at camp,…and then some! We include a whole lot of fun tasks such as eating saltine crackers and then whistling Yankee Doodle Dandy before tagging another camper to run to the next department listed on the schedule. Other fun activities in the Apache are kayaking around the floating raft in the lake, filling a cup of water using a teaspoon, saddling a horse, beading a bracelet, typing “Island Lake Rules” in different languages in the video room, self-hit a homerun on the baseball field, run to pioneering with a jalapeno pepper in their mouth (Oy vey!), drop in on the half-pipe in the skatepark, deflate a tire in mountain biking, sing the camp alma mater over the PA system in the office, and much much much much more. Our counselors also have some difficult tasks such as doing 100 push-ups or hitting a baseball over the fence on the ball field. The Apache Relay finally ends with all campers and counselors in the gym sitting on the bleachers watching a camper from each team successfully shoot a half court basketball shot.

It’s all about fun during the Apache Relay here at ILC, and it shows. In the end, the blue team beat the grey team by about 9 minutes and change. Although grey lost, Hayden F. made the final half court shot in just 1 try! That’s the 2^nd summer in a row that a camper made the infamous final apache event, the half court shot, in just 1 try! Go Island Lakers! Today’s special feature is the APACHE RELAY! To see more photos from today, just check out our daily summer photos via CampMinder.

Color War closes tonight with our annual Sing. Each team is judged for their creative entrance into the theater. They then take turns performing a March/Fight song, a Comedy song, a Skit, an Alma Mater song, and then they present their team’s Plaque. The entire night is bittersweet and somber as Color War comes to an end. Everyone hugs, some cry, and while the final scores are tallied we play the camp alma mater so everyone join together and sing.

And finally, once the scores are all tallied up, Trip, who is in charge of Color War, stands on the theater stage and announces the winner of the Sing and of Color War overall. The winning team will jump up and scream and go crazy with excitement. The other team will be sad for a moment but they’ll quickly get over it by the time they head to canteen (Lol!). Since this blog is being posted prior to Sing, tomorrow I will post the winner for all of you. Until then, ILC U THERE!

Happy 2^nd day of Color War!   Last night’s rope burn was a very close call with the two team’s ropes burning within one minute of one another. Ultimately, the blue West Coast team won and took the majority of points.

At the end of each day, decorum points are handed out to the teams for cheering, dressing up, banners, sportsmanship, etc. With the decorum points tallied up with all of yesterday’s friendly competitions, as of this morning the leading team with 212 more points was the blue West Coast team.

This morning we had the Track & Field competition and Tug O’ War on the upper ball fields. The Track & Field events were for a variety of groups in each of the following categories: softball toss, sprint, baton relay, medley relay (run, bear crawl, crab walk, back pedal, & cartwheel), long jump, progressive relay, off-road run, and punt, pass, & kick. Each group then competed against one another in a big Tug O’ War. The winner of the Track & Field competition was the grey East Coast team and the winner of Tug O’ War was the blue West Coast team. As of lunch time, blue was in the lead.

Another activity that runs throughout Color war is the “Find the Hatchet” event. The hatchet is hidden somewhere in camp. Our campers (who must be accompanied by a counselor) search camp high and low throughout ILC looking for the hatchet. Clues are given out one per day and are quite difficult to solve. Once the hatchet is found then the clues all make sense and the points are given to the team who finds it.

After lunch today we had rest hour and then team meetings. After the meetings was snack break and then we rearranged the schedule due to rain. We had rain throughout lunch and then later in the afternoon the rain started up again so we ran our Five Period Basketball event (instead of having it for evening activity). It was simply each group playing one another, one group at a time, at basketball. Our campers and staff who didn’t play basketball were spectators and cheered on their team’s players. The grey East Coast team dominated the blue West Coast in basketball. Our kids stayed in the gym for a “cheer off” after the b-ball game due to the rain. Eventually the rain let up a bit so we let our campers go down to the theater for their next Color War event, Battle of the Bands.

Battle of the Banks was an enjoyable event to watch. Our campers (& staff) played a variety of instruments, sang songs related to their team’s names, and each group had a separate battle against one another.  The whole camp stood up on their seats and sang and clapped along with the bands. Everyone was super into it, which was great. There’s been an amazing amount of Color War spirit these past couple of days.

Tonight’s evening activity will be the variety of sports, as long as the weather permits. I’ll keep you posted tomorrow to let you know how the rest of the today goes. Below are photos from the Track & Field this morning. Tomorrow I will reveal the winner thus far in Color War. Until then, we’ll keep the Color War spirit alive and of course, ILC U THERE!

I hope you all had a fantastic Visiting Day here at Island Lake yesterday. Our campers were so excited to share their summer experiences with you, their parents, and it was a very positive day for all. Now that Visiting Day is behind us, Island Lake is all about Color War for these next 3 days. West Coast vs. East Coast has proven to be a great theme thus far with both teams making fantastic use of their team names. Campers and staff are very into Color War right now and the energy is running high.

This morning we had team meetings and then sports for all of the age groups. With lots of energy and excitement for Color War the kids played the following: steal the bacon, dodgeball, gaga, soccer, touch football, softball, touch football, water basketball, hockey, volleyball, and chopped (cooking).

This sunny afternoon we hosted the Swim Meet down by the swimming pool and the lake. A variety of groups participated in the following on the lake: canoe relay, kayak relay, standup paddle board, peddle boat relay, log rolling, freestyle relay, medley relay, kickboard relay, freestyle relay, sweat suit relay, greased watermelon, & swim to the island and back.  Here’s a list of activities that took place in the swimming pool: penny fetch, water basketball, medley relay, kickboard relay, paddleboard relay, & freestyle relay.

After the swim meet ended we had a snack break at the bunks and then team meetings. After the meetings and before dinner we then had the game Unique. It’s a trivia game in the theater and it’s done group by group. The kids come up to the stage and stand before podiums with lights. When a camper knows the answer to a trivia question, whether it is related to the CW teams or camp, they flip a light switch and then answer. They earn points for their team by answering questions correctly.

Tonight’s evening activity is the Rope Burn. The counselors fetch wood and build their fires while the kids cheer them on. The first team to burn the rope with their fire wins. This is such a great traditional Island Lake activity.

Below are some photos from the sports earlier today. For more photos, please view our daily summer photos through CampMinder. Until more Color War scoop tomorrow when I tell you which team is in the lead, ILC U THERE!

Happy Visiting Day everyone! We hope you all had a WONDERFUL Visiting Day today here at ILC! Lots of parents, grandparents, siblings, and more were here to spend the day with their campers. It was a fantastic experience for everyone who joined us today.

Our annual post-Visiting Day water fight was a huge success. It was especially great because guess what happened? Yup, you guessed it! We broke Revival Night straight out of the water gun fight. Both events were a great distraction for those campers who had a bit of trouble saying goodbye to their parents today. The happy-go-lucky camp spirit filled the dining room at dinner this evening (although many didn’t eat because you sent up so much delicious snacks!).

Tonight’s evening activity is Squeaky Clean! They’re a rock and roll band that performs here at camp every summer on the night of Visiting Day. Squeaky Clean covers classic rock and roll oldies but goodies such as “Stop In the Name of Love.” We are excited to sing and dance along with them tonight in the gym. Canteen will be closed after evening activity since there is soooooo much junk food in the bunks right now, but curfews are regular time.

We hope you all had a fantastic time here at ILC today. Until tomorrow when there will be lots of Color War scoop, ILC U THERE!

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!