Camp Wahanowin Blog

Katie Maalouf - Head Counsellor

As a kid all of my ideas about camp came from the movies, especially The Parent Trap. I always imagined when I did finally get the chance to go, it would be the coolest experience of my life. I’d make friends with people from across the country, who would become my pen pals (yup, in my imagination people still write letters). My cabin mates and I would play funny pranks on one another (I never questioned the logistics of putting a bed on the cabin roof). I’d learn to fence. I’d occasionally write home about being home sick, I’d hate the food, my counsellor’s would be the coolest people in camp, and I’d leave at the end of the season (which would only be two weeks, because I didn’t even know you could go to camp for two months) the happiest girl ever! 

As I got a little older my interest in music and performance outgrew my interest in the Hailey Mills/ Lisday Lohan camp experience, so when I finally chose a camp it was a performing arts one… Yes, I Katie Maalouf attended BAND CAMP! Before you judge, let me explain, I went for music theatre, so it’s a little different… a little cooler! Now I don’t talk much about that part of my life, I call those the dark days, but truth be told I loved it, I loved everything about it, but it wasn’t that camp experience I’d imagined. So after a few seasons I retired my microphone and tap shoes and found Wahanowin.  Continue reading »

Miriam Balsam - Head Counsellor

During the Wahanowin off season, the up and coming summer is always on my mind.   The countdown of days until camp is often accompanied by enthuastic discussions with other Wahanowin staff about new ideas, future program possibilites and a whole bunch of other Waha related topics that often get expressed at rapid speed via text, twitter, instagram, facebook and many times even in person!  We talk about the summer on repeat until that magnificant day when the countdown reaches zero and we finally get to be at camp!  But what I haven’t told many people is that, during those 10 months spent away from camp, I often experience a variety of reoccuring Wahanowin dreams.  I have dreams of singing on the Phyllis Weisfeld stage (and sometimes forgetting my lines), I have that dream where I’m flying over camp and wave down to everyone as they look at me with puzzled expressions because they were unaware that I could fly! I have that classic dream where I show up at camp and realize that I forgot my pillow.   I even had a dream that camp replaced the guest washrooms with a Starbucks!  Wahanowin is a great passion in my life, so much that I am constantly dreaming about being back there. So naturally, I couldn’t be more thrilled to be returning to Wahanowin for my 16th summer in the role of Head Counselor. Continue reading »