'Camp' Camp, America's summer camp for GLBT adults, will be offering its 16th annual week-long summer camp experience August 19-26 in southwestern Maine. An all-inclusive price of $1150 includes a full schedule of fun and challenging summer camp activities and entertaining evening social events, along with three fresh, delicious meals a day prepared by a professional chef, lodging in rustic pine cabins, and complimentary round-trip transportation from Portland (Maine) International Airport.
Any GLBT traveler searching for a fun and unique vacation beyond the usual cruise or resort will find 'Camp' Camp the perfect way to end their summer.
Mention Windy City Times for a $100 discount.
Offering a diverse schedule of activities ranging from hiking and canoeing to volleyball and kickball to pottery and figure drawing classes, Camp allows attendees to simply "unplug" for a week and enjoy a distinctive vacation that they can tailor perfectly to their own interests. Evening social events, such as a barn dance with live fiddlers and callers from New Hampshire and an annual Talent/No Talent Show, help round out an extremely fun, playful vacation experience unlike any other. With an annual attendance of over 200 people, 'Camp' Camp attracts a wide age-range of men and women (mostly singles, though about 20% of attendees are couples) from all over the country. The 180 participants registered as of June 1 for this summer's session range in age from 21 to 72 years old and will be travelling to Maine from thirty-one different states (including Hawaii and, for the first time ever, Alaska), as well as Canada, Hungary, and the United Kingdom.
Each year, about 75% of the people who attend Camp have vacationed there before, according to Owner/Director Kerry Riffle of Brooklyn, New York. "We think the number of Campers who return year after year really attests to how much fun Camp is. Not many other vacation destinations have such a high annual return rate", says Riffle. His business partner, Owner/Associate Director Betsy Orr of Portland, Maine, adds that Camp "is truly a one-of-a-kind vacation. It comes with this unexpected bonus of departing with a whole new circle of amazing friends, thanks to the strong sense of friendship and real community fostered by the summer camp atmosphere. Our repeat clientele consistently tell us the biggest reason they return is simply two words: the people."
Riffle admits that a rustic week in the Maine woods bunking with a group of strangers may not be everyone's idea of a vacation. Nonetheless, he thinks skeptics would be surprised at just how fun and relaxing the experience actually is. "Spending a week out in the woods with all that fresh, pine-scented air, where you get to do all these things you probably don't (or won't) do back home…where there's basically no choice but to be free of your cell phone, the internet, text messages — all of that technology that keeps most of us feeling constantly under pressure to someone — it's priceless, especially for those of us who live in big cities."
Furthering the community spirit engendered by the experience, Riffle and Orr have established a staff program to help make Camp affordable and accessible to most everyone. "About half of the people at Camp each year are actually there as part of our staff program," Orr explains, "which allows them to exchange work hours for a reduction in their registration fees." Staff positions are available in both the Operations and Programming areas of Camp with some positions offering the opportunity to attend Camp for as little as $225 for the week. The company's website offers a currently list of available positions.
'Camp' Camp will be accepting registrations for their 2012 session as long as space is available.
'Camp' Camp can be found on the web at www.campcamp.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BestTimeEver. They can also be found on Twitter via @CC_BestTimeEver. A variety of video documentaries about the 'Camp' Camp experience are available on their YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/user/CampCampBestTimeEver .
