The Golden Slipper Camp Blog

Return of the GSC Podcast: Season 2, Episode 1 - Aunt Jen Wade Reflects

2009-10-01T13:22:00.008-04:00

That's right, Slipperites, we're back! The summer of 2009 may have sadly faded into the rearview mirror, but the offseason fun is just getting started! We kick off Season 2 of the GSC Podcast with a special episode; Aunt Jen and I actually took a trip to camp just to record this episode in the Pavilion! Listen as Aunt Jen, our 2009 Jerome S. Fuhrman Counselor Spirit Award Winner, reflects on her summer and all things Slipper!

Click the player below or here to listen to Season 2, Episode 1 of the GSC Podcast.

We have some cool shows and topics lined up for Season 2 but, as always, would love to hear your input. Please send us your feedback, questions, comments, or ideas to gscprograms@gmail.com. We'd also love to hear YOUR voice on a future episode of the podcast as well!

Sincerely,
Uncle Brando & Aunt Jen

1st Enc 2009 Olympic Songs Part I: Aliens

2009-09-06T14:50:00.006-04:00

Here are the songs for the Aliens, a team in 1st Encampment's Invasion Bowl. The songs are the culmination of four days of hard work and learning by the campers, and the grand finale of Olympics. All songs are written and learned within four days!

Aliens Cheer ("Milkshake" by Kelis) - The song all about the Aliens
Aliens March ("If You Seek Amy" by Britney Spears) - The song that helps the Aliens march over other teams
Aliens Alma Mater ("I Love College'" by Asher Roth) - The song all about Golden Slipper Camp
LYRICS TO ALL ALIENS SONGS

(Here is the blog entry with links to Monsters’ songs) -- COMING SOON
(Here is the blog entry with links to Zombies’ songs) -- COMING SOON
(Here is the blog entry with links to Robots’ songs) -- COMING SOON

Invasion Bowl Olympic Video

2009-07-26T14:42:00.004-04:00

Uncle Rob, our Visual Arts wiz, created this documentary of The Invasion Bowl that was shown at the conclusion of Song & Sign Competition. All of the footage was filmed and edited during the four days of Olympics!!! Soon I'll be adding the audio podcasts of each team singing their songs on the last evening.

GSC 2009 Podcast - Episode 7: MTV Night

2009-06-12T09:50:00.005-04:00

The beginning of orientation is less than 1 week away! Uncle Devan and Uncle Alex return to our studios and join us as we:

Recap the podcasts
Discuss Camp Council Weekend
Share our MTV Night memories
And argue about the best camp meals

We have also set it up so we can live-broadcast video of our podcasts...meaning you can watch and interact with us while we record the podcasts! We'll share details for the recording of episode 9 (episode 8 has already been recorded and will be added soon).

Click here to listen to Episode 7 of the GSC Podcast

GSC 2009 Podcast - Episode 6: Aunt Jen & The Unoteers...plus Uncle Devan's posters

2009-06-03T17:08:00.008-04:00

This episode is entitled Aunt Jen & The Unoteers, as we are joined in our studio by Uncle Tommy O'Neill, the Vogelson Village Leader, plus Uncles Devan Shimoyama and Alex Kronstadt, who are both general counselors. All three guests, plus Uncle Brando, are proud to call themselves Unoteers!

Listen as we:

Learn about our three guests
Discuss Olympics, including an in-depth interview about Signs/Posters with Uncle Devan
Review some of the awards that recognize GSC's outstanding or exemplary campers and staff!

Uncle Devan's Poster for Team Podcast, created while on the hot seat during Episode 6!
Click here to listen to Episode 6 of the GSC Podcast (there is a silent delay after the intro music)

GSC 2009 Podcast - Episode 5: Olympic Songwriting, plus Uncles Matt Hoffman & Scott Hodson

2009-05-31T12:52:00.009-04:00

We are joined by Uncle Matt Hoffman for episode 5 for a discussion on Gaga, and hear what our group -- which includes a retired songwriter, and veteran songwriter, and a rookie songwriter -- has to say about Olympic Songwriting. Also, we are thrilled to meet and introduce to you a new member to the GSC Family: Uncle Scott Hodson, who joined the podcast from his home in the United Kingdom!

This episode includes:

An introduction of Uncle Matt Hoffman
What is a JC?
A discussion of Olympic Songwriting
Meet Uncle Scott Hodson, the 2009 Bicycling Specialist
Learn about Hava Nagrilla

As always, we welcome your feedback at gscprograms@gmail.com. We would love for you to be a guest host in a future episode!

Click here to listen to Episode 5 of the GSC Podcast

GSC 2009 Podcast - Episode 4, featuring Aunts Steph Shane and Stefy, and Uncle Jeremy

2009-05-27T11:14:00.008-04:00

Episode 4 of the podcast has some audio/technical issues, but still packs a powerful Slipper punch! We are joined in our studio by special guests Uncle Jeremy Creighton and Aunt Stefy Marshall, plus Aunt Steph Shane joins us through the magic of the internet, as we:

Meet Aunt Steph Shane
Hear about Charlie's Angels
Discuss the GSC Family
Describe Leagues
Discuss GSC's Social Network Sites (Camper Ning, Staff/Alumni Ning, and 2009 Staff Facebook Group)

Click here to listen to Episode 4 of the GSC Podcast

GSC 2009 Podcast - 3rd Episode, featuring Aunt Stefy & Uncle Jeremy

2009-05-11T22:52:00.005-04:00

In this episode of the GSC Podcast:

Welcome back Aunt Stefy Marshall and meet special guest host, Uncle Jeremy Creighton, the Adventure Coordinator
Discover some of the differences between Bunk 1 and the Waiters' Bunk
Learn about the Olympic Spoon Hunt
We debate the Top 3 Welcome Show Skits...ever? (Click here to listen to a past episode of the podcast features soundbites of several Welcome Show skits, including Drill Sergeant)
Listen as we share our memories of the CIT program and discuss the CIT Program of 2009
We share some listener feedback, courtesy of Ayana
We give a preview of episode 4

Click the image above to listen to the podcast

2009 GSC Podcast - 2nd Episode, featuring Aunt Stefy!

2009-04-28T12:50:00.007-04:00

In this episode:

Meet special guest host, Aunt Stefy Marshall, a Friends Village Counselor
Learn about Friends Village and some of their traditions, like Friends Stomp and cheers
Camp Traditions: Life in the Dining Hall - Cheers, Birthdays, Atmosphere, & More!
Camp Traditions: What are Olympics? What is a Breakout? What happens during Olympics?
Find about some upcoming GSC Events - Poker, Hava Nagrilla, and the 60th Anniversary

In the next episode (Episode 3), Aunt Stefy is back in the studio, and we are also joined by special guest host, Uncle Jeremy Creighton, Adventure Course Specialist. We'll be sharing some listener feedback while discussing the CIT program, High and Low Challenge, and other exciting things happening at GSC in 2009!

Click the image above to listen to Episode 2 of the Golden Slipper Camp podcast!

This weekly podcast is our way of sharing our excitement for the upcoming summer! This podcast is for anyone who loves GSC, whether this is your first summer, tenth, or you've been an alumni for 20 years.

In each episode, you will meet a member of our GSC family -- or learn a little more about them if you already know who they are; you will hear us discuss a topic relevant to the summer of 2009 and GSC; and we will explain any terminology or traditions that are important for our new GSC family members to know, and fun for our returning family members to hear.

We always welcome your ideas for topics or guest hosts, and would even love to have you as a guest host in an episode. All feedback is welcome at gscprograms@gmail.com!

--Uncle Brando & Aunt Jen Wade

2009 GSC Podcast - 1st Episode

2009-04-17T12:03:00.008-04:00

It's the return of the Golden Slipper Camp Podcast!

In each episode, you will meet a member of our GSC family -- or learn a little more about them, if you already know who they are; you will hear us discuss a topic relevant to the summer of 2009 and GSC; and we will explain any terminology or traditions that are important for our new GSC family members to know, and fun for our returning family members to hear.

We always welcome your ideas for topics or guest hosts, and would even love to have you as a guest host in an episode. All feedback is welcome at gscprograms@gmail.com!

--Uncle Brando & Aunt Jen Wade

In this episode:

Meet Aunt Jen Wade
Meet Uncle Brandon Rubenstein
Learn about how we used podcasts in 2008, and how we will use them in 2009
Welcome Show (Camp Traditions): Why do we call counselors "Aunt" and "Uncle?"
Welcome Show (Camp Traditions): What is a village?
Find about some upcoming GSC Events

Click the image above to listen to the podcast

2nd Enc 2008 Olympic Songs Part VIII: London

2008-09-17T01:15:00.007-04:00

Here are the songs for 2nd Encampment's Team London. The songs are the culmination of four days of hard work and learning by the campers, and the grand finale of Olympics. All songs are written and learned within four days!

London Cheer ("Here We Go" by N*Sync) - The song all about London
London March ("It's Tricky" by Run DMC) - The song that helps London march over other teams
London Alma Mater ("Won't Go Home Without You'" by Maroon 5) - The song all about Golden Slipper Camp
LYRICS TO ALL LONDON SONGS

(Here is the blog entry with links to Rome’s songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to Jerusalem’s songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to Sydney’s songs)

2nd Enc 2008 Olympic Songs Part VII: Sydney

2008-09-17T01:07:00.006-04:00

Here are the songs for 2nd Encampment's Team Sydney. The songs are the culmination of four days of hard work and learning by the campers, and the grand finale of Olympics. All songs are written and learned within four days!

Sydney Cheer ("Shake It" by Metro Station) - The song all about Sydney
Sydney March ("I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry) - The song that helps Sydney march over other teams
Sydney Alma Mater ("There Is'" by Box Car Racer) - The song all about Golden Slipper Camp
LYRICS TO ALL SYDNEY SONGS

(Here is the blog entry with links to Rome’s songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to Jerusalem’s songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to London’s songs)

2nd Enc 2008 Olympic Songs Part VI: Rome

2008-09-17T00:52:00.008-04:00

Here are the songs for 2nd Encampment's Team Rome. The songs are the culmination of four days of hard work and learning by the campers, and the grand finale of Olympics. All songs are written and learned within four days!

Rome Cheer ("Killer Queen" by Queen) - The song all about Rome
Rome March ("Beverly Hill" by Weezer) - The song that helps Rome march over other teams
Rome Alma Mater ("Anyone Else But You'" by The Moldy Peaches) - The song all about Golden Slipper Camp
LYRICS TO ALL ROME SONGS

(Here is the blog entry with links to Sydney's songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to Jerusalem’s songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to London’s songs)

2nd Enc 2008 Olympic Songs Part V: Jerusalem

2008-09-17T00:40:00.009-04:00

Here are the songs for 2nd Encampment's Team Jerusalem. The songs are the culmination of four days of hard work and learning by the campers, and the grand finale of Olympics. All songs are written and learned within four days!

Jerusalem Cheer ("Help" by The Beatles) - The song all about Jerusalem
Jerusalem March ("When You Were Young" by The Killers) - The song that helps Jerusalem march over other teams
Jerusalem Alma Mater ("Leavin'" by Jesse McCartney) - The song all about Golden Slipper Camp
LYRICS TO ALL JERUSALEM SONGS

(Here is the blog entry with links to Sydney's songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to Rome's songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to London’s songs)

Evening Activity Recap - A dance hosted by It Takes Two Entertainment!

2008-09-02T00:43:00.005-04:00

On August 2^nd Golden Slipper Camp had some very special guests. They were Aunt Ilisa and Uncle Mike Noble from It Takes 2 Entertainment. They are past counselors, past CIT Coordinator, past Arts and Crafts specialist, and, of course, past Evening Program Coordinator.

Uncle Mike and Aunt Ilisa decided to bring It Takes 2 Entertainment to GSC to show us how a party should and can be. They brought a whole light and video spectacular to us! We danced while music videos played above our heads, and laughed and sang along proudly when Hava Nagila was played. Of course, the dance ended with Uncle Mike’s signature camp closure song: "Sometimes When We Touch" by Dan Hill. We were very happy to have them back home with us. Pictures from the evening are available here on the GSC Photo Site.

I encourage you to check out their website and videos for any additional information. They were awesome and I hope to see them back at GSC next year.

Sincerely,
Uncle Spoon

Results from 2nd Encampment Slipper Got Talent

2008-08-29T11:41:00.001-04:00

As promised, new material, recaps, videos, pictures, etc. from the summer of 2008 will be added over the next few weeks as I catch up to all of the content we produced. Here is the official acts entered in the 2nd encampment talent show, including the top three finishers. Be sure to check out the pictures on Flickr!!!

Slipper’s Got Talent

Hannah (C) –Why Not? By: Hillary Duff

Skyelyn(D), Bree(D), Kristen (F) – Take a Bow By: Rihanna
Jake(5) – Table/Trashcan Drums
Rosie, Kayla (C) – Listen To Your Heart
Luke(7) – Shot Through The Heart By: Bon Jovi
Devon(6) – With You By: Chris Brown
Shavonne(J), Patrice(K) – Freestyle Dance!!!! To Party Music
Harrison(6) – Performing an Original Masterpiece that’s yet to be named
Kaitlyn(M) – When You Look Me In The Eyes By: The Jonas Brothers
Adi(F) – I Need a Hero : No musical accompaniment
Trey, Voshon(6) – Forever By: Chris Brown
Max(3) – Samba Dance to: La Isla Bonita By: Madonna
Lindsay, Adi, Morrigan – Shake It By: Metro Station

Basil(4) – Rap w/audience participation
Dylan(2) – Human Tricks
Hunter(2) – Impersonation of …
Marc(9) – Simpson’s Comic Book Guy Impersonation
Brian(10) – Magic Trix
Waitresses – Interpretive Dance
Uncle Adam Davis

1^st Place Winner: Max with his samba dance

2^nd Place Winner: Shavonne and Patrice with their freestyle dance

3^rd Place Winner: Skyelyn, Bree, and Kristen singing Take a Bow

Video from Rick Recht's Performance

2008-08-19T11:40:00.002-04:00

The summer may be over at GSC, but reliving the fun is not! Throughout the year we'll be updating this blog with news, pictures, podcasts (plenty that were recorded during the summer as well as newly recorded ones), and videos from the summer of 2008 and beyond!

This first video is provided by Rick Recht and captures some of the fun from his July 22 performance at Golden Slipper Camp.

Be sure to contact us through the blog, at 610-660-0520, or by emailing gscprograms@gmail.com if you have news to share or would like to participate in a podcast!

Olympic Podcast - Jerusalem Girls (Fallon, Valerie, and Ashley)

2008-08-08T14:53:00.004-04:00

This Golden Slipper Camp podcast contains a 14 minute interview with three girls from Team Jerusalem -- Fallon Mashkovich, Valerie Ruiz, and Ashley Barlow -- during Rest Period on Day 2 of the Passport Bowl. The girls desribe the Breakout, explain Marching Banners, and share their thoughts on the Breakout and Olympics in general. The interview ended when I forgot the question I wanted to ask, and when they realized they needed to prepare for the Swim Meet!

Click the logo or here to listen to the podcast - Jerusalem Girls talk about GSC Olympics

2nd Encampment 2008 Olympics - Let the Games Begin!

2008-08-08T10:10:00.003-04:00

That's right, the GSC Olympics have begun, coinciding with today's beginning of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. In keeping with a worldly view, our Olympic theme is the Passport Bowl. The campers and staff were dismissed from the evening activity at 9:30, only to be woken up at 10:30. They were woken up by their Village Leaders, who were frantically scrambling and shouting about "missing their taxi" and "missing their flight." Then, a taxi driven by Uncle Adam K. and Uncle Maarten pulled up to pick up the Village Leader while the rest of the camp made their way to the Pavilion, which had now been transformed into an airport (airtraffic controllers, newspaper stands, concession stands, airplanes, waiting areas). Playing throughout camp, of course, was Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight," the traditional signal that Olympics are breaking out!

Once the campers and staff arrived in the airport, they were welcomed to Slipper Airlines and introduced to eight possible destinations: Paris, France; London, England; Rome, Italy; Barcelona, Spain; Jerusalem, Israel; Beijing, China; Sydney, Australia; and Tokyo, Japan. After a presentation on each city, a set of officers were announced. At the end, Aunt Steph passed the GSC Olympic Torch to Uncle Tom, and he and Uncle Tommy O'Neill lit the symbolic Olympic Fire. With that, the games began!

Here are the four teams selected, along with their officers:

Team 1: Rome (Red)
Captains Aunt Lauren Elias & Uncle Devan Shimoyama
Lieutenants Adam O'Connor & Talia Nisenzon
Corporals Brandon Smith & Imani Herbert
Sergeants Harrison Mask & Alexandra Jmeniak

Team 2: Jerusalem (White)
Captains Aunt Elise Kravits & Uncle Jake Freedle
Lieutenants Frank Reviss & Steph Kates
Corporals William James, Jr. & Brianna Karabell
Sergeants Nadir Boone & Sylvie Cherry

Team 3: Sydney (Blue)
Captains Aunt Sami Magid & Uncle Maarten van Engelen
Lieutenants Brian Drach & Hanna Cohen
Corporals Billy Gilmore & Alex Lauria
Sergeants Deimantas Salininas & Megan Cline

Team 4: London (Black)
Captains Aunt Steph Cottman & Uncle Lee Segal
Lieutenants Casey Smith & Meghan O'Donnell
Corporals Seth Kardon & Patrice Pugh
Sergeants Voshon Mills & Lindsey Kornblau

Our current standings, after 1 day of activities are:
1st: Rome
2nd: Sydney
3rd: Jerusalem
4th London

Good luck to all four teams, and be sure to follow the fun through pictures and here on the blog!

2nd Encampment First Feather Award Winners

2008-08-05T10:10:00.004-04:00

As mentioned in the earlier post about GSC Feather Awards, counselors present two of these prestigious awards each encampment to a deserving camper. We were able to honor our first set of Feather Award winners during our Dedication Day ceremonies, when we also dedicated our new Wellness Center and Tennis Courts. Below is the list of the first Feather Award winners of 2nd encampment for each bunk.

Boys' 2nd Encampment First Feather Award Winners
D'Angelo Williams (Bunk 1)
Nathan Zeyl (Bunk 2)
Josh Tashot (Bunk 3)
Jared Fraley (Bunk 4)
Chris Paige (Bunk 5)
Trey Tolbert (Bunk 6)
Anfernee Williams (Bunk 7)
Vitaly Korotkin (Bunk 8)
Jeffrey Weiner (Bunk 9)
William James, Jr. (Bunk 10)
Nicholas Acevedo (Bunk 13)
John Holmes, Jr. (Bunk 14)
Gabe Broggi (Bunk 15)
Jerel Hart (Waiters' Bunk)

Girls' 1st Encampment Second Feather Award Winners
Nikki Tashot (Bunk A)
Samantha Cherry (Bunk B)
Maria Broggi (Bunk C)
Chelsea Tepel (Bunk D)
Megan Cline (Bunk E)
Alexandria Jmeniak (Bunk F)
Chane Jeter (Bunk G)
Dayzah Watkins (Bunk H)
Alnisha Johns (Bunk I)
Mariah Fisher (Bunk J)
Carly Tepel (Bunk K)
Courtney Marshall (Bunk L)
Kaitlyn Lanzetta (Bunk M)
Taylor Cline (Bunk N)
Kristen Mattison (Bunk O)
Brianna McAndrews (Bunk P)

2nd Encampment Night at the Races Recap

2008-08-01T09:18:00.003-04:00

The evening activity two nights ago was a GSC classic, Night at the Races. For this activity, campers and counselors are selected to compete in various races. The fun part is that each bunk tries to predict the winner of the each race, and a correct guess earns you a point. Be sure to check out the 1st Encampment recap, which describes each of the events in more detail and lists the 1st encampment winners. Here are the results from each race:

Three-Legged Race
This is a traditional three-legged race, featuring bandanas supplied by Uncles Chad and Rome. Brittany Manzano & Davida Wilson defeated our 2-time defending champion Nikita Kovalenko and his partner, Max Miloslavsky, who fell down just short of the finish line, as well as Kayla Rojas & Lindsay Kornblau.

Leap Frog
This is a traditional leap frog contest. The defending champs are not here this encampment, so this race was full of challengers. Trey Tolbert & Megan Cline defeated Mitchell Ayzenberg & Kylie Clancy, and Harrison Mask & Alexandra Jmeniak.

Izzy Dizzy Bat Race
This race featured three counselor/camper pairings. The campers have to spin on a bat 5 times, then run and tag their counselors, who have to spin 10 times. Hilarity ensues. Alex Pak, the 2007 1st and 2nd encampment champ, and his new partner, Uncle Tyrone Geary, won 1st encampment's race. Then, this encampment, after we had to redo the race due to a spin-counting error, Alex and Uncle Tyrone defeated Aunt Sarah Rosenberg & Caitlin Rose and Aunt Lauren Elias & Alex Lauria. Alex Pak is now a 4-time champion, with Uncle Tyron as his partner for 2 of those victories.

Water Chug-A-Lug
This contest featured four staff members trying to down a pitcher a water as quickly as possible. Uncle Jared The Pool Guy, the defending champion, decided to sit this one out so we had four new challengers. Uncle Bill Green was a last minute replacement and, while wearing a protective life vest, he defeated Uncle Zack Bell, Aunt Holly Warshauer, and Aunt Amie Craddock to become the 2nd Encampment Champ!

The Dress Up Rematch
This is Night at the Races most storied and fiercest competition, with several repeat contenders. For this race, our male contestants are blindfolded and race to put on clothing. The race featured Uncle Keith Craley (2005, 2006, and 2007 2nd encampment champion), Uncle Chris Hall (2006 and 2008 1st encampment champion), Uncle Leon Sullivan (2007 1st encampment champion), and newcomer Uncle Chris Kerns. This rematch was extremely important because 1st encampment's contest ended amidst controversy. It was a close battle, but Uncle Chris narrowly edged out Uncle Keith by 1.5 seconds! This was a Trifecta, so the official results were:

Uncle Chris Hall
Uncle Keith
Uncle Leon
Uncle Chris Kerns

The Marshmallow Feed
In another race with history between contestants, each team races to eat 17 marshmallows as quickly as possible. Uncle Brad & Aunt Darlene, the 2007 1st and 2nd encampment champions and 2008 1st encampment champions, defeated Uncle Donte Fisher & Aunt Stefy Marshall, Uncle Kurtis Voorhees & Aunt Abby Heller, and Uncle DJ & Aunt Staci Crescenzo. That's 4 in a row for Uncle Brad and Aunt Darlene!

Camper Free Throws
With no defending champion in camp, we had four new contestants in this race. Steph Kates, representing Council Girls Village, defeated Yuri Fedoryshyn (Council Boys) after two overtime shoot outs, and also defeated Brandon Smith (Kadden) and Patrice Pugh (Friends).

Staff Free Throws
This brand new event also had no defending champion. We needed three overtime shoot outs for Uncle Joey McGinty to defeat Uncle Isaiah Richardson. Other contestants included Uncle Lee Segal, Aunt Paige Ormont, and Uncle Omar Waters.

Camper Sibling Egg Toss
Brothers and Sisters teamed up for the egg toss. Mark & Jamie Cylinder defeated 1st encampment champs Drew & Austin Baggaley, as well as Miranda & AJ Porreca and Clifford & Jerel Hart.

Staff Sibling Egg Toss
This race was open to any staff members who had siblings, regardless of the siblings status at camp. Unfortunately, our defending champs Uncle Isaiah and Devon Richardson were unable to compete so we had 5 challengers for this contest. Aunt Lonnie Rosetsky and her brother, Max, won by defeating Uncle Corey Davis and his sister, Cierra, Aunt Kristen Green and her sister, Jess, and Aunt Jen Wade and her sister, Cindy.

Over Under
This race is a traditional Over Under relay race. For this race, Bunk 5 defeated Bunks 9, I (2008 1st encampment champions), and M.

Pictures of the event are available in the 2nd Encampment Night at the Races set on flickr.

Podcasts from the Camper Electives

2008-07-31T17:06:00.003-04:00

Everyday, our Podcast Elective meets to plan and create podcasts. Aunt Jen Wade has been working hard to edit them, so click below to listen to the final camper podcast from the 1st encampment campers, and to hear the first two camper podcasts from 2nd encampment.

1st Encampment Electives - Final Podcast
2nd Encampment Electives - Podcast 1
2nd Encampment Electives - Podcast 2

Be sure to check out the other GSC Podcasts from 1st Encampment Electives.

The first Honor Bunks of 2nd Encampments

2008-07-30T12:16:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to the following bunks for winning our first Honor Bunk Award (for being the cleanest in their village during the week)!!!

Strauss: Bunk E
Vogelson: Bunk 6
Friends: Bunk L
Kadden: Bunk 10
Council Girls: Bunk P (The Waitresses)
Council Boys: The Waiters

Remember, a new Honor Bunk contest starts today!

2nd Encampment Leagues Tug of War, including Podcasts!

2008-07-30T11:34:00.006-04:00

During the summer, campers in each village break up into different teams. These teams will compete in various activities throughout the summer, but the competition officially kicks off with Leagues Tug of War, an evening activity on the fifth night of camp. I was able to chat with several teams and campers, and also to record some of the sounds of Tug of War. Be sure to check out the GSC Leagues Tug of War pictures on the Golden Slipper Camp photo site, and some of the podcasts below!

Leagues Tug of War Podcasts (click the links to listen!)
056 Leagues Tug of War Vogelson 1st Tug

057 Leagues Tug of War Strauss 1st Tug

058 Leagues Tug of War Legends of the Hidden Temple

059 Leagues Tug of War Stretch Marks

061 Leagues Tug of War Caitlin Lanzetta, Alex, Baum, Hannah Cohen

063 Zoolander - AJ Porreca, Mike Regan, Gabe Broggi, Lucien Turkov, Casey Smith

064 Sam Barriskell, Seth Kardon, Marquise Davis, Donte Brown, Brandon Smith, Brett Kardon

065 Luke Valentine and Marquis Romain

Rick Recht Rocks GSC (Podcast)

2008-07-29T10:16:00.013-04:00

On Saturday, July 22, GSC turned into a concert arena as Rick Recht arrived and rocked out for several hours. The fun started before dinner, when Rick met with several bunks to say hello and teach them some of his songs. You can hear the Rick Recht PreConcert GSC jam session in the first podcast below.

Rick received a thunderous GSC welcome when he entered the Dining Hall during dinner, and enjoyed us celebrating a GSC-style birthday. He was so overwhelmed by our spirit as we danced to Listen To Your Heart that he and his band learned the song after dinner so they could cover it during dinner. After that it was time for his concert, which was awesome and featured many campers and counselors singing or playing guitar on stage during different songs. There are many pictures on the GSC Photo Site, specifically in Rick Recht Set 1 and Rick Recht Set 2.

Finally, afterwards, Rick met and chatted with each GSC camper while signing autographs. Some of the podcasts below contain interviews with campers during the autograph session, while others feature songs and cheering from bunks that were waiting to meet Rick. Enjoy!

Podcasts from the Rick Recht Concert
Rick Recht PreConcert Teaching 1
Bunk A Interview after Rick Recht's concert (about the concert itself)
Bunk A Interview 2 after Rick Recht's concert (about GSC in general)
Skye (Bunk D) Interview after Rick Recht's concert
Strauss Interview after Rick Recht's concert
Vogelson Interview after Rick Recht's concert
Friends Village cheering after the concert
Gary Thompson, Bunk 3, talks about the concert

Podcast: Reflections of the Adventure Movie Bowl's Lieutenants

2008-07-27T15:46:00.006-04:00

Each Olympic team has two lieutenants (one male, one female). We select the lieutenants from among the oldest campers, and it is fun to watch them assume a role of leadership and role modeling. The 2008 1st Encampment Adventure Movie Bowl was fortunate enough to have had eight amazing, passionate, and proud lieutenants!

Uncle Chad and I sat down with the lieutenants a few days after Olympics ended for a two part conversation. The first part of the conversation is being used to improve future Olympics at Golden Slipper Camp. The second part of the conversation centered around the campers' experiences in their roles as lieutenants. Their reflections were recorded and are shared in this blog entry. Enjoy =)

-Uncle Brando

Click here to listen to the Podcast featuring reflections from The Adventure Movie Bowl Lieutenants.

1st Enc 2008 Olympic Songs Part IV: The Goonies

2008-07-24T17:46:00.007-04:00

Here are the songs for 1st Encampment's The Goonies team. The songs are the culmination of four days of hard work and learning by the campers, and the grand finale of Olympics. All songs are written and learned within four days!

The Goonies Cheer ("Crank Dat" by SoljaBoy) - The song all about The Goonies
The Goonies March ("Pop" by N'Sync) - The song that helps The Goonies march over other teams
The Goonies Alma Mater ("Scientist" by Coldplay) - The song all about Golden Slipper Camp

(Here is the blog entry with links to Indiana Jones' songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to Jurassic Park’s songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to Back to the Future’s songs)

1st Enc 2008 Olympic Songs Part III: Back to the Future

2008-07-23T19:55:00.007-04:00

Here are the songs for 1st Encampment's Back to the Future team. The songs are the culmination of four days of hard work and learning by the campers, and the grand finale of Olympics. All songs are written and learned within four days!

Back to the Future Cheer ("The Right Stuff" by New Kids on the Block)- The song all about Back to the Future
Back to the Future March ("Walkaway" by Kelly Clarkson) - The song that helps Back to the Future march over other teams
Back to the Future Alma Mater ("If I Could Be Like That" by 3 Doors Down) - The song all about Golden Slipper Camp

(Here is the blog entry with links to Indiana Jones' songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to Jurassic Park’s songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to The Goonies' songs)

1st Enc 2008 Olympic Songs Part II: Jurassic Park

2008-07-22T15:55:00.012-04:00

Here are the songs for 1st Encampment's Jurassic Park team. The songs are the culmination of four days of hard work and learning by the campers, and the grand finale of Olympics. All songs are written and learned within four days!

Jurassic Park Cheer ("Maneater" by Nellie Furtado) - The song all about Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park March ("Accidentally in Love" by Counting Crows) - The song that helps Jurassic Park march over other teams
Jurassic Park Alma Mater ("Over My Head" by The Fray) - The song all about Golden Slipper Camp

(Here is the blog entry with links to Indiana Jones' songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to Back to the Future's songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to The Goonies' songs)

Welcome to 2nd Encampment!!!

2008-07-22T14:45:00.008-04:00

We are now 24 hours into 2nd encampment, and life is AWESOME at Golden Slipper Camp!

The camp-wide fun started when seven buses of campers arrived at Golden Slipper Camp. We meet as a camp family at the main campfire site to officially start the encampment, and then dismiss each bunk one at a time. Each bunk stops by the flagpole first for a bunk picture!

The fun continued last night with the GSC Welcome Show, which is when our counselors and staff members put in skits, sing songs, and otherwise act silly to welcome the campers to camp. Be sure to check out the pictures from the GSC Welcome Show!

Tonight is a big night at GSC: Rick Recht is performing a concert right here! Be sure to check back tomorrow for pictures and a report of the performance! As always, we welcome your feedback, ideas, and suggestions for GSC or the blog! And if you haven't checked out Twitter yet, be sure to join and follow the Golden Slipper Twitter feed!

The End of First Encampment - Award Recipients

2008-07-22T14:16:00.009-04:00

First encampment ended amidst many hugs and goodbyes. It truly was a great encampment! Our last evening activity was, as per tradition, our Closing Ceremonies. In addition to a ceremonial closure to the encampment, we recognize several campers on this evening. We have many great campers at GSC, but on this night we honor Slipper's finest. We award two awards to a camper in each village (Sportsmanship and Citizenship Awards), as well as the Morton Shupak Waiters' Spirit Award, and several camp-wide awards: Steve Saltzman Camper Spirit Award, William Y. Saltzman Humanitarian Award, Moses DeSousa Sportsmanship Award, and the brand new Golden Slipper Camp Family Award, in memory of GSC alumni Chad Elliot Weiss.

Here is a list of the recipient of these awards; these are some of the campers who make Golden Slipper Camp -- and the world itself -- a better place:
Vogelson Village Sportsmanship Award: Anfernee Williams
Vogelson Village Citizenship Award: Jared Roman
Kadden Village Sportsmanship Award: James McNally
Kadden Village Citizenship Award: Matthew Tait
Council Boys Sportsmanship Award: Ken Lozado
Council Boys Citizenship Award: Danylo Zasterkovnny

Strauss Village Sportsmanship Award: Kristen Green
Strauss Village Citizenship Award: Alexis Frey
Friends Village Sportsmanship Award: Cionna Whaley
Friends Village Citizenship Award: Naadirah Rahim-Johnson
Council Girls Sportsmanship Award: Brooke Barlow
Council Girls Citizenship Award: Daja Gibson

Morton Shupak Waiters' Spirit Award: Marcus Brown and Julia Warshafsky
Moses DeSousa Sportsmanship Award: Ilya Gourin and Victoria Warne
Steven Saltzman Camper Spirit Award: Mike Regan and Madison Seitchek
William Y. Saltzman Humanitarian Award: Andrew Hyman and Jasmine Teich
The Golden Slipper Camp Family Award: The Cylinder Family (Zach, Jamie, Brett, and Mark)

Congratulations to all of our award recipients! And a big GSC thank you to every camper who made first encampment so amazing. We hope to see you again in 2009!

1st Encampment's Second Feather Winners

2008-07-16T16:19:00.004-04:00

As mentioned in the earlier post about GSC Feather Awards, counselors present two of these prestigious awards each encampment to a deserving camper. Below is the list of the second Feather Award winners for each bunk. Click the following link to see a list of the first Feather Award winners for each bunk.

Boys' 1st Encampment Second Feather Award Winners
Avery Stein (Bunk 1)
Connor O'Leary (Bunk 2)
Zakary Turner (Bunk 3)
Omari Summers (Bunk 4)
Daniel O'Connor (Bunk 5)
Alex Mazik (Bunk 6)
Zachary Kovalenko (Bunk 7)
Ethan Sua (Bunk 8)
Maxwell Rosetsky (Bunk 9)
Austin Baggaley (Bunk 10)
Casey Smith (Bunk 13)
Daniel Millard (Bunk 14)
Elijah Abdur-Rahim (Bunk 15)
Dwayne Carroll (Waiters' Bunk)

Girls' 1st Encampment Second Feather Award Winners
Bianca Brown (Bunk A)
Tonee Williams (Bunk B)
Simone Lanchin (Bunk C)
Cara Lescott (Bunk D)
Taylor Pugh (Bunk E)
Michelle Sobol (Bunk F)
Rachel Albert (Bunk G)
Michelle Green (Bunk H)
Angel Barfield (Bunk I)
Taylor Lanick (Bunk J)
Bailey Brucker (Bunk K)
Eleanor Fortner-Buczala (Bunk L)
Sasha Woshczyn (Bunk M)
Victoria Warne (Bunk N)
Aunyae Corbitt (Bunk O)
Kristen Mattison (Bunk P)

1st Encampment's First Feather Winners

2008-07-16T11:57:00.005-04:00

Twice each encampment, the counselors of each bunk at Golden Slipper Camp presents a Feather Award to a camper in their respective bunks. The first Feather Awards are given out at the midway point of the encampment are presented to the camper in each bunk who treats others with respect, is a role model for peers, and otherwise makes Golden Slipper Camp a better place. The second feather award takes these criteria into account, but is sometimes also awarded to a camper who displays tremendous improvement and growth during the summer. These are among the highest honors a camper can achieve, and something to be treasured. Here is a list of the first Feather Award Winners for 1st Encampment 2008:

Boys' 1st Encampment First Feather Award Winners
Matthew Bird (Bunk 1)
Tyrone Grant (Bunk 2)
Damani Okuri (Bunk 3)
Christopher Pak (Bunk 4)
Harry Childs (Bunk 5)
Anfernee Williams (Bunk 6)
Daniel Fradkin (Bunk 7)
Davon Chester (Bunk 8)
Mark Cylinder (Bunk 9)
Matthew Tait (Bunk 10)
Nick Apatov (Bunk 13)
William Ladnyak (Bunk 14)
Justin Bryant (Bunk 15)
Igor Lavrov (Waiters' Bunk)

Girls' 1st Encampment First Feather Award Winners
Amanda Manzano (Bunk A)
Rosemarie Mican (Bunk B)
Michelle Patlakh (Bunk C)
Alexis Frey (Bunk D)
Tiffany Teich (Bunk E)
Sabrina Slipchanko (Bunk F)
Chane Jeter (Bunk G)
Madison Seitchik (Bunk H)
Taryn Murphy (Bunk I)
Alyssa Loera (Bunk J)
Sierra Dinvil (Bunk K)
Cionna Whaley (Bunk L)
Michelle Hall (Bunk M)
McKenna Gibson (Bunk N)
Meghan O'Donnell (Bunk O)
Daja Gibson (Waitresses' Bunk/P)

Podcasts made by the campers during electives!

2008-07-15T11:00:00.004-04:00

Each week, our campers have the option to choose an activity in which they would like to participate. They then participate in those activities every morning or afternoon, during periods that we call "Electives." This summer, Aunt Jen Wade took on an enormous challenge by stepping up to run the Podcasting Elective. This means she had to learn the ins and outs of podcasting -- both recording and editing -- to run the elective and teach our campers. She has been learning a lot of the tricks of the trade on the fly, but you cannot tell from the quality of the finished products. We are very proud of Aunt Jen!

Below are their first podcasts recorded and edited by the elective campers and staff. Listen to Aunt Jen Wade (Bunk H), Rachel Albert (Bunk G), Jaia Jeter (Bunk M), Jay Cobb (Waiters' Bunk), Alex Mazik (Bunk 6), Matt Bird (Bunk 1), and Uncle Devan Shimoyama (Bunk 1) as they experiment with the new technology of podcasting and travel around GSC to bring the fun of Slipper to you!

Golden Slipper Camp Electives Podcast 1
Golden Slipper Camp Electives Podcast 3
Golden Slipper Camp Electives Podcast 4
Golden Slipper Camp Electives Podcast 5

Until next time,
Uncle Brando

Interviews with Campers - Podcasts from the Carnival

2008-07-14T12:21:00.008-04:00

Last night was the GSC Carnival, an event we traditionally hold towards the end of the encampment. With the help of our counselors, we transform our Pavilion into a fun, fun world, complete with moon bounce, cotton candy, carnival games, and the ever popular marriage booth and Western Unions table (this is where campers and staff can send messages to friends, campers, or staff who have impacted their summer at Golden Slipper).

You can check out our Flickr photo set for pictures from the GSC Carnival as well as other events at camp.

This year, for the first time, Uncle Brando and Aunt Ali patrolled the Carnival with their podcasting equipment in hand to interview campers about camp, Olympics, friendship, and anything else on their minds! Here are all of those interviews:

Carnival Interview Podcasts
Eric Groysman, Bunk 10
Ellie Fortner-Buczal, Bunk L
Elijah Abdur-Rahim, Bunk 15
Danielle Barlow, Bunk M
Dawson Fontaine, Bunk 1
Rachel Ginsburg, Bunk M
Kaitlyn Lanzetta, Bunk M
Patrick Gibson, Bunk 5
Vitaly Korotkin, Bunk 7
Jeffrey Weiner, Bunk 8
Naadirah Rahim-Johnson & Alyssa Loera (Bunk J), Devon Brown (K), Taylor Pugh (E)
Brooke Barlow (Bunk M) and Tyler Litchfield (Waiters Bunk)
Meryl Warshafsky, Bunk K

Holocaust Museum Reflections

2008-07-12T11:43:00.003-04:00

On Thursday, July 3, four of our bunks traveled to Washington, D.C. for a special trip to the Holocaust Museum. Feedback from campers and staff who attended was both powerful and moving. We asked some campers to share their thoughts and feelings about the experience. Here are links to the blog posts with their thoughts:

LaQuashia Wider, Bunk N
Jazz Teich, Bunk N
Lindsay Goldstein, Bunk N
Alicia Garvey, Bunk O
Dani Schwartz, Bunk O
Aunt Sarah Rosenberg, Bunk N

Feel free to share your feedback!

Holocaust Museum Reflection - Aunt Sarah Rosenberg

2008-07-12T11:40:00.004-04:00

Our trip to the Holocaust Museum was an emotional and unforgettable experience that I’m glad I could share with my campers. The trip to the museum gave a clear understanding of the Holocaust’s cruelty and damage and gave the campers an inside look on what happened. I enjoyed the trip a great deal as did the rest of the group. It is an important place, not only for the Jewish culture but for every child to visit. We appreciate the board sending us to the museum. Thank you!

Aunt Sarah Rosenberg
Council Girls, Bunk N

Holocaust Museum Reflection - camper Dani Schwartz

2008-07-12T11:40:00.001-04:00

What the people went through during such hard times as the Holocaust is simply unimaginable. Innocent Jews, homosexuals, and gypsies were the victims targeted for the extreme suffering. Women’s hair was shaved off and used for mattresses and slippers, children had all their toys taken away, and men were forced as labor workers. Thousands of people were convinced to take showers while in reality the chambers expelled poisonous gas in very cramped conditions. Meanwhile, the Nazis would be watching the captured die in a matter of minutes through a peephole. Nazi control spread rapidly in Europe to parts of Africa. As a result of all the cruel actions by Adolf Hitler and his followers over 6 million people died. The Holocaust Museum has affected me so much, seeing all the struggles innocent people had to endure. Those who lost their lives will always be remembered. All that survived are extremely lucky. Whether they survived the Holocaust or not, each and every person was very brave and their battles through the Nazi invasion will never be forgotten.

Dani Schwartz
Council Girls, Bunk O

Holocaust Museum Reflection - camper Alicia Garvey

2008-07-12T11:39:00.001-04:00

My experience at the Holocaust Museum was a memorable and enjoyable time. My person’s name was Simone Weil. She smuggled little kids from the Nazi War. She made a daycare center for them and got a degree to be a kindergarten teacher. Simone Weil was born in Ringford, France in 1920. I researched her and found out that she didn’t die. She came to America. Simone Weil was only one of many that helped people. The Holocaust Museum was a great experience and hopefully I can get another chance to go.

Alicia Garvey
Council Girls, Bunk O

Holocaust Museum Reflection - camper Lindsay Goldstein

2008-07-12T11:38:00.002-04:00

My trip to the Holocaust Museum was moving. Even though I’ve been there once before, when you’re younger, you don’t get the same effect until you’re older and you can understand more. Personally, being there and just sitting in the presence of all that history made me cry.

Just listening to what they had to say, and looking at pictures of the torture they had to go through just really makes you think, “Why?” “Why would one man hate one race of people so badly that he would think of people as bugs that need to be exterminated?”

I’ll admit, at times, just looking at pictures just made me cry. It’s horrible. I think it was one of the best trips I’ve been on, and I really appreciate having the camp take us there.

Lindsay Goldstein
Council Girls, Bunk N

Holocaust Museum Reflection - camper Jazz Teich

2008-07-12T11:37:00.000-04:00

The Holocaust Museum was a great experience. Though I hadn’t learned much more about the Holocaust, it reminded me of three very important lessons. They are tolerance, love, and forgiveness. Without those three things, we saw what the world turned to. I also see these three lessons here at camp. This camp daily practices tolerance, love, and forgiveness. We are a camp of many different cultures, races, and religions, but we all get along. So in a way, the Holocaust Museum and this camp teach us all that when we all come together and use love, tolerance, and forgiveness, anything is possible.

Jazz Teich
Council Girls, Bunk N

Holocaust Museum Reflection - camper LaQuashia Wider

2008-07-12T11:36:00.001-04:00

The Holocaust Museum was very sad. I was expecting to experience the same thing I’ve always heard about the Holocaust. But I didn’t. It was actually interesting because I learned from a perspective of a little boy named Daniel. Daniel helped me understand how it was for a kid in the Holocaust. The Holocaust Museum taught me a lot and for that I’m grateful.

LaQuashia Wider
Council Girls Village, Bunk O

1st Enc 2008 Olympic Songs Part I: Indiana Jones

2008-07-11T00:34:00.009-04:00

A full Olympic report is on the way, but for now here are the songs for Indiana Jones. The songs are the culmination of four days of hard work and learning by the campers, and the grand finale of Olympics. All songs are written and learned within four days!

Indiana Jones Cheer ("See You Again" by Miley Rae Cyrus") - The song all about Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones March ("Paint it Black" by The Rolling Stones)- The song that helps Indiana Jones march over other teams
Indiana Jones Alma Mater ("Breaking Free" by High School Musical) - The song all about Golden Slipper Camp

(Here is the blog entry with links to Back to the Future's songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to Jurassic Park’s songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to The Goonies' songs)

Check out all of the new posts and pictures

2008-07-08T16:00:00.002-04:00

In case you didn't notice, we have added quite a few entries and pictures today. Here is your guide:

The MTV Night recap blog entry
The MTV Night photos

The Olympic Breakout entry
The Olympic Breakout photos

The Adventure Movie Bowl - Day 1 photos
The Adventure Movie Bowl - Day 2 photos

Enjoy the above links, and check back for Feather Winners and more podcasts featuring campers!

OLYMPICS ARE HERE!!!

2008-07-08T15:31:00.006-04:00

Our routine at Golden Slipper Camp is pretty consistent throughout the entire encampment: we wake up, have electives and bunk activities, eat with our bunks, and enjoy an evening program with the rest of camp. Whether it is Monday, Wednesday, or Sunday, you can expect us to follow that routine.

There is one notable exception: Olympics.

For four days and four nights, the camp is divided into four teams that compete in a variety of events that show off the skills we teach at GSC. Some of the competitions are athletic, like basketball, gaga, swim meet, and tug of war, but we also have plenty of non-athletic competitions. The non-athletic competitions include a song contest, sign contest, speeches, and, most importantly, the two characteristics we value most at Golden Slipper Camp: Spirit and Sportsmanship.

Each encampment's Olympics have a bowl title, which is the theme of the Olympics. The timing and bowl of each Olympics are always a surprise to campers and counselors. They find out these elements after an evening activity or during some other time that we are gathered as a camp, when the 'Breakout' happens. The Breakout is an elaborate skit prepared through a lot of hard work from our administrators.

This year, the Breakout happened after MTV Night on Sunday. We began dismissing bunks from the Pavilion when I, Uncle Brando, shut off the lights and played "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins -- the traditional signal that something special is happening! When the lights cleared, the Breakout began with Uncle Chad and Aunt Irina hosting the 2008 Academy Awards. The 2008 1st Encampment Olympic Bowl is the Adventure Movie Bowl (thanks to alumni Steph Smoluk for the idea!), and the rest of the skit introduced our four teams -- all of whom are competing for Golden Slipper Camp. The teams are Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, and The Goonies. (Click here for pictures of the Adventure Movie Bowl Breakout)

The last surprise surrounding Olympics is who has been selected as a team officer. This is one of the highest honors we can give to counselors and campers during the summer, and they do not take it lightly. For some, like the Captains (staff) or Lieutenants (Council Boys and Girls campers), they only receive this opportunity once in a Slipper lifetime. Here are the team names, colors, and officers for each team:

Team 1: The Goonies (White)
Captains (staff): Aunt Monica Moretsky & Uncle Alex Kronstadt
Lieutenants (Council Girls & Boys campers): Julia Warshafsky & Andrew Hyman
Corporals (Friends & Kadden campers): Cheyenne McCollough & Alex Pak
Sergeants (Strauss & Vogelson campers): Alexis Frey & Chris Neri

Team 2: Jurassic Park (Red)
Captains: Aunt Alexis Yett & Uncle Bill Green
Lieutenants: Erica Eckel & Mike Regan
Corporals: Meryl Warshafsky & James McNally
Sergeants: Tamara Psmenitsyna & Jared Roman

Team 3: Back to the Future (Blue)
Captains: Aunt Abby Heller & Uncle Michael Reeve
Lieutenants: Caitlin Rose & Danylo Zatserkovnyy
Corporals: Gabriel Fernandes & JaNaye Jones
Sergeants: Veronica Dilorio Marsden & Daniel O'Connor

Team 4: Indiana Jones (Yellow)
Captains: Aunt Whitney Ford & Uncle Isaiah Richardson
Lieutenants: Alison Ormont & Ilya Gourin
Corporals: Alyssa Loera & Eric Groysman
Sergeants: Viktoriya Manasyan & Patrick Gibson

Congratulations to all four sets of officers, and good luck over the next four days!!!

MTV Night, featuring a celebrity guest!

2008-07-08T09:32:00.009-04:00

Greetings Slipperites!

Sunday night was MTV Night (click here for pictures of 2008 1st Encampment MTV Night), one of GSC's most traditional evening activities (here are the 2007 MTV Night results). For this activity, each cabin performs a skit or dance to a song of their choice. The bunks work hard on this activity, with almost a week of time spent on choreography and making props and costumes, and it is always fun to see the end products. The 2008 1st Encampment MTV Night was certainly one of the most entertaining we have ever had, with 15 well-produced skits and lots of energy in the bleachers.

Our judges were comprised of administrators and visitors, including a celebrity guest! The administrator judges were nurses Aunt Elizabeth and Aunt Jordyn, and head lifeguard Uncle Jared. Our guest judges were former campers Robyn Katz and Brianna Taylor! We were lucky to have two former campers who love GSC return to help us select a winner (more on that in a moment). Brianna also helped make the evening a little more special by performing 4 of her songs and signing autographs for every camper. Brianna has been on American Idol and The Real World and now has 5 songs available on iTunes, and we are very proud of her!

There was one finalist from each village, and an overall winner for the whole camp, which are listed below. Here are the skits each bunk performed:

A&B: Check Yes or No by George Strait
C&D: The Mix Tape by Jack's Mannequin (pictures)
E&F: American Boy by Estelly & Kanye West
Strauss Finalist: Bunks A&B

1&2: Technologic by Daft Punk (pic 1, pic 2)
3&4: Girls, Girls, Girls by Jay-Z (pictures)
5&6: Men in Black by Will Smith
Vogelson Finalist: Bunks 5&6

G&H: This One's For the Girls by Martina McBride
I&J: Our Song by Taylor Swift
K&L: Disturbia by Rihanna (pictures)
Friends Finalist: Bunks K&L

7&8: Ice Box by Omarion (picture 1 picture 2)
9&10: Just My Imagination by The Temptations
Kadden Finalist: Bunks 7&8

13&14: Who Let the Dogs Out by The Baha Men
M/N/O: Supernova Girl by Zenon the Sequel (pic 1, pic 2, pic 3)
15: Time to Say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli (pic 1, pic 2, pic 3)
The Waitrix (Waiters and Waitresses): High School Musical by The High School Musical Cast
Council Boys & Girls Finalists: Bunk 15 and The Waitrix

The overall winner for MTV Night was Bunks 15 with Time to Say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli. Their skit was quite elegant (in a humorous fashion), and it may be the first MTV Night skit ever to receive a standing ovation from the entire camp. Congrats to Bunk 15 on their win, and to every other bunk for their hard work and excellent performances!!!

Independence Day, plus Podcast 06: Sam Barriskell and Brittany Manzano

2008-07-05T18:03:00.005-04:00

A lot of activity has happened since our last formal post (plenty of Twitter posts have been added. You can see them at the top of the blog, or by following the GSC Twitter Feed). For starters, it rained a little bit on our Independence Day celebration -- dubbed "Spoonapalooza" -- but that wasn't enough to ruin our day. We began by celebrating Uncle Tom O'Neill's 2 year anniversary as Director of Golden Slipper Camp, then had a spirit contest, which was won by Bunk D. The day ended with an Independence Bash, DJed by Aunt Sarah Beebe.

We also recognized our the Honor Bunk in each village. The Honor Bunk is the cleanest bunk each week. The winners for cleanest bunks were:

Strauss - Bunk D
Vogelson - Bunk 6
Friends - Bunk G
Kadden - Bunk 8
Council Girls - Bunk P (Waitresses)
Council Boys - Bunk 14

Thursday night was Slipper Book of Records, and we are busy updating our record book. We'll share that here once it is ready. During the activity, I interviewed 10 different groups of campers about their first week of camp, their counselors, and anything else they wanted to share. I am working hard to prepare those files for the internet. The first one is ready and you can listen to GSC Podcast 06 by clicking the link. It features Sam Barriskell and Brittany Manzano, two campers who are having a lot of fun at GSC!

Podcast 06 - Sam Barriskell and Brittany Manzano

Until next time,
Uncle Brando

Night at the Races Recap

2008-07-02T17:01:00.013-04:00

Last night was a GSC classic, Night at the Races. For this activity, campers and counselors are selected to compete in various races. The fun part is that each bunk tries to predict the winner of the each race, and a correct guess earns you a point. Be sure to check out the Waitresses bunk podcast, where they recap it a little bit. Here are the results from each race:

Three-Legged Race
This is a traditional three-legged race, featuring bandanas supplied by Uncles Chad and Rom. Matt Apt & Nikita Kovalenko, our champions from 1st encampment 2007, defeated Gabrielle Hunt (2nd encampment 2007 champion) & Alexis Frye, as well as Winter Dyllard & Tiffany Pienkowski.

Leap Frog
This is a traditional leap frog contest. It began with a marvelous demonstration from Uncles Tom and Tommy O'Neill, and then the race was underway! There was no defending champ, so this race was full of challengers. Justin Citron & Janae Griffin defeated Vladhimir Theophile & Michelle Kopaygorodski and Luke Valentine & Jackie Kopaygorodski.

Izzy Dizzy Bat Race
This race featured three counselor/camper pairings. The campers have to spin on a bat 3 times, then run and tag their counselors, who have to spin 7 times. Hilarity ensues. Alex Pak, the 2007 1st and 2nd encampment champ, and his new partner, Uncle Tyrone, defeated Aunt Emily & Michelle Green and Aunt Rae & Cheyenne McCollough. Stay tuned for next encampment, when Alex tries to become a 4-time champion!

Water Chug-A-Lug
This contest featured four staff members trying to down a pitcher a water as quickly as possible. The official results were:

Uncle Jared, the pool guy
Uncle Rome, the bandana bandit
Aunt Sarah B., the lakefront coordinator
Aunt Holly, the Council Girls Village Leader

The Dress Up Rematch
This is Night at the Races most storied and fiercest competition, with several repeat contenders. For this race, our male contestants are blindfolded and race to put on clothing. The race featured Uncle Keith (2005, 2006, and 2007 2nd encampment champion), Uncle Chris Hall (2006 champion), Uncle Leon (2007 1st encampment champion), and newcomer Uncle Mike Tosti. It was a close battle, but Uncle Chris narrowly edged out Uncle Keith. There was a fierce debate afterwards, but it will have to be settled during 2nd encampment!

The Marshmallow Feed
In another race with history between contestants, each team races to eat 17 marshmallows as quickly as possible. Uncle Brad & Aunt Darlene, the 2007 1st and 2nd encampment champions, came back on their off night to defeat Uncle Chris Hall & Aunt Ilana, Uncle Kurtis & Aunt Abby, and Uncle DJ & Aunt Staci -- who even tried to make the marshmallows more appealing by covering them with chocolate!

Free Throws
With no defending champion in camp, we had four new contestants in this race. Victoria Warne defeated Uncle Corey Davis, Kenith Lozada, and Alison Ormont, and is officially GSC's sharpshooter!

Camper Sibling Egg Toss
Brothers and Sisters teamed up for the egg toss. Drew & Austin Baggaley defeated Meryl & Julia Warshafsky, Brett & Seth Kardon (who sacrificed their egg for entertainment purposes), and Chris & Nikolas Neri.

Staff Sibling Egg Toss
This race was open to any staff members who had siblings, regardless of the siblings status at camp. Here is the final standings:
4. Aunt Elise & Uncle Randy Kravitz
3. Uncle Bill & Kristen Green
t2. Aunt Nickee & Josef Plaksen
t2. Uncle Bruce & Brooke Barlow
t2. Uncle Omar & Cindy Wade
CHAMPS: Uncle Devon & Uncle Isaiah Richardson

Over Under
This race is a traditional Over Under relay race. For this race, Bunk I defeated Bunks 7, 3 (2007 1st and 2nd encampment champions), and M.

Balloon Burst
Pairs of counselors have to pop four balloons each without using their hands. Aunt Jen, defending champion, & Uncle Adam Eisman defeated Aunt Sarah Frankwich & Uncle Jake, Aunt Ellen & Uncle Sean, and Aunt Courtney & Uncle Devan Shimoyama.

Pictures of the event are available in the Night at the Races set on flickr.

Podcast 05 - The Waitresses at Arts & Crafts

2008-07-02T16:41:00.004-04:00

I decided to visit Arts & Crafts today and had the opportunity to talk with some of our waitresses as they worked on their projects. We discussed being a waitress, last night’s evening activity, and Olympics, which you can hear in our GSC Podcast 05: Waitresses at Arts & Crafts.

Click here to listen to GSC Podcast 05

I hope you enjoyed listening to Ariella, Jackie, Kristen, Fallon, and Julia. I have a few other pieces of camp sounds that will be in a future edit, and Aunt Jen is working hard on editing the week 1 morning electives podcast, created by campers!

In the meantime, check out the Golden Slipper Camp blog and the pictures on Flickr, which you can access through the blog!

A message from Uncle Tom, Director of GSC

2008-07-01T22:34:00.001-04:00

CAMP 2008

The camp season of 2008 has finally arrived and I am glad to report that we are off to a strong start. The staff spent 5 days at orientation getting to know each other, training, and preparing themselves for camper arrivals. Now that the campers have arrived, the knowledge they gained during orientation is being put to good use.

The campers have been here since June 24th and on the first day noticed changes within the camp program. Our Wiffleball Stadium has been a great success, along with the lacrosse program. Our upper ball field has not seen so much action in a long time. Of course, the campers are enjoying all the activities we have to offer here due to the hard work of so many volunteers throughout the years. It is a joy to see our campers making new friends and bonding so quickly with their counselors.

We are sending 4 bunks of campers to the Holocaust Museum in DC on July 3rd. I have met with these campers and they are very excited and look forward to this trip. Once they get back, check out our blog for their stories. Speaking of our blog, I hope you take the time to visit our website. There are literally thousands of pictures already posted from this summer. Some of the pictures are being taken by campers in our photography elective.

Thank you for the opportunity to share the summer of 2008 with your children.

Tom O’Neill
Director GSC

Tuesday, July 1 recap

2008-07-01T15:06:00.004-04:00

Today is the first day of July and we are in full swing. William Ladynak is on pace to shatter records at the lake, as he has caught 26 fish so far with 2+ weeks left in the summer! Last night was Leagues Night, with a round robin of activities hosted by Uncles Spoon and Chad, and it appears to have been a huge success. Tonight is Night at the Races, where our campers and counselors compete in various races and the rest of the camp tries to predict the winner of each race.

Meals have been hearty: yesterday we had french toast for breakfast and chicken strips for lunch, and today we had eggs for breakfast and chili for lunch. I can't wait to see what we have for dinner tonight!

We're working on editing some more podcasts and will post them as soon as they are ready. In the meantime, check out our Golden Slipper Camp pictures or follow our Golden Slipper Camp Twitter feed!

Sincerely,
Uncle Brando

Counselor Hunt & First Weekend (and Podcast 04)

2008-06-30T10:26:00.010-04:00

Hello Family, Fans, and Slipperites!

The weekend is behind us, and it was full of fun times! Saturday's Welcome Back Dance lived up to its hype, with lots of good music and dancing. Some highlights include Uncle Tyrone and the Bleacher Choir singing "All My Life" by K-Ci & Jo Jo, Uncle Corey Davis beating a waiter in a dance-off, and Uncle Greg leading the whole camp in the "Listen To Your Heart" dance, a relatively new Golden Slipper tradition! All in all, it was a great start to a summer of dances!

Uncle Bill Kovnat, a former counselor and spirit award winner and our current photographer, came on Sunday to take bunk photos. I had the opportunity to sit down with Bunks 8 and 9 and talk to them about The Welcome Back Dance and camp in general. The podcast of that conversation is available by clicking on GSC Podcast 04.

Last night was the Counselor Hunt. For this activity, many counselors hide throughout camp and the rest of the camp tries to find them. Each counselor is worth a different amount of points (Uncle Spoon will announce the point tallies today at lunch). Uncle Jack Ross, who declared himself the greatest hider in Golden Slipper Camp, offered a prize to any bunk that could find him. Bunks I & J found him and will be receiving a prize; Uncle Spoon also shared last night that Uncle Jack was the only counselor worth negative points! The general feedback from campers and staff is that the Counselor Hunt was a lot of fun. As Nate in Bunk 2 said: "That was so much crazy fun...and we didn't even find anyone!!!"

The hunted counselors

It was a perfect weekend...almost. We were able to hold off the rain all weekend until about 11pm last night, but that ended Bunks 5 & 6's campout a little early =( Today is beautiful so far, with a clear blue sky and temperatures in the mid-70s.

Finally, we have created an email address for you to send ideas regarding the podcast, blog, or camp program. For all other inquiries -- like if you have questions about a specific camper or staff member, or camp business -- please call the camp office at 610-660-0520 (Bala Cynwyd office) or 570-629-1654 (Stroudsburg office).

Podcast 04 - First Weekend First Encampment

Until later...
Uncle Brando

Podcast - Staff Orientation and The Welcome Show

2008-06-28T18:11:00.007-04:00

I just finished editing a new podcast featuring the sounds of Orientation and The Welcome Show. Hopefully this captures the atmosphere of camp and the magic we all share. Enjoy it, and I welcome your feedback through the comments section of the blog (click comments at the bottom of this post!).

Also, be sure to check out the blog post with our campers' first podcasts!

Click here for the Staff Orientation and Welcome Show podcast!

Camper Podcast - Meet the Morning Electives Group: Podcasting & Photography

2008-06-28T14:24:00.009-04:00

With podcasts becoming increasingly more popular, Golden Slipper Camp has decided to provide our campers an opportunity to participate in this emerging technology. During the Summer of 2008, Aunt Jen and I will be teaming up with campers during electives (and throughout the day) armed with smiles and Zoom H4 recorders. Our campers will write, record, interview, edit, and publish podcasts so that they can listen to them after the summer and access them when they get older.

Additionally, the podcasts will provide you, our loyal readers/listeners throughout the Slipper world, another opportunity to feel like a part of the magic that happens during the Summer of 2008. We'll be putting up podcasts featuring interviews, Lunchtime News, evening activities, and much more. You can listen to the first GSC podcast, featuring Uncle Spoon and myself, which explains podcasts in a little more detail.

Right now, we are please to share a GSC first, something that keeps GSC at the head of the summer camp class: our first podcasts featuring campers! To listen to the GSC Podcast, featuring the campers of morning electives, click the GSC Podcast Logo below.

Podcast 1 - Meet the Morning Electives Group from Week 1

Also, below is our second camper podcast. In this episode, the morning electives group interviews the campers and counselors from the photography elective as they learn the ins and outs of podcasting.

Podcast 2 - Interviewing the Photography Elective

Day 4 and Going Strong!

2008-06-27T20:58:00.006-04:00

Wow! It's hard to believe that we are approaching our first weekend of first encampment. So much has happened, and starting today we'll be blogging on an almost-daily basis!

Our first night was the Welcome Show, where our counselors and staff perform in silly skits to make our campers feel, well, welcome. Uncle Dylan from Ohio definitely stole the show, as he drew many laughs in "Eggs" and "Emergency Procedures." Uncle Jarad, the Kadden Village Leader, helped whip our administrative staff into shape as "Drill Sergeant," Aunt Steph, the Friends Village Leader, showed why we don't chew gum at camp, and Uncle Joey, the softball instructor, was covered in peanut butter, jelly, and water as Uncle Donte's stand-in in a skit aptly named, "Stand In." Click here to see pictures of the Welcome Show skits.

Day 1 of activities, Wednesday, was excellent, with campers achieving many firsts as they worked their way into the camp routine. Specific accomplishments will be shared throughout the summer right here on the GSC blog! Our new lacrosse program has been a smashing success, and Aunt Ellen is teaching many campers the basics of lacrosse. At the bottom of this page you can find pictures of lacrosse and campers in action. Our evening activity that night was Co-Village Campfires, where two villages paired up to hear stories, sing songs, make s'mores...and to meet other campers and counselors around camp! Uncle Spoon told his famous Purple Gorilla story to Vogelson/Strauss and Kadden/Friends.

It rained Thursday morning, but it takes much more than some rain to stop the fun at Golden Slipper Camp. Uncle Spoon, the Evening Activities Coordinator, hosted The Human Dutch Auction. The Human Dutch Auction is a camp tradition where the camp is divided into teams that compete in a variety of races and contests in the Wolfson Family Sports Pavilion. Click here to see pictures from The Human Dutch Auction. The theme for the activity was Sports, so the teams were Basketball, Football, Hockey, and Baseball, and the competition was fierce (but fun).

Thursday night was dry enough for Leagues Tug of War, so we all met on the lower ballfield and let the tugging begin. Click here for pictures from the Tug of War. Friends Village counselors won the village tug for the girls' side of camp, and Kadden Village counselors won for the boys' side of camp. The boys' side challenge was that staff from the two villages who lost had to wear dresses to lunch today (Friday). You can see pictures of Vogelson and Council Boys' Counselors wearing their finest women's wear by clicking here.

Finally, tonight was Slipper Cinema. Food for the past few days has been fantastic, with Uncles Tracey, Miles, and Gregg, and Aunt Crystal serving up delicious steak sandwiches, grilled cheese, and more! We also said our traditional prayers tonight to honor the Sabbath and look forward to tomorrow's cookout lunch.

Check back tomorrow for more updates from Golden Slipper Camp, as well as some audio clips from The Welcome Show! And, as always, we welcome your feedback on the comments section of this blog. To leave a comment, just click here.

Sincerely,
Uncle Brando

The Summer of 2008 is Underway

2008-06-22T15:49:00.004-04:00

Hello Slipper Family!

It's only June 22, but the summer of 2008 is well underway. Currently, all 120+ members of our staff are here and making sure that GSC is ready for the arrival of campers on Tuesday afternoon! We have staff from many states across America -- Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Colorado, Virginia, California, Texas, Florida, and Washington, D.C., to name a few. We also have staff from several different countries, including Israel, Germany, Czech Republic, Australia, Great Britain, and Sweden.

Friday night we played a Staff Trivia Game, and last night we had a Staff Campfire complete with stories, games, skits, and sung songs featuring Uncle Adam E. on guitar and Uncle Jarad singing. Myself and the rest of the staff have been having a great time here in Bartonsville, but we can't wait for Tuesday when the rest of you arrived.

Check this blog regularly for more updates on the world of Golden Slipper Camp, which will include news, questions, and other items created by our campers and staff, as well as podcasts featuring campers, staff, and evening activities. Also, be sure to check out Golden Slipper Camp's pictures, which will be taken by Aunt Katie from Australia this summer! Also, be sure to join our Camper & Family Social Network or Staff/Alumni Social Network (18 years or older, please) so you can follow our video updates.

In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment if you have any ideas or news you'd like to share with the Golden Slipper community!

Sincerely,
Uncle Brando

Congrats to New Mom, Vicky (Elman) Silow

2008-06-11T16:07:00.003-04:00

Vicky (Elman) Silow and her husband, Alex, recently welcomed their son, Abraham (Bram) David Silow, into the world. Bram was born prematurely on Sunday, June 8th, at 11:15pm. He is 4lbs and 16.5in. Both mom and Bram are doing very well, but since he's so early he'll be living at the hospital for the next three weeks.

Interestingly, Vicky went into labor while she and Alex were participating in a childbirth and delivery class. Twenty five pregnant couples received a true-to-life demonstration (no additional charge, we are told!), as Vicky and Alex had to leave class to head to the hospital.

The 2008 Dinner Dance Contest - ENTER NOW!

2008-04-28T12:29:00.002-04:00

Golden Slipper Camp prides itself on many fine evening activities, but I think we can all agree that the ultimate evening activity – the one that everyone is talking about and planning for as soon as they step onto Golden Slipper Camp – is the Dinner Dance. Whether discussing potential dates, potential outfits, or even the potential theme, barely a day passes without some mention of the Dinner Dance. And, for the second year in a row, we will be holding a contest to decide the themes of both 1st and 2nd Encampments’ Dinner Dances!

Last year’s contest was a huge success, with over 30 themes nominated and almost 80 members of the Slipper family, including campers, parents/guardians, staff, alumni, and club members participating by either nominating a theme or judging the nominees themselves, and the two winners were a camper and an alumni! The fun did not end there, as a committee of campers and staff members helped bring 2007’s winning themes, Into the Future (GSC in 2107) and Candyland, to life on the night of the dance itself (see pictures here and here.).

This year, we would like even more members of the GSC family to participate in the process. All campers, family, staff, alumni, and club members are eligible to nominate a theme. To enter, you simply need to submit a theme. Submit your ideas (please limit to 2 entries per person) by emailing them to Uncle Brando at goldenslippercamp@gmail.com or through US postal mail to the GSC offices in Bala Cynwyd (215 N Presidential Blvd, 1st Floor, Bala Cynwyd, 19004) with “Dinner Dance Theme” in the address or subject line. Be sure to include your full name and email address or phone number so we know whom to credit if your idea is selected. The contest deadline is May 15 so be sure to enter your idea for a theme on time!

Alumni Spotlight: Cheryl Pollack

2008-04-21T11:31:00.005-04:00

GSC recently heard from Cheryl Pollack, a longtime GSC camper and counselor, who last spent a summer in Bartonsville in 2005. Cheryl graduated from Newman College over a year ago and has been heavily involved working in the arts in Center City, especially in non-profit arts organizations. She has been working as the assistant box office manager at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia since September.

Cheryl recently accepted a summer internship at the Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota, Florida. She will work in their development department, learning all about the wonderful world of development and fundraising. Cheryl hopes this internship will provide an experience that will prepare her for full-time employment in this field, preferably doing development and fundraising with a non-profit arts organization.

Do you have news you'd like to share with the GSC community? Please contact the Golden Slipper Camp Blog to submit your information. It can be about an engagement, wedding, graduation, college acceptance, new job, award, or any other event that you'd like to share with us!

Another Alumni Engagement - Sean Banks

2008-04-11T15:28:00.006-04:00

Sean Banks is the latest GSC Alumni to join the growing list tying the knot this year (Brandy, Marc & Irene, Sara, Brandon, Amanda, Ryan, and Jarad Benn). His fiancee is Tamie DeHay, and the two met during their graduation from University of Texas in 2001.

As for the proposal story, Tamie's birthday was on April 1st. She had no idea Sean would be flying to Denver to surprise her for her birthday, and Tamie cried when she saw him. After about 15 minutes or so Sean surprised her again, this time by proposing. Tamie said, "yes."

Sean and Tamie are looking at locations in the Philadelphia-area and have targeted May 2009 for their wedding.

Lake Olympia in the Fall

2008-03-25T13:31:00.007-04:00

Most of us only witness the beauty of Golden Slipper Camp during the summer months, but each season brings with it new treasures. Fortunately for us, we can now see some of those treasures thanks to Aunt Joanne! Aunt Joanne, who works hard at keeping GSC's landscape beautiful, was kind enough to send along the following pictures of Lake Olympia taken during the fall.

(Click any photo to enlarge it)

Is anyone else ready for the summer?!?

The First Ever GSC Podcast

2008-03-21T09:55:00.011-04:00

We are very excited to present the first ever GSC Podcast! In this episode, Uncles Brando and Spoon explain what a podcast is and discuss the future plans for The GSC Podcast. It is 6 mins 30 secs long.

Until summer arrives, The GSC Podcast will be produced regularly and feature topics designed to keep you informed of off-season developments at Golden Slipper Camp, share memories and stories, and to introduce the world of GSC to new members of our family. This means we will be introducing staff, explaining activities and lingo, and offering other advice that we think will be helpful to the Slipper family. All podcasts will be available for free right here on the blog!

Once summer arrives, podcasts will help bring the Slipper magic to campers, families, alumni, and club members who cannot be in Bartonsville with us! This means you will be able to hear Lunchtime News of the Day, relive evening and daytime activities as shared by the campers and counselor who are experiencing them, and otherwise hear what we are doing at the most wonderful place on earth! Again, all podcasts will be available for free right here on the blog.

Uncles Brando and Spoon would love to include your ideas (or even your voice) in a future podcast, so feel free to leave a comment here or contact them through the Ning sites (campers/parents or alumni/staff) if you would like to be involved! For now, click below and enjoy The GSC Podcast - Podcasting!

Listen to The GSC Podcast
(click to play or right-click to save the file to your computer)

Alumni Birth, Future Legacy Camper! Congrats to Kaitlin Kulla

2008-03-06T17:11:00.014-05:00

Kaitlin Clark, formerly Kaitlin Kulla, is proud to announce that she and husband Adam Clark are proud parents of a beautiful baby girl! Their daugher, Ilyssa Shae Clark, was born on December 10, 2007 at 10:07 AM with a weight of 7 lb 8 oz and length of 19 3/4 inches. Kaitlin reports that Ilyssa is rapidly approaching four months and rapidly growing, too!

Kaitlin was a camper from 1992-1995 and Strauss Counselor in 1997 and 2000. Since leaving GSC she has graduated from University of Florida and is now an attorney just outside of Orlando. Kaitlin is looking forward reconnecting with her Slipper family; you can contact her through the GSC Alumni Social Networking Site.

Congrats to Kaitlin and Adam! We'll save a spot for Ilyssa in Bunk A in 2015!

Alumni Marriage - Brandy Mangan!

2008-03-01T18:54:00.003-05:00

Brandy Mangan, a former camper from 1999-2004, spent a great 6 years at GSC. She graduated from culinary school and moved to New Hampshire to work as a cook at the Balsams Grand Hotel and Resort. It was there that she met Todd Moren. The two were married on January 2, 2008, and Brandy went from Brandy Mangan to Mrs. Brandy Moren

Join one of GSC's Virtual Communities

2008-02-29T17:33:00.003-05:00

We now have two new, great ways for you to be a part of the Golden Slipper Camp community during the offseason. Basically, GSC has its own social networking sites!!! Here is a definition of what that means.

The sites each include areas for communicating with other members as well as for sharing pictures, stories, and more! Best of all, they are safe, secure, and only accessible to approved members from the GSC Community!

Joining is simple: just click the appropriate badge or link below, create a profile, and start connecting (or reconnecting) with members of your GSC family!

Golden Slipper Campers (New & Returning) and Parents/Family

Visit Golden Slipper Camp

Golden Slipper Camp Alumni & Staff

Visit Golden Slipper Alumni

Chew's Clues

2008-02-27T00:37:00.002-05:00

Uncle Jeremy Creighton has uploaded his 1st place winning video for Team Chewbacca, from the 2005 1st Encampment Star Wars Bowl. The theme of the video was "A Children's TV Show," so Uncle Jeremy and Chewbacca decided to parody Blue's Clues. Click below to watch Chew's Clues, which was made in less than 3 days, and be sure to let us know if you find or add any videos that would be of interest to the GSC community!

Find more videos like this on Golden Slipper Alumni

A Slipper Couple and a Tribute Song

2008-02-26T11:21:00.005-05:00

Marc Lyman & Irene Ayzenberg met at GSC before marrying last year. I found this video on YouTube; it is Mark, Irene's brother and a former GSC camper, performing a song that he wrote for their wedding. The GSC reference is early, and I have the lyrics posted below.

The Lyrics to the song (the last two lines are in Russian):
They met at golden slipper camp
Marc was a track star, Irene a badminton champ
Late October of 2005, Marc proposed;
I can't say it greatly changed their lives

Cuz it's been a 10 years comin'
They've been happy for oh so long
It's been 10 years comin'
And they're still goin' so goin' so strong

I had plenty of time to write this song

They went through so much together
Gave support and love no matter the weather
I know that for the rest of their lives
This love will continue to grow and thrive

From the weeklong business trips
To Marc cooking dinners throughout Irene's exam time flips
I don't know how they did it
Must be that Love of this kind is impossible to split

There's just one more thing I wanna to say
Their adopted kittens are great and fun for today
I'm all for family increase
But I'd rather it be a baby nephew or niece

Cuz it's been a 10 years comin'
They've been happy for oh so long
It's been 10 years comin'
And they're still goin' so goin' so strong

There's no better person
For Marc or Irene
Лучше человека нету для марка или для иры
во всем мире

Coming Soon: The 2008 Dinner Dance Contest!

2008-02-25T15:53:00.005-05:00

Last year our Dinner Dance Contest was a smashing success with almost 40 exciting entries that made me wish we had 40 dinner dances in 2007! We also had almost 100 Slipperites participate in the process either by nominating a theme or helping to pick the two winners, including campers, parents, alumni, staff, and members. The 2007 winners, of course, were Candyland (Allison Gusoff) and Into the Future: GSC in 2107 (Taryn Murphy). Pictures of each dinner dance are available here and here.

We want this year's Dinner Dance contest to be even bigger, so start thinking about possible themes. The contest will begin in the next few days and will be announced in the following ways:

Email
This Blog (www.goldenslippercamp.blogspot.com)
Ning (www.goldenslippercamp.ning.com)
Facebook

If you read this blog but want information about the other ways GSC is active on the web, be sure to submit a comment through the blog or send an email to brandonrubenstein (at gmail.com) so you can be added to the appropriate lists!

Sincerely,
Uncle Brando

Coming Soon: The 2008 Dinner Dance Contest!

2008-02-25T15:53:00.004-05:00

Another Alumni Ties the Knot!

2008-02-02T13:41:00.001-05:00

Sara Gillard, a former counselor, has had quite a bit of good news recently: she married Andrew Behal on August 11, 2007, and she and Andrew expect their first child on August 3, 2008! The wedding was in Buckley, Wales, UK, where the new Mr & Mrs Behal currently reside.

Sara worked at Golden Slipper Camp in 2001 through the Camp America program. She was a Bunk A counselor and proud member of Tastykakes and Spider-Man during that summer's Olympic Bowls. While Sara is unsure whether she is expecting a boy or girl, one thing is certain: we expect the baby to be a Golden Slipper camper in 2015!

A New Slipper Baby!!!

2008-01-13T11:11:00.000-05:00

Alysha Brand (nee Yeslow), a former GSC camper, counselor, and village leader, is proud to announce the birth of her daughter! Lillian Fae was born on July 29, 2007, and weighed 7 lbs 9 oz. Both mom and daughter are doing fine, and will be looking for Lillian in Bunk A in 2014!

Congrats, Alysha!

2nd Encampment Slide Shows

2008-01-12T17:04:00.000-05:00

The moment that so many of you have waited for has finally arrived! That's right, the 2nd Encampment Slideshow is now available on the web, or for viewing right here on this page. Thank you for your patience, and be sure to check back soon for videos from MTV Night and Olympics!

GSC 2nd Encampment Slide Show, Part 1 of 3

GSC 2nd Encampment Slide Show, Part 2 of 3

GSC 2nd Encampment Slide Show, Part 3 of 3

Staff having fun in the Dining Hall

2007-08-24T22:59:00.000-04:00

Hi Friends, Family, and Slipperites,

In case you miss some of the fun of a Slipper summer (and how can't you?), I have uploaded a few videos of GSC staff members having fun in the Dining Hall. First up is Uncle Goldy giving a tour of his new house, which he created entirely from things on or around the administrative table during the final dinner.

Cribs, Featuring Uncle Goldy

Second is Uncle Aaron, more commonly known as "Pop Pop," demonstrating the dance he made famous this summer: The Pop Pop Shuffle.

The Pop Pop Shuffle

GSC Trivia
Of course we know the building as "the Dining Hall," but do you know its official name? If you know for whom is the Dining Hall named you can submit your answers here, through the comments section, or to brandonrubenstein@gmail.com

Until next time, be sure to send me your news and other items you'd like to share with the Slipper family!
-Uncle Brando

The First Encampment Slideshow

2007-08-19T21:43:00.001-04:00

Hi Friends, Family, and Slipperites,

The summer of 2007 has ended, but our love for camp has not. It was a great summer, and if you are anything like me you want to bask in the memories and friendships that were created and strengthened during first and/or second encampment.

As promised, I have returned to a faster internet connection and was able to upload the slide show from 1st encampment to YouTube. Unfortunately, the video was too long so I had to split it up into two different parts. Click the respective link below for Part 1 or Part 2. Second encampment's slide show -- as well as Olympic songs, feather speeches, and other summer highlights, will be uploaded periodically as well!

Part 1

Part 2

Don't forget to send me your news, ideas, and camp-related art so that it can be shared with our camp family on this website. Be sure to check this camp blog throughout the log winter, as news, updates, and new videos will be posted on a regular basis!

Sincerely,
Uncle Brando

Night at the Races and Honor Bunk

2007-07-30T09:40:00.001-04:00

Hi Friends, Family, and Slipperites,

We've had an exciting few days here at GSC, and the weather has been activity-friendly despite high humidity and the threat of rain.

On Saturday, GSC was home to an amazing program called Camplified as several artists visited and put on the best concert we've ever had here! To read a newspaper article from The Pocono Record about last summer's Camplified program at GSC, click here. Our guests this summer were Alexa Wilkinson, an amazing acoustic artist, Notar, and Young & Divine.

Alexa started things off in a grand fashion, sharing her coffee house rock and even calling Sabrina K.G. from Bunk G to the stage to perform a song with her (Sabrina and the Radio/DJ elective have been singing karaoke to her CD all summer). You can check out Alexa's music at her website.

Next up was Young & Divine, a rock band from Albany, who won over many fans here at GSC. They were able to keep everyone bouncing and singing along throughout their set, and even tossed some guitar picks into the crowd. You can check out their music at their website.

The final performed was Notar, a jazz/hip hop artist from New York. He sampled some popular songs, introduced some new ones, and in the end had almost everyone on the stage dancing to his beats. In the end, it all added up to the greatest Camplified we have ever had here at GSC! You can see pictures of the event, taken by Aunt Alisa and her campers from electives, on our photo site. Kudos to Alex P., Ethan M., Harry, and the rest of the Helmet Heads who debuted their new dance, the D-Mac!

In other news, we presented our Honor Bunks on Saturday morning. Honor Bunk is the weekly reward to the cleanest bunk in each village. Inspectors for each village judge the 'competition' and also present the award. Here are the winners (and inspectors):

Vogelson: Bunk 5 (Aunt Megan M.)
Kadden: Bunk 7 (Aunt Lauren E.)
Council Boys: Bunk 15 (Aunt Stefy M.)
Strauss: Bunk D (Uncle Devan S.)
Friends: Bunk L (Uncle Zack B.)
Council Girls: Bunk O (Uncle DJ)

Congratulations to all of our Honor Bunks, and hopefully all is well with our readers!
Uncle Brando

Slipper Book of Records

2007-07-27T11:24:00.000-04:00

Hi Friends, Family, and Slipperites,

Last night's evening activity was a lot of fun, and many longstanding Slipper records were broken. The record book is online with new records highlighted in blue, so click here to see if your mark still stands!

Today, during lunch, we will have our next Asherman Cup Challenge. The premise is that GSC is launching its own airline, so we need an ad company to create a logo, slogan, commercial, jingle, brochure, etc. Each village is its own ad company, and we are eagerly looking forward to what each village produces! Details will be shared tomorrow.

Tonight's evening activity is our first dance, and tomorrow night is Camplified!

Until next time,
Uncle Brando

A few beautiful days, and a GSC online store!

2007-07-26T10:46:00.000-04:00

Hello Friends, Family, and Slipperiter,

The weather from the first day has been the exception and not the rule, as we've had nothing but sunshine ever since. Our first two days of activities were a lot of fun, with Bunk B learning Street Hockey (or is it "Huggey"), followed by a game in which Bunk B defeated Uncles Aaron, Tommy, B-rad, and myself by a score of 2-1. The game was a lot of fun and high fives and hugs were exchanged by all afterwards.

Also, Cindy W. and Jamie P. of Bunk N scored several holes-in-one at Mini-Golf, and Chane J. (Bunk F) won a game of Knock-Out, defeating several counselors and campers in the process. Aunt Alisa and the campers who have photography have done a pretty good job documenting our activities in process, so be sure to check them out by clicking here.

Our evening activities have been fun; Tuesday night was our co-village campfires, so our campers and counselors made new friends while learning some camp songs (such as Puff the Magic Dragon), hearing campfire stories, and, of course, eating s'mores. Wednesday night was our Leagues Tug of War, where the campers pulled for their respective teams. The themes for each village are:

Strauss: Greek letters (Pi, Sigma, Omicron, and Alpha)
Friends: Safari (Hippos, Gazelles, Giraffes, and Tigers)
Council Girls: Cheesesteaks (Pat's, Geno's, Subway, and Gooey Louie's)
Vogelson: Transformers (Megatron, ?, ?, ?)
Kadden: Cereal Mascots (Tony the Tiger, Silly Rabbits, Count Chocula, and Cap'n Crunch)
Council Boys: Dead Presidents (Andrew Jackson, ?, ?, ?)

After the leagues tugs, we had a staff tournament (which included the Male and Female Upper Staff as well). The top four villages, which earned points for the Asherman Cup, were:

1. Kadden (def. Male Upper Staff)
2. Council Boys (def. Female Upper Staff)
3. Friends (def. Council Girls)
4. Strauss (def. Vogelson)

Tonight's evening activity is the Slipper Book of Records, in which campers compete to break the marks set anytime from first encampment 2007 to as early as 2001! A copy of the records is available by clicking here, and I will post the new record book in the next few days.

Finally, GSC's online store (operated by Golden Slipper Club & Charities) has finally arrived. It has apparel and products with the Club, Camp and Center for Seniors logos. A portion of the proceeds go to Slipper for our charitable endeavors. To start shopping, click here!

Until next time,
Uncle Brando

2nd Encampment Has Begun!

2007-07-23T23:09:00.000-04:00

Hi Family, Friends, and Slipperites,

First, I would like to extend a warm welcome to our first encampment campers who are now joining our fun from their homes across the Delaware Valley! Be sure to check the blog often and send your suggestions and ideas via the comments section of this blog.

We are now two days into 2nd encampment, and the energy and spirit here at GSC is unbelievable! Our first dinner was filled with plenty of cheering, singing, and dancing, and it was a perfect lead-in to our Welcome Show. Many of our favorite, traditional skits were presented, such as Eggs (featuring a cameo from Uncle Zak during the Dinosaur version), Lemmee, and Amelia at the Bikeshed Running with Scissors, and new skits were also introduced, including a sequel to the Backstreet Boys skit, "Call On Me," and Kadden's Musical Chairs. All in all, it was a very memorable Welcome Show that presented the goodhearted, family feel that we cherish here at Slipper.

Unfortunately our first day of camp was filled with rain -- which means a day full of Rainy Day Activities. Rainy Days are my responsibility, which explains why this is the first chance I have had to update the blog. I appreciate your patience in waiting for an entry, and would like to remind all of our readers that my priority is to contribute to the campers' experiences at GSC; the blog is something that I update during my free time, outside of my responsibilities as Program Director.

Today's Rainy Day Activities were Human Dutch Auction (morning), a collection of races and contests (like funniest joke, most push-ups in 1 minute, etc.), which featured a Sesame Street Theme. In the end, the Elmos (Bunks 1, 5, 9, 13, D, H, L, and Waitresses) edged out the Cookie Monsters, Oscar the Grouches, and Snuffalupaguses for the victory.

The weather was chilly and wet in the afternoon, so we enjoyed Slipper Cinema and our first movie was "Invincible." Last encampment's theme was Ben Stiller movies; the theme for this encampment will remain a mystery until our next Slipper Cinema. Will it be Philly movies, Mark Wahlberg movies, Sports movies, Greg Kinnear movies, or some other theme? Only time will tell!

Tonight's evening activity was Battle of the Sexes 2007. The boys' side, led by their captains Uncles Munch, NeNe, Joey, Zak, Cheese, and Jon, wore blue and white. The girls' side, led by their captains Aunts Ilana S., Hannah, Jen, Lauren E., Emily, and Stefy, wore black and pink. After events such as Basketball Shooting Stars, Hula Hoop Pass, Name that Tune, Math Blasters, Water Guzzle Race, Clothespin Relay Race, and Poetry, the final score was announced: The Girls' side edged out the Boys' Side by a score of 5-4! Congrats to the Girls' Side of Camp!

Well, that's all for today. The weather forecast for tomorrow is sunny and low 80's, so we should be able to enjoy our regularly-scheduled outdoor activities! See ya soon, and don't forget to check out our pictures from 2nd encampment!

Until next time,
Uncle Brando

MENU
Sunday lunch - Chicken Nuggets
Sunday dinner - Spaghetti & Meatballs
Monday breakfast - Waffles
Monday lunch - Pizza
Monday dinner - Chicken Stir Fry

By the way...

2007-07-15T09:46:00.001-04:00

To help you when you browse our Olympic pictures, here are the team colors:

Pirates = Red
Sea Monsters = Blue
Explorers = White
Mermaids = Green

There was only a costume competition, which was won by Team 3 Mermaids.

Olympic Results

2007-07-14T12:01:00.000-04:00

Hi Family, Friends, and Slipperites,

The past week was swallowed by Olympics here at GSC! Before I get into that, I'd like to let you know how the blog works: Some campers submit an entry to me via pen/paper, and then I type and add them to the website. All other entries are written by me (Uncle Brando) when I have a free moment outside of my responsibilities to the camp and campers as Program Director. The campers generally only have access to the computer lab once a week, so they might not see the comments that you leave on the blog. The best way to ensure that a camper receives your message and love is to write them a letter through US mail. As a former counselor and camper myself, there is no more exciting time of the day than when the mail is delivered to each bunk and a camper receives a letter from mom, dad, grandmom, grandpop, a friend, etc.

In GSC news, our Olympics just ended. The theme was the Seven Seas Bowl and our administrators started things off with a spectacular breakout at the lake. Overheard in the crowd was "Wow, this is just like a theme park" and "This is the best breakout ever!" The four teams were the Pirates, Explorers, Mermaids, and Sea Monsters. The activities during Olympics include: Tug of War, Swim Meets, The Whirlpool (Apache Relay), Battle for Atlantis (Jam Session/Trivia), College Bowl (Trivia/Egg Tosses, Pillowcase Relays), General Sports (Football, Basketball, Softball, Gaga, Water Polo), Speeches, Sunken Treasure Hunts, and Dos Fivers. Spirit and Sportsmanship is very important to us here at GSC, so teams (and individuals) are recognized and rewarded for displaying either of those two characteristics.

It was a close and exciting four days of Olympics with a lot of flip-flopping in the standings from one activity to the next. In the end, there has to be a winner, so here are some results:

1. Pirates (Awarded Spirit & Sportsmanship Award for Days 1 and 3)
2. Mermaids (Awarded Best Costume Award)
3. Explorers
4. Sea Monsters (Awarded Spirit & Sportsmanship Award for Days 2, 4, and Overall)

We select an Officer from each village to lead each team. The Officers are selected based on the qualities they have displayed as a leader, citizen, and spirited member of Golden Slipper Camp. It is a huge honor for a camper or counselor to be selected as an Officer for Olympics, and listed below are the Officers for each team. Also, be sure to check out various photo sets from Olympics by clicking here.

Pirates
Captains - Uncle Jack Ross & Aunt Darlene Cerullo
Lieutenants - Marcus B. (Waiter) & Nicole P. (P)
Corporals - Daniel M. (10) & Alicia H. (J)
Sergeants - Jeffrey W. (6) & Kylie C. (D)

Sea Monsters
Captains - Uncle Joey McGinty & Aunt Sarah Beebe
Lieutenants - Bruce B. (Waiter) & Chelsea D. (P)
Corporals - Kydaire B. (7) & Emily VB (K)
Sergeants - Joseph H. (5) and Kristin G. (E)

Mermaids
Captains - Uncle Matt "Munch" Muchnick & Aunt Jennifer Jaynes
Lieutenants - Aaron A. (Waiter) & Kayla E. (O)
Corporals - Alex N. (10) & McKenna G. (L)
Sergeants - Zachary K. (5) & Tiffany P. (C)

Explorers
Captains - Uncle Daleszandro "DJ" Jasper & Aunt Courtney Eline
Lieutenants - Robert T. (Waiter) & Cristy W. (P)
Corporals - Josef P. (9) & Victoria W. (L)
Sergeants - Vladislav B. (6) & Leah E. (E)

Until next time,
Uncle Brando

It's News to Us!

2007-07-08T23:10:00.001-04:00

Hi Family, Friends, and Slipperites!

It has been quite a few days since our last blog because we have been super busy having fun here at GSC. Here are updates on life in Bartonsville:

Camper President - Wednesday, July 4
We held our Camper Elections on July 4th. Shannon S. (Waiters) was elected our Camper President, and Thomas M. (Bunk 8) was elected Vice President. Uncle TO led the swearing-in ceremony before each officer gave an acceptance speech, and then we surprised the camp with the Inaugural Bash -- a 4th of July dance!

Who Dunnit? - Thursday, July 5
Early in the day, we sent four teams of four to Camp Pinemere for the annual 15-and-under Jamboree Basketball Tournament. Our representatives were Cristy W. (Bunk P), Lisa M. (Bunk N), Victoria W. (Bunk M), Aunt Lonnie R. (Bunk C), Rachel G. (Bunk N), Jasmine T. (Bunk ?), Emily VD (Bunk P), Marissa C. (Bunk M/N), Shabazz R. (Bunk 10), Danny Z. (Bunk 14), Lubomir K. (Bunk 14), Yuri F. (Bunk 14), Marcus B. (Waiter), Aaron A. (Waiter), Bob T. (Waiter), and Tyler L. (Waiter). Our teams did well, and Team Cristy/Lisa/Victoria/Lonnie won the female tournament!

The weather that night was beautiful, which meant we could be outdoors and help solve a crime that was committed in Golden Slipper Camp. Ten teams comprised of three bunks each hunted down our administrative suspects, who each provided a clue about the crime as well as the hiding place of the next suspect. In the end, the teams got a chance to guess the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the crime. Team Barcelona (Bunks C, 7, and M) ended winning by providing all of the right facts. During the Inaugurations on Wednesday, Aunt Alysa blinded Uncle Matt H. with her camera flash. Then her and the Vegetarian Council kidnapped him and hid him in the bathrooms of Bunks O & P. They did this because he served them meat sauce for dinner on Wednesday night. Congrats to Team Barcelona for unscrambling our cryptic clues! They received GSC medals for their efforts.

Counselor Fact Night - Friday, July 6
Last minute rain led to a change in the schedule, with Counselor Fact Night on the agenda. Each of our staff members submits an interesting fact about themselves, and then the campers try to match the facts with the staff member by asking yes or no questions. The fun part is at the end, when we reveal the owner of each fact and share stories that accompany the facts. Congrats to Bunks 1 and P for winning. Each camper in those bunks received a Golden Slipper blanket or lunch box.

Slipper Cinema - Saturday, July 7
Tonight, the camp watched "Night at the Museum."

MTV Night - Sunday, July 8
Each bunk performed the skits they have been working on for the past week, and it was one of the best MTV nights in GSC history. The finalists for each village were:
Vogelson - Bunks 5/6 ("Hero" by Enrique Iglesias)
Strauss - Bunks E/F ("Best Friends" by Aqua)
Kadden - Bunks 7/8 ("Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie)
Friends - Bunks K/L ("Do You Know" by Enrique Iglesias)
Council/Council: Bunks 13/14 ("Food Medley")

The overall winner was Bunks 13/14. Afterwards, Upper Staff presented an Olympic Fakeout...some day, very soon, something special is going to happen.

Honor Bunks - Week 2
Strauss - Bunk A
Vogelson - Bunk 6
Friends - Bunk G
Kadden - Bunk 10
Council Girls - Bunk N
Council Boys - Bunk 13

First Accomplishments announced during Lunchtime News of the Day
-Devida in Bunk D shot her first bulls eye!
-Zac J. in Bunk 15 caught his first fish...during his first time fishing!
-Campers in Bunk N shot their first bulls eyes and shot seven of them altogether!
-Casey S. in Bunk 10 shot his 33rd bulls eye of the encampment!
-Kylie and Alexis got their first bulls eye today!

Until next time, have a happy week in the real world!
Uncle Brando

Slipper Idol and First Accomplishments

2007-07-04T15:03:00.000-04:00

Hello Friends, Family, and Slipperites,

We're looking at another overcast day, but that wasn't enough to damper our spirits this morning. We have celebrated 4th of July in a festive manner, beginning with Aunt Jessica Schaffel leading us in the Star Spangled Banner and continuing with American-themed music throughout our Red, White, and Blue Lunch! We also celebrated Uncle Tom O'Neill's one year anniversary as our director with a standing ovation and singing of the TO chant!

In other news, our Slipper Idol talent show was filled with many talented singers. Aunt Audrea and Damani O. (Bunk 2) did a fantastic job hosting, and each act was worthy of winning. Our top 5 finishers, in order, were:

5. Michelle P. (Bunk D)
4. Julia W. (Bunk N)
3. Kylie C. (Bunk D)
2. Ashley C. (Bunk D)
2007 1st Encampment Slipped Idol = Jesse C. (Waiters)!!!!

Congratulations to all of our Slipper Idol contestants!

Also, we have announced the following firsts during the past few days:

-Andrew B. (Bunk 5) learned to drop-in at the skate park and yes; that's a good thing!
-Tonee W. (Bunk A) climbed Lake Road on her bike (a very tough hill)!
-James V. (Bunk 8) learned how to ride a bike (thanks to Uncle Max)!!!
-Vitaliy K. (Bunk 5) did 9 laps in the 3 Minute Race!
-Michelle K. (Bunk F) shot her first 5 bulls eyes of the encampment!

Congrats to all of our campers (and Uncle Max) for another great day at Golden Slipper!

I'm anxiously awaiting the votes for our Camper President!
Uncle Brando

Slipper Idol Contestants

2007-07-03T19:35:00.000-04:00

Hi Family, Friends, and Slipperites,

Today we heard from our three female candidates for Camper President (Madi, Alicia, and Alexis), and tomorrow we will hear from our three male candidates (Dan, Shannon, and Tom). Tomorrow is also the election, of course, and inaugural bash!

Tonight is the final round of Slipper Idol and we have 15 fantastic acts lined up. Below is the list. Who will be crowned the next Slipper Idol?

Sincerely,
Uncle Brando

# Name Bunk Song/Skit
1 Ashley C. D Whatever Will Be Will Be
2 Tiffany P. C Unfaithful
3 Gabbi H. C If We Were a Movie (Hannah Montana)
4 Hilary K. P Part of Your World
5 Harrison M. 3 Dance Inside (The All-American Rejects)
6 Michelle P. D Breaking Free
7 Kylie C. D This is the Life (Hannah Montana)
8 Jesse C. Wa Hotel California (The Eagles)
9 Emily VB K Fallen (Alicia Keys)
10 Taylor P. D Love (Keisha Coles)
11 Alex N. 10 Year 3000 (Jonas Brothers)
12 Robbie T. 13 Hey There Delilah (Plain White T's)
13 Michelle K. F Irreplacable
14 Aunt Jessica S. D ?!?
15 Damani O. 2 Sign Language & Co-host

From Aunt Sue Ellen, Girls' Head Director

2007-07-03T09:37:00.000-04:00

Dear Parents, Friends, Family, and Slipperites,

This is Aunt Sue Ellen reporting for the girls’ side. Things are going well. We are one week into the encampment and we have met up with old friends and made new ones. We are anxiously awaiting the dinner dance. The theme is Candyland this month. I watched Bunk I at high challenge this morning and it was very inspiring. Good things are happening. Keep those letters and packages coming.

Later,
Aunt Sue Ellen

Honor Bunk, Camper Presidents, Slipper Book of Records

2007-07-02T10:36:00.000-04:00

Hello Friends, Family, and Slipperites,

There is quite a bit of nice to report. I'll begin with Honor Bunk. Each day, after breakfast, the bunks work hard to clean their areas and bunks. Then, an inspector comes to each bunk and gives them a score; at the end of each week, the cleanest bunk (with the highest total scores) earns a pizza party and a plaque to display in their cabin! Saturday we gave out our Honor Bunk awards and here are the winning bunks, with the inspectors listed as well:

Vogelson - Bunk 5 (Inspectress: Aunt Jessica Smith)
Strauss - Bunk D (Inspector: Uncle Dave C.)
Kadden - Bunk 7 (Inspectress: Aunt Monica M.)
Friends - Bunk L (Inspector: Uncle Donte F.)
Council Boys - Bunk 15 (Inspectress: Aunt Alexis K.)
Council Girls - Bunk P (Inspector: Uncle Brad K.)

Also, each village held its primary elections yesterday and we have six candidates for the positions of Camper President and Vice President. Our camp-wide election will be Wednesday, July 4, and the candidates are:

Strauss - Alexis F. (Bunk C) (Campaign Manager = Gabby H., Bunk C)
Friends - Alicia H. (Bunk J)
Council Girls - Madi N. (Bunk P) (Campaign Manager = Emily V., Bunk P)
Vogelson - Daniel G. (Bunk 4) (Campaign Manager = Marc F., Bunk 4)
Kadden - Tom M. (Bunk 9) (Campaign Managers = Alex N., Bunk 10, and Nik N., Bunk 9)
Council Boys - Shannon S. (Waiters) (Campaign Manager = Zach C., Waiters)

Finally, several records were broken last night, and those campers' names have been added to the Slipper Book of Records. I have uploaded pictures from the GSC Record Book in three different files which you can see by clicking here. The records broken last night are highlighted in blue. You'll notice that some of our campers (and staff) also hold records in villages that are different from their current village, which means that they set that record in a past year. The last column lists the year and encampment (2007.1 = 2007, 1st Encampment).

Hopefully you enjoy the blog's update, and don't forget to look at our pictures. Aunt Alisa and the campers from her elective class have added a total of 1,558 pictures so far!!! Tonight's evening activity is the Slipper Cinema, and we'll either be watching Heavyweights or Night at the Museum (it's a Ben Stiller night). Be sure to check back often and remember: Some day, very soon, something special is going to happen!

Sincerely,
Uncle Brando

Deal or No Deal & Kadden Camper Entries

2007-07-01T16:06:00.000-04:00

Hi Family, Friends, and Slipperites,

Last night was Vogelson/Strauss Deal or No Deal, and our younger campers certainly enjoyed it. Joey H. (Bunk 5) and Chris P. (Bunk 2) earned 425 points for Vogelson, and Rachel E. (Bunk B) and Kennedy M. (Bunk E) earned Strauss 960 points towards the Asherman Cup. The race for the Asherman Cup is heating up (today we had a "Where Am I?" challenge, where the campers had to identify camp locations based on extreme close-up pictures -- we will post them later for you to guess) and there are a lot of points up for grabs over the next 10 days.

Tonight our campers will try to break records in Slipper Book of Records, and we will post the record-breakers as soon as they are ready. Also, a total of twenty campers are competing in the primaries today, and one representative from each village by dinner tonight. The six candidates will compete to become Camper President and Vice President, each with a variety of responsibilities and privileges. I'll keep you updated on the results as soon as they are ready.

In the meantime, enjoy the following entries written by Kadden campers. And someday, very soon, something special will happen!

-Uncle Brando

Kyle L. Bunk 10
So far, Camp is the bomb-digity. It feels like I've already been here for weeks, yet this is only the morning of day 6. That's most likely because I know everyone. My counselors are all new, but I've known 1 of them for two years. I'm still in the same double bunk as last year, but that was because of maintenence on one of the bunks. My village leader is the best. Go Spoon!

Casey S. Bunk 9
So far I am having fun at camp. The food has gotten so much better. I am beasting up the ga ga pit. My counselors are the best. It is fun to meet new people each year. My village leader is very funny and makes my year here a lot more fun. I enjoy listening to his random facts each day. I am going to play basketball and go to the lake today. I hope I have fun today, and the
rest of this encampment. I am stuck in the same bunk as last year. My leagues team is really beast.

Roman N. Bunk 9
Hey Mom,
Camp is fun. I have awesomerifick counselors. But I'm stuck in the same bunk as last year. So are my friends, but that's still kool. I'm living a non-hyper week so send me candy and drinks and a hat....it's HOT! My village leader (VL) is funny, he is head of the camp and wears a spoon on his hat so we call him Uncle Spoon. He has comic knowledge. Dance was 2 days ago and I
got all "de" ladies with my fly moves. Before that I had something called leagues and we were on teams. The theme is telli-tubi characters. Much Love, Roman

Joe P. Bunk 9
So far camp has been pretty beast. My counslers are the bomb diggity. I've really been liking the food this encampment also. I have been becoming good friends with new people in my bunk, even though I got stuck back in bunk 9, when I was last year. My village leader is the best! Uncle Spoon lives in the middle room of my bunk. I enjoy every second of his weirdness. Uncle B-Rad knows all. Peace!

Vogelson entries & Damani's story

2007-06-30T17:19:00.000-04:00

Hi Friends, Family, and Slipperites,

Today's weather is absolutely beautiful! The sun came out, and we were able to enjoy our first cookout underneath a cloudless sky. Everyone here has their fingers crossed in hopes that the weather continues.

It has been a busy few days, so I apologize for not updating the blog yesterday. Our priority here is to provide the campers with the best camp experience possible, so that unfortunately means that some days the blog will be pushed aside in place of other responsibilities.

Our evening activities the past two nights were Night at the Races and Leagues Tug of War. The races involved many members of our camp family, and the bunks that picked the most winners were Bunks 1 & 5, with Bunk D in a close second. Tonight, Vogelson/Strauss will play Deal or No Deal while Kadden/Friends/Council Boys/Council Girls. Tomorrow night will be Slipper Book of Records, where campers try to break previous highs and enter GSC history. An update of broken records will be shared!

I do want to share entries written by our Vogelson campers, as well as Damani's story. The story was typed first exactly as how Damani wrote it, and second with a 'translation' to help you understand his story.

Have a good day, and don't forget to vote in our Mascot contest (deadline is July 4)!
Uncle Brando

Damani's story
Copter One

Once upon atime there was a man that was relly dumn. he was so dumn wehe was dumner than a cartoon, but one day wile he was walking there was a crane that was carying a big peice of metl for a safe in a new bilding in construson. then, BANG...When the man woke up he was in the hospital. "Where am I?" said the man. "You are in the hospital" said the lady. "You were just in a opraishon and your body parts have been replaced with bionic body parts. soon a sintist will pick you up and teach you." Beep Beep. "There he is now" said the lady. "Gooday old chap" said the sintist. "Hi" said the dumn man. So the sintist tout him all that he knew and the dumn man became a ditctev and travled around the world and solved misteryes. The End.

Chapter One

Once upon a time there was a man that was really dumb. He was so dumb, he was dumber than a cartoon, but one day while he was walking there was a crane that was carrying a big piece of metal for a safe in a new building in construction. Then, BANG....When the man woke up he was in the hospital. "Where am I?" said the man. "You are in the hospital" said the lady. "You were just in an operation and your body parts have been replaced with bionic body parts. Soon a scientist will pick you up and teach you." Beep Beep. "There he is now" said the lady. "Good Day Old Chap" said the scientist. "Hi" said the dumb man. So the scientist taught him all that he knew and the dumb man became a detective and traveled around the world and solved mysteries. The End

Vlad B. Bunk 6 Age 11
Yesterday in the pavilun we had a dance. It was called The Welcome back pajam-a-jam. I was dancing for a long time with Uncle Gabe. Golden Slipper's chefs are better then last year. GSC is the best even the counslers in our bunk like Uncle Chris Kerns, Uncle Aaron Saches, Uncle Tyrone Geary, and Uncle Nir Galia. I would like to say hi to my mom and dad.

Jeffrey W. Bunk 6 Age 11
Last night at the dance it was fun and I boogied on down. The food here is great because we have new chefs. I played basketball for my leagues team the Scorpians. It was fun. Tonight I'm doing night at the races. It'll be fun. Hi Mom. Uncle Chris Kerns is my favorite consulor. Hi Dad. Hi Bec.

Vitaliy K. Bunk 5 Age 11
This is a great camp because this camp has everything like great cookers, allmost every sport. My favorite part is the dances. My favorite food was chicken noodle soup today at lunch. Today I played basketball, but my favorite sport is ga-ga. P.S. Hi mom. send more candy and my skateboard.

Michael M. Bunk 1 Age 8
Play Ga-Ga-Ga. I played kickball. Yesterday I did video. Hi mom, dad, grandmom and pop-pop. I ate a hoagie for lunch today. I love you mom dad grandmom and grandpop. Mom send candy

Camper Passages

2007-06-28T23:45:00.001-04:00

Hi Friends, Family, and Slipperites,

I am very proud to share with you blog entries written by several of our campers. There are four "Camp Reports" written by campers in Strauss. I also have four more entries from campers in Vogelson, a short story by Damani in Bunk 2, and some poetry from Robbie T. in bunk 13 that I need to type...plus tomorrow we will have more camper entries! For now enjoy the following entries, which were typed exactly as how the campers wrote them to capture their exact thoughts!

Alexandria C. - Bunk B Age 8
What I've done at camp so far is.......went to the camp fire and ate smores. We went swimming. I did drama and I'm Molly in Annie. I played on the playground with my friends. My friends are Sofiya, Rachel, and Brittney and lots of more friends. All the countslors are nice, thoughtful, cool, specially sweet, fun, funny and lots of more words.

Rachel B. - Bunk B Age 8
So far at camp I've met tons of friends, tasted delicous food, did drama, met again my village leader, had fun, met my awsome counslers, was embarresed on stage in the welcome show and laughed. I am playing Tessie in Annie. I also have been sleeping and thinking.

Alison N. - Bunk F Age 11
While I've been in camp, I've had a great time. We get to do plenty of activities. The Strauss village leader rocks! The food is good and so is the desert. Our director Uncle Tom does a great job running the camp. I would say this is the best overnight camp I've ever been to, and I've been to alot of overnight camps.

Jackie K. - Bunk F Age 10
Our Strauss Village Leader is the best. She is so much fun. The food is the best. It is the best food in GSC history. The activities are great. There are 33 activities. Some of them are art, basketball, creative writing, and even sign language. My favorite activities are arts and crafts and vollyball. I love Golden Slipper Camp!

Take care, and don't forget to vote on your favorite GSC mascot picture by e-mailing bruben@alumni.arcadia.edu before Wednesday, July 4.

Sincerely,
Uncle Brando

We need your help to check out pictures and vote!!!

2007-06-28T14:07:00.000-04:00

UPDATED AT 3:57 PM (UPDATES IN RED FONT)
Hi family, friends, and Slipperites,

We unfortunately experienced our first significant rain storm of the summer yesterday, which ultimately canceled our afternoon activities. Luckily, we were able to turn the day into a fun, memorable experience for all. First, we extended Lunchtime News of the Day to include a Radio/DJ Sing Off. About 20 campers and counselors sang 20 seconds of a song, and tomorrow we will announce the winners. Kudos to Aunt Jen W. for organizing the Sing Off!

Then, afterwards we met in the Pavilion for our first (and hopefully last) Rainy Day Activity of the summer, The Great Impostor, and this will involve YOU in helping to judge. I will share more details on this aspect in a moment, after I explain the activity. First, each bunk brings a pillow case filled with props, clothing, and any other interesting items that they want to bring. The premise of The Great Impostor is that GSC is starting a spy agency and we need spies who can blend into any setting or scenery. Then, the camp is given a category and they must dress up a camper from their bunk to reflect that category. For example, the categories yesterday were, in order: America, Transformers, Cereal Characters, Muppets, and the GSC Mascot. We saw plenty of Lady Liberty, transforming umbrellas, Toucan Sams, and Kermit/Miss Piggy duos.

The final round is where we need your help to judge. The category was GSC's Mascot. During orientation, the staff selected the Bananas and the He-bros as potential names, so we instructed the bunks that they could dress as either of those or as a suggestion of their own. The entries included a wide variety of camp-related symbols as well as creative uses of the materials at each bunk's disposal.

While other rounds were judged by Aunts Sue Ellen, Steph, and Kristin, this round will be judged by all of YOU! You can view the photos by clicking here and vote by e-mailing your vote (include the bunk number, which is listed under the picture) to bruben@alumni.arcadia.edu. Please vote for your favorite picture/costume and not necessarily the mascot itself; there are several duplicates, and the points for the activity go to the individual bunk.

We would love to involve you in our camp experience as well, and this is our first experiment with a way to do that. We appreciate your votes and feedback, and will constantly look for other ways to use the GSC blog, flickr photos, and website to ensure that we are all one big Golden Slipper family.

In other news, last night's evening activity was our Welcome Back Pajama Jammy Jam Dance - hopefully the 1:15pm poster's son enjoyed it, and thank you Max for responding and sharing the positive feedback with us. The administrators who have been able to update and read the blog (and your comments) have sincerely enjoyed this form of interaction, and it is awesome to see that you are, too. Photos from the dance are being uploaded to flickr as I type this and should be viewable later (I will add a link when they are ready), and Aunt Alisa appreciates your patience. She is taking and uploading as many pictures as possible, and says each camper should be on the site soon!

There are several more "First Accomplishments" to add to the blog, but it is time for me to run the Creative Writing/GSC Media elective. Several more campers have volunteered to write something for the blog and they will be added once the passages are written. They are Rachel E., Alexis F., Rami B., and Brian D. In the meantime, check out the photo site until I have a chance to update the blog and enjoy your day !

Sincerely,
Uncle Brando

I just met with the Creative Writing group, and they were very excited to hear your feedback and to hear that other campers are interested in being involved. Damani wrote an excellent story that will be shared through the blog (and with the camp), and Kristen and Meghan have started illustrating his story. Unfortunately, we don't have a scanner so I can't share their drawings with you!

Also, immediately after the period, a bunk 13 counselor shared that Robbie T. has written some poetry that he would like to share with the blog and the camp, so that will be uploaded before I go to bed tonight. Additionally, Uncle Adam has recruited several Vogelson and Strauss campers who will write about their camp experience for the blog. They will be here in the office in about an hour, and we are excited at how quickly the blog is growing (both here and in the 'real world). In fact, I need to wrap this entry up so that I can attend to my other responsibilities!

Here are the 'First Accomplishments' that we announced yesterday and today:
-Chane J. (Bunk F) shot her first bullseye in riflery!
-Ari M. (Bunk 6), Pat G. (Bunk 3), and Lennon D. (Bunk 3) all dropped-in for the first time at the skate park! Uncle B-rad, our skate park specialist, informed me that this is related to the half-pipe and is a significant accomplishment.
-"Dear Uncle Brando, This year's food is amazing...so give a shout out to the cooks for us! From, Uncle Bill and Bunk 7" That's right, we are eating very well this summer, and everything has been delicious!
-Bunk 5 did the Human Knot in under 5 seconds...shattering the previous record of 2 minutes!!!
-Chris P. (Bunk 2) caught four fish on his very first time fishing!
-Michael Minniti's baseball team won the championship, and he has been nicknamed "The Champ!"

Thanks again, and enjoy your Thursday!
Uncle Brando

TONIGHT'S EVENING ACTIVITY
League's Tug of War (Night at the Races if it rains)

MENU
Wednesday's lunch: Chicken nuggets & fries
Wednesday's dinner: Fried flounder & green beans
Thursday's breakfast: Cinnamon French Toast & cereal
Thursday's lunch: Hoagies & chicken noodle soup

Deal or No Deal & More

2007-06-27T11:08:00.000-04:00

Hi friends, family, and GSC members,

Our Creative Writing/GSC Media group -- Kristen M. (bunk N), Megan O. (bunk M), and Damani O. (bunk 2) -- met yesterday but their interest was primarily in creative writing. The good news is that they have already written some good stories, poetry, and songs, but the 'bad' news is that it means I will be writing today's blog entry. My goal is to have campers be involved in the blog process.

In other camp news, our first Asherman Cup challenge took place at lunch yesterday. Since GSC is one big family, the challenge was to list all of the families who are here this encampment. Aunt Julie is tabulating the results and we will be sure to post them as soon as they are ready. During lunch we also had our first bunks ever eat on our brand new Presidents Deck outside of the Dining Hall. Bunks 6 & M sat together and enjoyed the sunshine, and Uncle Spoon was our roving reporter who gatherer their perspective during Lunchtime News of the Day. Speaking of Lunchtime News of the Day, the following firsts/accomplishments were announced yesterday:

-Ashley C. in bunk D got her first bullseye on the first arrow she ever shot!
-Nunu (Damir in Bunk 1) learned how to ride a bike, and Nate Z. from Bunk 1 learned how to balance on a bike!
-Rami B. in Bunk 15 scored his first goal in hockey by shooting the puck into the goalie's pants!
-Joe, Drew, Vitaliy, and Zach in Bunk 5 all got a bullseye in archery, and Vitaliy created a chicken dance that is a huge hit with the bunk and the archery counselors!
-Rachel G. in Bunk K learned how to row a boat!

As you can see, another day at GSC means another day of amazing accomplishments and firsts for our campers and your children!

The camp was split up for last night's evening activity: Vogelson & Strauss participated in a GSC Spirit (Scavenger) Hunt, where they had a list of GSC-related items to find. The activity was a lot of fun, and Team Fib (Bunks 5 & B) came out as the winner.

Kadden, Friends, Council Boys, & Council Girls participated in Deal or No Deal, and the cases contained Asherman Cup points instead of cash. Each village had one participant: Toodles (Dominique T.B., Bunk 7) for Kadden, Emily V.B. (Bunk K) for Friends, Bob T. (Waiters) for Council Boys, and Amber H.G. (Bunk M). I'll list the point totals that each village won in a moment, but the hero of the evening was Amber, who not only sold her case for more than it was worth, but also talked the Banker into 20 minutes of social time for the four villages! Here are the point totals each village won towards the Asherman Cup:
Kadden - 350 (10 points in the case)
Friends - 200 (.01 points in the case)
Council Boys - 900 (200 points in the case)
Council Girls - 500 (25 points in the case)

That's all the news from here at GSC. Right now we are hoping that the rain holds off long enough for us to get in a full day of activities and a Tug of War tonight. Be sure to check back later for today's news, and to check out our photos. The links are at the top-right of this page!

Happy Wednesday,
Uncle Brando

TODAY'S EVENING ACTIVITY
Leagues Tug of War or Welcome Back Dance (if it rains)

MENU
Tuesday's Lunch: Grilled Cheese & Homemade Corn Chowder, brownies for dessert
Tuesday's Dinner: Roast Beef & Mashed Potatoes, Jello for dessert
Wednesday's Breakfast: Eggs & Hashbrowns

One day in the books...and FOR the books!

2007-06-26T11:45:00.000-04:00

Hi friends, family, and GSC members,

Our first day of full day of camp started at 8:00 AM yesterday (Monday) when Aunt Jen W. broadcast the summer's first radio show on WGSC. The girls' side of camp was able to dance as they walked towards the flagpole.

The weather yesterday was a little grayer than we'd like to see here on the first day of an encampment, but the rain stayed away so our activities were in full force. Here are some of the highlights from the first day, which were shared with the camp during Lunchtime News of the Day:

-Jimmy (Bunk 8) learned how to ride a bike! Uncle Max (Bunk 1) worked with Jimmy to teach him.
-Nicolette (Waitress/P) hit the summer's first bulls eye at archery!
-Aunt Jess S. (Bunk D) hit her first bulls eye ever while demonstrating for the campers!
-Biana (Bunk H) caught her first ball ever while playing softball!
-Everyone in bunks G & H was able to hit the ball during their at-bat!
-Alexis V. (Bunk G) caught the first fish of the summer!
-Rebecca S. (Bunk G) caught 8 fish in 45 minutes!
-Brandon Y. (Bunk 13) caught Bubba, the legendary catfish who lives in Lake Olympia. Bubba has been released and the challenge is out there for the rest of camp to try to catch Bubba.
-Madi, Domonique, Jamie, and Danielle (Bunk O) were the summer's first campers to complete the High Challenge course.

As you can see, plenty of excitement happened yesterday at GSC...and this is just a small sample of the accomplishments!

The evening activity was Co-Village Campfires, complete with s'mores (of course). Each of the three campfires featured stories, sing-a-longs (Strauss/Vogelson sang American Pie, Puff the Magic Dragon, and ...Baby, One More Time), and even skits featuring staff and campers. Once again, the weather cooperated with us so that we were able to enjoy a traditional camp evening.

Today at lunch we will have our first Asherman Cup Challenge, and this afternoon our Creative Writing/GSC Media activity will meet for the first time. This means that the next blog update should hopefully include some passages written by campers! Be sure to check back here tomorrow!

Head on over to www.flickr.com/photos/9141523@N05 for pictures from the summer. Aunt Alisa, our Mama-razzi, is working hard to make sure you can see each camper and each activity! Also, don't forget about www.goldenslippercamp.org, the official site of Golden Slipper Camp and your source for official, administrative information!

Happy Tuesday to all!
Uncle Brando

TONIGHT'S EVENING ACTIVITY
Vogelson/Strauss: GSC Spirit Hunt
Kadden/Friends/Council Boys/Council Girls: Deal or No Deal (for Asherman Cup points)

MENU
Monday's Lunch: Tacos, Pineapple for dessert dessert
Monday's Dinner: Chicken cutlets, corn, rice, and brownies for dessert
Tuesday's breakfast: Waffles and oatmeal

GSC off to a great start!

2007-06-25T11:06:00.000-04:00

Hello friends, family, and GSC members,

1st encampment is off to a great start! Dinner was filled with lots of spirit, and everyone in camp was on their feet dancing to DJ Otzi's "Hey Baby!" before apple pie dessert was served. We even celebrated Devon L's (Bunk D) birthday, which was actually on June 23.

The evening activity was The Welcome Show, and our counselors and staff showed off their hard work. The show started with a surprise performance from the Backstreet Boys and was followed by Uncles Doug and Gabe making music with trashcans and their voices. Aunt Joanne stole the show as she brought down the house with her baton twirling skit.

Be sure to check this blog daily, as we (campers, counselors, village leaders, and myself) will be updating it on a regular basis.

Take care, and happy day to all!
Uncle Brando

Yesterday's Menu
SUNDAY'S LUNCH: Chicken Nuggets & French Fries
SUNDAY'S DINNER: Spahetti & Meat Sauce, Apple pie for dessert
MONDAY'S BREAKFAST: French toast