Current FamiliesNewsletters

August 14, 2024

Dear Wahanowin Families,

Time is so fundamental to the camp experience. In some ways, we are very regimented. Flagpole is at 8:25am, first period is at 10:20am, lunch is at 1:10pm. But in other ways, time passes by without notice. Campers barely know what day it is (unless it coincides with their favorite meal of the week) and forget about asking them the day of the month. That’s one of the great things about camp: we are always aware of the time, but we simultaneously get to lose ourselves in just being at Wahanowin. If you measure how much you love camp based on how fast time flies by, Summer 2024 was THE BEST!

This was our 2^nd full summer as the Owners of Camp Wahanowin. We have been so warmly embraced by this community that it’s hard to remember when Wahanowin wasn’t a fundamental part of our lives. Thank you for that!

People often ask us what distinguishes Wahanowin from other camps. We have cool activities, amazing programming, and a robust camper care program. Many camps have those features. What makes Wahanowin unique is the way all of that blends together by the people who make it happen every day. The dedication of our team is unmatched. It’s inspiring to see how much time and effort our staff put into making programs memorable. It’s heartwarming to see how much care they put into ensuring our campers, ALL campers, have the experience of a lifetime. Kids get to be their authentic selves while being constantly supported and encouraged. We see it every hour of every day. It’s like nothing we have experienced before.

We were lucky enough to have some alumni visit camp with their young kids this summer, including long-time camper and staff, Josh Benzacar. Something Josh said really stuck with us – that Wahanowin is similar to the way it was years ago but with a new and vibrant energy that is impossible to describe without experiencing it first-hand. Before his visit this summer, Josh hadn’t been to camp in about 8 years.

This summer was full of so many highlights: Waha’s celebration of their Olympiad win, seeing Ava from the BB/Bear Unit getting up on skis for the first time, the out of this world enthusiasm in the theatre for Airbands, Aidan from the LTP Unit winning Survivor, Eagle camper, Nathan, fly at the trapeze. The laughter on our campers faces when the intercamp bus returned from Manitou and its horn didn’t stop beeping for the last 45 minutes of the trip, the joy and exhaustion on the Grad/PG faces after finishing the 12 hour Colour War Treasure Hunt, watching the spontaneous dance off during Wahano-One day, and getting to smash pies in Jack and Richard’s faces as a reward for loudly singing Wahanowin songs. The list goes on and on.

We also love seeing how campers work through the inevitable challenges that come up at camp – sometimes with our support or the support of their staff, but often by themselves. What we noticed throughout the summer was that these kids are resilient and are great problem solvers.

The emotional goodbyes as the buses are about to leave are always so heartbreaking to watch. Today felt extra emotional. There just wasn’t enough time. Sometimes hearing Green Day’s song ‘Good Riddance’ feels a bit cliché. Not today.

Because we genuinely had the time of our lives. Thank you for a great summer!

See you in 2025!!

Elijah and Tia

August 11, 2024

What a weekend!

For our last Friday night, we had the traditional CIT/10-year milestone service. Our oldest campers reflected on their time at camp as they are about to transition to the next stage of their camp life cycle. The CITs are joined by everyone at camp who has been at Wahanowin for 10+ years. It was, as always, a beautiful and emotional service. It is so heartwarming to hear how deeply Wahanowin has impacted the lives of so many people. The service finishes off with a slide show of photos of all campers and staff who achieved their 5 and 10-year milestones at camp this year. This year, we are grateful to have honoured the following recipients.

10 Years: Sienna Glowinsky, Olivia Fuss, Harrison Perlmutar, Jenna Weir and Max Siegel.

5 Years: Maya Altman, Callie Bloom, Talia Collis, Ben Farbman, Gabby Farbman, Myles Gold, Hailey Goldberg, Addison Goldman, GG Green, Jessica Green, Josh Harris, Sammie Isaac, Eden Luft, Markus Luft, Zack Marcovici, Mikayla Sandler, Matti Sher, Kassidy Silverberg, Mayah Silverman, Owen Salughter, Tori Stacey, Charleigh Wade, Romy Weizmann, Richard Coffey, Jordana Ross, and Jack Wiener.

After the service, we celebrated with a party for all the new 10-year recipients along with everyone else who has been at Wahanowin for more than 10 years. It’s a tradition at the party to open a time capsule that was created 10 years earlier. Opening and sharing photos and letters from 2015 was a blast.

On Saturday, we welcomed a large group of campers for our Wahano-One day. What’s really cool is that many of our 10-year recipients vividly recall their Wahano-One day and how much that influenced their decision to make Wahanowin their summer home. This year’s group had a blast. They got to experience the best of camp led by our incredible staff and CITs. Even some of our PG campers joined in to help. It’s really cool to think that those PG campers will likely be staff for the Wahano-One kids one day. The camp life cycle is awesome. A highlight for us was the spontaneous dance party that broke out during lunch. Love it!

On Saturday night, we gathered in the Phyllis Weisfeld Theatre for the staff’s production of The Addams Family. What a fun show! It was a perfect way to end our 2024 theatre season.

Tonight is the finale of Survivor. Stay tuned to learn who is the 2024 ultimate survivor!

We are going to make the best of the few days we have left of Summer 2024 at Waha.

August 7, 2024

We’ve got a big final week coming up.

Team Spotify edged out Team Apple Music in the Grad/PG Colour War. It was a memorable 2 days of competition for the campers and staff. There were so many great moments, but the songs, dances and cheers were a highlight for many.

On Monday, the LTP unit had a great day at the Slash On Water Park in Barrie.

We are welcoming a number of guests to camp this week. First, we have a group of campers from the Reena Foundation who will be with us for 5 days. We have proudly partnered with Reena for many years now. To learn more about the Reena Foundation, check out this link – https://reena.org/about/. A highlight of our CIT program is that our CITS have an opportunity to work with and learn from the Reena campers.

Second, we are welcoming a large group from Green Acres Day Camp for an overnight experience to give these young campers a taste of overnight camp life at Waha.

Our Kids of Courage campers from Israel worked their magic to win this week’s Clean Up awards. The celebrations continue for them!!!

Wahanowin Survivor (yes, like the reality TV show) has become a legendary program at camp. Campers in the Alumni, LTP and CIT units compete to become the ultimate survivor. They participate in 3 days of games, challenges and team councils while living in tents at a top-secret location in camp. They return to the ‘mainland’ for some of their challenges which culminates in the finale before the whole camp in the theatre. We all get to watch the video of what unfolded during the competition and witness the live final vote. This year’s game had an incredible plot twist with the introduction of a PG camper into the game for the first time ever. More news on Survivor to come!

Today, we said goodbye to our 6 week and August two week campers. We will miss them!

So much goes on at Wahanowin!

More news to come…

August 4, 2024

10 days left. Ugh!

With the end of the camp summer approaching, the Seniors reminded us in their service theme to ‘hold onto every moment’. Singing songs like Billy Joel’s This is The Time, we all took a moment to reflect on how so many little moments at Wahanowin are with us our whole lives.

The two-day Grad/PG Colour War is underway. Team Spotify is battling Team Apple Music to see who will take over the music industry. The competition even flows into meals where the campers had an epic dance off at lunch today.

On Thursday, the BB/Bear, Eagles and Seniors got the bubbles flowing at our annual Foam Dance Party. After dinner, the grove joined in and had their own bubble fest which was capped off with pizza bagels for special snack. This is always a summer fave.

The CITS are on “CIT Day Off” today at the local cinema enjoying Despicable Me 4.

While we have less than two weeks to go, some of the best programs are still to come!

Lots more news to come.

 August 1, 2024

Today we needed to Beat the Heat so we celebrated with a Beach Day! The sun was hot, the water was calm and the whole camp stayed refreshed in Lake Couchiching.

All our water activities were open for all campers. To make things fun, campers and staff enjoyed our awesome floating smoothie bar where delicious blends of tropical fruits were served throughout the day. To cap things off, dinner was a beach front BBQ of burgers and dogs. What a perfect day!

Tomorrow, we have several teams competing in intercamp competitions at Camp Manitou. Campers will face off on the hockey rink, on the basketball courts and some will even compete in the water. We can’t wait to meet our friends at Manitou.

An epic 3-day Alumni/LTP Colour War finished a couple nights ago with Team Red declared the winner. It’s so inspiring to see how hard these 14- and 15-year-old campers dedicate themselves throughout the 3 competitions. A highlight this year was the 12-hour treasure hunt where campers battled through heat, rain and challenging clues.

Rehearsals are ongoing for Camp Rock which is one of the first ever camp wide shows. We can’t wait to see it on Saturday night.

15 campers return tomorrow from the 3-day all-star canoe trip in Algonquin Park. We can’t wait to hear their stories!

Tonight is our Foam Party social. A perfect end to a perfect day!

We are continuing to life our best lives up here at camp!

July 28, 2024

Nothing beats the summer sun! The weather continues to be perfect up here on Lake Couchiching.

Friday was the PG service where we celebrated the theme of being Camp Connected. We heard so many stories during the service of campers and staff who met at Wahanowin years ago and how their camp memories are foundational to those friendships.

Grease was the word last night in the Phyllis Weisfeld Theatre with the Alumni/LTP Unit presenting their production, focusing on the lives of the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies.

After the show, the Alumni and LTP unit began their traditional 3-day Colour War, led by camper captains selected from each unit. This year’s theme relates to Pixar’s production of CARS!

The entire camp celebrated last night’s production of Grease with a sleep in and brunch featuring Chef Adam’s classic Waffles! So delish.

Today was Sunday Funday where campers get to choose their activities for the morning. It’s a great way to break up the traditional programming day.

At changeover, we welcomed a group of campers and staff from Kids of Courage for the month. These campers from Israel have family members who were impacted by war. We are so grateful to support this program. The campers are having a phenomenal time!

This week, we have campers of all ages heading out for an epic 3-day canoe trip in Algonquin Park.

There are several legendary camp programs coming up in the next few days. We can’t wait to tell you more!

July 24, 2024

Dear Wahanowin Families,

Second month!!! Today marks the unofficial halfway point of summer 2024. Our staff are refreshed and excited for this new beginning. It was so nice to welcome new faces to camp today!

Our new campers have seamlessly settled into their cabins. That’s one of the best things about camp – the ease with which new campers become part of our community.

Dinner tonight was a Chef Adam special! Indoor BBQ – chicken, grilled salami and the usual amazing salad bar.

All our units are having their own individual evening programs tonight to give them a chance to spend time getting to know our new campers. We can’t wait for our first full programming day of second month tomorrow! The weather looks to be amazing all week!!

It’s a bittersweet day because we also had to say goodbye to our first month campers. First month had the perfect ending with the traditional camp wide Air Band competitions.

It’s the kind of night that you must see to believe. Think of the enthusiasm of a World Cup soccer match. Then multiply it by 7 units. Our new campers have so much to look forward to!

Each unit spends hours and hours rehearsing and prepping for the big night. The camp comes to dinner in their unit colours.  And it’s a dinner like no other. The cheering begins as they enter the Dining Hall and doesn’t stop until the end of dinner. It’s magical.

Once the camp gets to the theatre, the energy goes to a whole new level. WOW! The creativity and talent of our campers and staff is mesmerizing; the noise level is earth shattering; the uninhibited joy is just awesome. But what sets this night apart for us is the enthusiastic support the entire camp shows for every unit’s performance. Every camper gets to feel like a star. It’s a ‘pinch me’ moment for a Camp Director.

We look forward to sharing many more highlight moments with you during second month!

The fun continues here at Waha!

Continue to follow our blog updates throughout the summer!

Elijah and Tia

July 21, 2024

What a great Visitor’s Day we had yesterday! We loved welcoming our families into our summer home to catch up with loved ones and to see first-hand all the ways they have grown. The perfect weather didn’t hurt either. We couldn’t have asked for a better day.

We appreciate that saying goodbye can be emotional, especially for the younger campers. Trust us, any sadness was quickly replaced with the excitement of having to get ready for Wahanoween – the camp wide costume and candy party. Who doesn’t like Halloween in the summertime?!! Our Main Camp campers dressed up in cool and creative costumes and went trick or treating to each cabin in the grove where the older campers handed out candy. It was adorable.

The Alumni unit hosted this week’s service on Friday night. Their theme was ‘I Believe.’  The campers reminisced on the camp successes and talk about overcoming challenging with the help of fellow campers and staff. Of course, the night was filled with a singalong to some of Waha’s greatest summer hits.

Immediately after the service, we were entertained by the Song of the Week which is curated each week by our own superstar, Jenna Weir. This week’s song was exceptionally performed by a group of our staff.

Tonight was the Wahanowin talent show where campers and staff from every unit show off their unique skills for the camp. Some of the highlights included tap dancing, a Backstreet boys remake by a group of staff and the introduction of our Alumni/LTP…GREASE! We can’t wait!!!

We have 2 full action-packed days before the sun sets on first month at Camp Waha.

July 17, 2024

There is something that feels so comfy about being in the middle of the summer. The warm summer breezes, the perfect sunsets and the laughter throughout camp. It’s perfect.

While the highways in Toronto were submerged in water on Tuesday and many homes experienced flooding and power outages, we somehow escaped with only a light rain.

After our sleep in and brunch on Monday, we held our weekly Fun Day. It’s normally Sunday Fun Day but this week was a special Monday Fun Day. It’s a change from our normal programming days. Instead of travelling with their cabins, campers get to choose their own activities!

Yesterday, we hosted the annual Dance intercamp in the Phyllis Weisfeld Theatre where campers from 9 different camps competed in the junior and senior divisions. While the Wahanowin teams didn’t win, their dances were our favourites and had the whole theatre cheering. We’re very proud of our campers; they worked tirelessly on their routines.

The clean-up prize for this week’s super-duper clean up was Starbucks for the whole cabin. As you can imagine, the entire camp was spotless. Campers even left notes to welcome us to their cabins. It was so cute! In a rare victory for our oldest campers, the LTP girls had the cleanest cabin and celebrated their victory with delicious lattes.

Speaking of coffee, today is Tim’s camp day where all proceeds from Tim Horton’s purchasers are being donated to Tim’s Camps, which help underserved youth across North America. To show our support, we bought Tim’s for all our staff and CITs.

The Grad/PG/Alumni canoe trip left this morning. The campers will be heading out to Algonquin Park where they will be seeing some of the best sites in all of Ontario.

The BBs/Bears/Eagles and Seniors had their first dance of the summer which was hosted by Bounce Entertainment. The campers had a blast dancing and singing the night away!

The CIT unit began their second rotations today. They alternate between being with a cabin throughout the day and helping out at a specialty area.

Visitor’s Day prep is underway! We can’t wait to see you this Saturday.

July 14, 2024

What a weekend!

Saturday was a beautiful day capped off by the BB/Bear and Eagle 5-star production of Breaking Bad in the Phyllis Weisfeld Theatre. Elijah and Tia gave it two thumbs up! (and so did everyone else!)

Our post show celebratory sleep in and brunch had to wait another day because immediately after the play the camp was surprised with the 23^rd annual Olympiad opening ceremonies. Campers are forever on Team Waha or Team Nowin, which ensures all competitors are fiercely loyal to their team.

The opening ceremonies is always one of the most breathtaking and spine-tingling nights at camp – the staff Olympians guide the camp through a torch lit path where the Wahanowin origin story is told. The ceremony culminates with the lighting of the Olympic rings and an epic fireworks show. This year’s teams are being led by staff captains Matthew Allen & Jemima Love for Team Waha and Neta Schur and Meeka Daniels for Team Nowin.

The Olympiad day is filled with games and competitions for all campers. One of the highlights is when the camp gathers around the flagpole for the unit Tug O War and staff “Wahano-Push.” The afternoon event is the epic marathon baton race where campers and staff participate in over 50 games and challenges which finishes with the legendary fire building competition. Team Waha edged out Nowin in the Tug O War and, in an epic back and forth battle, Team Nowin’s fire was the first to burn the rope!

Tonight, the entire camp gathers in the theatre for evening program in what is always one of the most spirited nights. The teams participate in 3 classic competitions – the song (written by each team the day of the event), the plaque and the dance. The talent at Wahanowin is remarkable. We can’t wait to be-blown away by the camp’s sprit and creativity.

In the end, there can only be one winner. We hear it is currently one of the most narrow point differentials of all time. Stay tuned for the next blog post to hear who took home the coveted trophy!

And finally, tomorrow, we get that well deserved sleep in and brunch!!!

July 12, 2024

Has it already been over two weeks? We have so much to look forward to even though Summer 2024 has been a blast so far.

Sadly, we said goodbye to our two-week campers yesterday. We miss them and can’t wait to see them next summer.

Tonight’s service was led by the Grad’s. Their theme was Memories which is a perfect topic to reflect on at camp. We always hear from people how camp was the best time of their lives. What’s amazing is that we spend so little time here at camp, yet the memories have this outsized impact for the rest of our lives. Only at camp.

The Senior Unit got back today from their fun packed two-day canoe trip in Algonquin Park. For many of the campers, the highlight of the trip was paddling across Canoe Lake and the beautiful Algonquin sunsets.

Our campers from Mexico had a great time exploring Niagara Falls on Tuesday and even got to take a ride on the Maid of the Mist!

The W tournament was a huge success. While Wahanowin didn’t bring home any trophies this year, we are immensely proud of our teams for their hard work and dedication.

The Grove had a social on Wednesday night hosted by the dynamic group at Bounce Entertainment. The evening was capped off by Pizza Pockets which remains one of Chef Adam’s most popular snacks.

Our dance team is hard at work rehearsing for the upcoming Dance Intercamp which, as always, is hosted at Wahanowin. It’s always a highlight of the summer. We get to welcome 8 competing camps to our beautiful theatre.

There was a Super-Duper Cabin Clean up with the winning cabin, Cabin 42, getting QUADURUPLE TUCK!!!!! As you can imagine, the cabins were particularly clean for that contest. Seems we may need to offer it up again…we’re due for another clean!

Tomorrow night we’ll be back in the theatre for the BB/Bear/Eagle production of Breaking Bad. An original script written by our theatre team. Saturday nights in the Phyllis Weisfeld Theatre are the best!

We don’t get a lot of time at camp, but we all make the most of it.

July 9, 2024

The fun has been non-stop at camp and the weather has been phenomenal.

On Friday night, the LTP unit, together with their BB/Bear & Eagle buddies hosted the service. This week’s theme was friendship. It’s really sweet to see how fast the buddies have all bonded with each other.

It was a busy weekend of hosting many Waha warm up campers. Jack Rosenbaum led our Weekender program where 40 campers joined us for a 4-day taste of Wahanowin. Many former head staff joined our team as staff to help give the Weekender campers a magical experience. The weekenders got to try every activity at camp and several special programs, including their own private horse and pony rides.

We also hosted Waha alum, Josh Benzacar, Jordan and Adam Epstein and their families for the weekend. It was heartwarming for the alumni to share their childhood summer home with their awesome kids.

On Saturday, the Senior unit blew us away with their production of The Wizard of Oz. We laughed and sang along as we marched down the Yellow Brick Road. The Seniors set a high bar for the other units. The show was followed by our traditional Sunday sleep in and brunch. We’re loving the brunch waffle station!

The BB/Bear and Eagle Unit is already working on their show. This Saturday will be another great night in the Phyllis Weisfeld Theatre.

The BB/Bear and Eagles recently returned from their cool overnight adventure at Balsam Lake. The highlight of the overnight was learning to cook over the fire with the Canoe Trippers.

Today is the annual W Tournament hosted at Wahanowin. We are hosting Northland, Winnebagoe and Timberlane in under 14 and under 16 girls and boys baseball. Our teams have been working hard to bring the W Tourney trophy back to where it belongs!

Tonight, the BB/Bears/Eagles and Seniors will be participating in one of our favourite programs: Midnight Madness (which actually takes place at 10pm). After Evening Program, the main camp campers will return to their cabins where their staff will surprise them with the news about the extra special program. The campers will be led to the top-secret Midnight Madness location that will be transformed into a Magical Mystery Tour. This is always a Waha highlight of the summer.

So much goes on at Wahanowin!!

July 4, 2024

Lots of amazing stuff is happening at Wahanowin! They say a day at camp is like seven days in the city. Things move super-fast here. The most gratifying part of the pace of life at camp is to see how fast cabin bonding happens. Even for new campers; it feels like they have always been part of the Wahanowin family.

The LTP unit returned from their hiking trip. The campers and staff had a fantastic time exploring Killbear Provincial Park, including the amazing cliffs and sunsets.

Last night, the Grads had a delicious cookout for their evening program – all the campfire classics were on the menu!

The CITS are about to return from the annual 2-day white water rafting trip on the Ottawa River. This trip has been a CIT tradition for more than 40 years. As always, the CITS had a blast.

Rehearsals for the Senior production of The Wizard of Oz are continuing and word on the street is that the Seniors are going to blow the camp away with their show on Saturday night. Can’t wait!

The PG boys enjoyed a trip around Lake Couchiching today on the newly renovated Waha princess.

Today marked the beginning of the staff baseball league, the WSBL. It was a sold-out crowd!!

Grilled cheese was on the menu for lunch. Huge win!!! And tonight, we have our weekly Dinner on the Green where the camp enjoys an outdoor BBQ of burgers, hot dogs, chips and veggies!

Tomorrow is the first camp wide program of the summer: Carnival! Campers and staff gather in main camp to enjoy giant inflatable games/challenges, go for pony rides and enjoy classic carnival cuisine – popcorn, cotton candy, sno-cones and all the fixins’

We are loving the summer of 2024!

July 1, 2024

And we’re off!!! Sure, it’s been a little rainy and cold but you would never know it from the enthusiasm throughout camp.

It’s a special tradition at Waha for the camp to dress in whites on Friday night with the oldest campers leading a procession down to the Dining Hall as the whole camp gatherered for Chef Adam’s traditional Friday night meal of chicken, potatoes and soup. After dinner, we gathered in the Phyllis Weisfeld Theatre for the head staff service. The theme of the service was Gratitude. Many members of the head staff team discussed how grateful they are to have the opportunity to impact the lives of our campers and staff this summer.

The first unit show of the summer is The Wizard of Oz which will be presented by the Senior unit this Saturday night. Rehearsals are underway and we can’t wait to see the Senior’s take on this classic show.

One of the most meaningful programs for us is the BB/Bear/Eagle and LTP buddy program. LTP campers are paired with campers from the BB/Bear/Eagle Units where they get to spend time and learn from each other. The first Buddy Program of the season was the annual picnic. It’s so heartwarming to see our oldest and youngest campers getting a chance to bond.

The LTPs left for their hiking trip today, where they will camp and hike in one of the most picturesque trails in all of Ontario.

The sun has returned for Canada Day where the camp is dressed in a sea of red. As a surprise treat for this special day, campers and staff enjoyed a visit from the Beaver Tail truck. Yumm!!!!!

As we look out of the office, we see campers everywhere at activity areas, laughing and working on their skills. We’re about to challenge some Grads to a game of pickle ball!

It’s been an incredible start to the summer and we look forward to sharing regular updates with you.

June 27, 2024

Dear Wahanowin Families,

Waha 2024 has officially begun!! It was so amazing to see the busses roll into camp and watch camper after camper after camper step off with the biggest smiles on their faces.

We had the most perfect day of weather for arrival day – sun, light breeze and a very calm Couchiching. After some time to meet counsellors and cabinmates and settle in, we dined on Chef Adam’s traditional (and famous!) opening day pasta rotini. And then we gathered together as a camp for the first time in the Phyllis Weisfeld Theatre for Opening Ceremonies. Units in unit colours, songs and cheers. We are back! And we are vibing!

The day would not have been complete without a magical Wahanowin sunset. The colours were amazing, and it was the most incredible welcome to Waha 2024.

We cannot tell you how excited we are to see the dining hall filled with smiling faces and the cabins come alive as our campers’ homes for the summer.

This is truly what we live for. Today. Seeing the kids light up and feeling their anticipation and excitement for all the amazingness that is to come. For us, and for them, camp is everything.

We can’t wait for tomorrow!

Elijah & Tia

PS: We’re going to be updating the NEWSLETTERS on our website every few days, so you can follow along on all the amazing things happening during Waha 2024.

August 16, 2023

Dear Wahanowin Families,

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened”.

The sun has set on another outstanding summer at Wahanowin. We are sad but grateful. Seeing how emotional campers and staff are on the last day reminds us how important Wahanowin is in the lives of so many people. We will miss the Dining Hall vibrating with cheers, the laughter shared between friends, the smell of the summer rain, the messy faces after tuck, the elation after a Colour War victory and the campers at peace watching a Wahanowin sunset. We will miss it all.

Appreciation

The summer of 2023 was special for us. As first-time owners, we embraced the 67-year legacy of the Nashman family while beginning to forge our own path forward. We could not have done it without our incredible Head Staff team who have worked tirelessly all summer to provide a safe, nurturing, and welcoming summer home for all our campers. We are also grateful to our entire staff team who continuously went above and beyond throughout the summer.

Our Wahanowin families have been incredibly supportive, encouraging and a great source of feedback throughout the summer. Thank you!

Lastly, we are grateful for every Wahanowin camper. Whether you were here for a day, a week, the entire summer or something in between, you are part of the Wahanowin family. Always and forever.

Memories

We hope that our blog, photos, and social media helped to give our families a flavour of Wahanowin 2023. But there is no replacing being here to experience everything firsthand.

We had countless programs and events – some traditions have been around forever, and some are brand new. That is camp. There is instant recognition for our campers when you mention Olympiad, Friday night services, Carnival, Colour War, Survivor, Unit Plays, Airbands, Beach Day, Kudos, Tour de Waha, Talent Show and Dance Intercamp. The list goes on and on.

Our new tennis and pickle ball complex along with our new hockey court were massively popular activity areas. You could find campers and staff there at every waking hour of the day.

The summer of 2023 included the wildly successful post-COVID return of intercamp and canoe trips.

The big stuff is awesome but it’s the small things that warm our hearts. Seeing the real time growth in a child is the best part of our job. It happens every day, in every way. The easiest example of that is when we see a reluctant camper climbing the trapeze for the first time. It happened again this summer with Danielle from the Eagle unit. She was hesitant and a little bit fearful. With the encouragement of her cabin mates and staff, Danielle climbed the ladder to the platform. She paused because it’s scary to take the jump. After a few seconds, she jumped and soared through the air with a massive smile on her face. Then she did it again. Camp is amazing!

Momentum

As we begin to reflect on the summer of 2023, we are already starting to turn the page to 2024. Camp never really ends, and we are always moving forward.

There are so many things already in the works for Summer 2024 including the next steps in our long-term re-investment plan. We can’t wait to share our plans with you!

Our 2024 rates and dates will be published online later this week and registration for the summer of 2024 opens on August 28^th.

Sundown  

We often hear campers say that a day at camp is like a week in the city. Getting to live and grow with friends, being active all day with new adventures constantly waiting around the corner is a perfect way to spend a summer. That was true when Wahanowin first opened in 1955 and it’s true today.

We are now the caretakers of a summer home that means so much to so many people. It’s a responsibility that we cherish and embrace. We love Wahanowin and we are grateful for the opportunity to lead this camp into the next generation. We are grateful for the trust our families put in us and our team to provide a “summer that lasts a lifetime.”

Until next year!

Elijah and Tia

August 14, 2023

The beginning of the end of Summer 2023 is here, but there is still so much to do!

Friday night was the traditional last service of the summer when we honoured everyone who has reached their 5, 10 or 15-year milestones at camp. The recipients spoke beautifully about the impact Wahanowin has had in their lives.

On Saturday night, the staff entertained the camp with their outstanding production of the musical ‘Beetlejuice‘. It was, as we say, A Wahanowin First for ‘Beetlejuice’ to be performed in the Phyllis Weisfeld theatre. The show was the perfect way to end a wildly successful theatre season.

We are proud to host 14 Bar and Bat Mitzvah-aged children of severely disabled Israeli veterans for a three-week session during the summer. Our team is dedicated to providing these campers the summer of their lives through Beit Halochem Canada, Aid to Disabled Veterans of Israel’s Kids of Courageprogram.

Kids of Courage provides our young visitors a break from the daily challenges of being a child of an injured parent. During their time with us, they share cabins and camp adventures with our Canadian campers. The children discover their lives’ similarities outweigh the differences. We encourage you to learn more about the organization behind this remarkable initiative at https://beithalochem.ca/.

Last night the staff gathered for our annual Head Staff awards where we celebrated the valuable contributions our staff made on the camp and the lives of our campers all summer. We are grateful for the dedication, hard work and creativity of all our staff.

During lunch on Saturday, the Dining Hall was transformed into a bike track for our annual Tour De Dining Hall. Campers and staff participated in bike and tricycle races throughout the Dining Hall, while the camp enjoyed their pizza lunch. It was a blast!

The countdown to the end of summer has begun, but tonight we celebrate the summer with our annual Wahano-Ball. The Dining Hall is going to be decked out in Black and White, where campers will enjoy a Steak dinner cooked by Chef Adam, followed by our end of summer social.

We can’t believe it, but the buses arrive in Toronto Wednesday at around 10:30am. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any departure questions.

August 10, 2023

We have been going non-stop over the past few days.

Monday night was the finale of Survivor: Pearl Island. The camp watched the last tribal council. There was great excitement and nervous energy as the finalists made their pitches to the jury. In the end, Ella from the Alumni Unit was named the Survivor champion for 2023. We are proud of all the campers who participated in this season of Survivor.

For over 40 years, Alumni/LTP colour war has been the highlight of the summer for our oldest campers. It’s a grueling, exhilarating, and challenging 3 days of competition and fun led by camper captains. This year’s colour war theme was all about the Magic! In an incredibly close finish, the Blue team was ultimately crowned colour war champion.

Our BB, Bear, Eagle and Senior Units enjoyed their final Evening Programs Tuesday night before many of them went home yesterday. Campers had a Unit campfire and an opportunity to reflect on the summer they had at Wahanowin. Camp is high energy most of the time, but it is SO important to take a pause and have some time to reflect as a cabin.

We are lucky to have campers from the Reena Foundation join us for a few days. For those not familiar with Reena, they are an organization that promotes dignity, individuality, independence, personal growth and community inclusion for people with diverse abilities. Our CITS volunteer to work with the campers from Reena. It’s inspiring to see how much joy our CITs and the campers from Reena both get from the experience.

We celebrated yesterday’s perfect weather in style with our annual Beach Day in the afternoon. The camp gathered at the waterfront, listened to great tunes, kayaked, sailed, and some just floated in the sun! Chef Adam had the BBQs smoking, with campers enjoying burgers that they washed down with tropical smoothies.

It’s impossible to believe that we have less than one week left in Wahanowin 2023. We are going to savour every moment of our last few days.

August 5, 2023

We wish we could stop time! The summer of 2023 is moving at a lightning-fast pace so it’s nice to take these moments to reflect on the past few days.

Intercamp is back! Yesterday, we sent teams to Camp Manitou to compete in hockey, basketball, volleyball, tennis and swimming. Our teams played hard and had a successful day. We were especially proud when the directors of Manitou told us how respectful and gracious our campers were during their visit.

These kind words were a perfect lead into the Senior Service last night. Their theme was Community. The Seniors reminded us how important it is to care of each other, especially those who may be feeling down or in need of a boost. The Friends theme song got the whole camp singing and clapping. It was a beautiful Friday evening.

This week’s Song of the Week was beautifully performed by Paige Kruger and theatre director, Mary Doyle. They treated us to a heartfelt version of For Good from Wicked. A song like that, performed so emotionally raw, hits you hard at camp. We never take for granted how enduring and important Wahanowin friendships are for our campers and staff.

We have a meaningful tradition at the end of each service. Unit Heads honour a camper in their unit who have distinguished themselves over the previous few days for being a team player, cooperative, respectful and kind, with the honour of being that unit’s camper of the week. The tradition began and continues as we want to publicly celebrate our campers’ successes…both big and small.

Survivor: Pearl Island continues. The game is down to the final three: Jack from the CIT unit, Myla from the LTP Unit and Ella from the Alumni unit. The program concludes with a final tribal council on Monday night before the whole camp. Be sure to watch for the video on our social media channels!

Today is our annual Wahano-One day where our future campers come up for the day to experience a small sampling of life at Wahanowin. They are having an action-packed day led by our trippers and CITs. Don’t forget to check out the great photos in our gallery which will be posted today!

So much goes on at Wahanowin!!

August 3, 2023

Here comes the sun!!! After some inconsistent weather, we finally had a long stretch of warmth.

Our Wahano-Week campers just left after having an incredible taste of camp life. We can’t wait to see them next year

We are in the middle of our 3-day Survivor program. Like the TV show, campers from the Alumni, LTP and CIT units compete for the coveted title of the Sole Wahanowin Survivor.  The competitors participate in various challenges until there is one surviving player left at the end of the game. The players eat and sleep in a private area of camp where they focus exclusively on the competition. The program is filmed for the whole camp to enjoy.

The other night, the entire camp gathered for evening program to watch a Survivor challenge and a live tribal council.

The Senior, Grad, PG Masterchef canoe trip left today for Algonquin Park. Campers, staff and canoe trippers will paddle the beautiful waters of Canoe Lake and spend 3 days experiencing what it’s like to live and eat in the wilderness, in style! The Masterchef focus is on the food, so campers are bound to come home happy and with full tummies!

We have a number of sports teams competing at Manitou this Friday and tryouts for all the teams are ongoing. Let’s go Waha!!!  We’re so happy that Intercamp is back!

Our BB/Bears who arrived for second session have managed to get past the initial stages of homesickness, thanks to their incredible staff. We always talk to our counsellors about sticking to their campers like “super-glue” in the first week of camp to ease the transition to overnight camp. It’s so rewarding to see the efforts of our staff’s hard work!

The 2-day Grad/PG epic Colour War just wrapped up with the Green Team emerging as this year’s champion. The campers were split into Team Mike vs Team Sully in a Monsters Inc. themed competition.

Rehearsals for the Alumni/LTP production of Matilda are underway and we are pumped to see them perform classic songs like ‘When I Grow Up’ on Saturday night.

With August upon us, the excitement meter at Wahanowin is about to get turned up to 11. Don’t forget to check out the Survivor video at the end of this year’s program.

Until next time!

July 29, 2023

Second month is off to a great start!

Today at lunch, the first month campers taught our new campers the dance for the Song of the Summer, George Ezra’s ‘Green Green Grass’.

Last night’s service, Celebrating Differences, was led by the PG unit. The presenting campers spoke to how Wahanowin embraces each person’s unique qualities and brings their own experiences to their life at camp. They also referenced how special it is that the camp welcomes people from all over the world, including campers and staff from the United States, Mexico, Australia, Israel, England, Ireland and New Zealand.

The service transitioned into the Song of the Week with LTP camper, Abe, bringing down the house with an epic version of the Sinatra classic, My Way.

We are gathering again tonight in the Phyllis Weisfeld theatre for the camp wide talent show. Campers from every unit will be performing songs, skits, and special talents for all of us to enjoy. We can’t wait!

We’re excited to share with you an article about Wahanowin that’s featured in DINE and Destinations Magazine on page 38 & 39. We hope you enjoy it! Check it out HERE.

We have lots of big events coming up this week and we’re excited to tell you all about them in our next blog post!

July 26, 2023

Dear Wahanowin Families,

Changeover is a day filled with so many emotions. It’s sad to say goodbye to our first month campers, especially after having such an incredible month at Wahanowin. But we are also grateful for the new campers who arrived today. It’s a new beginning for them and a chance for everyone at camp to recharge as we enter another thrilling month on Lake Couchiching.

Second session camper arrival was seamless. Our newest campers have easily integrated into the Wahanowin community, and we look forward to sharing the magic of camp with them for the next few weeks.

While we are excited to look forward, we do want to look back at some of the cool stuff that happened at camp over the past few days.

The final show of first month was the Grad/PG production of Camp Rock. Surprisingly, this was the first time Camp Rock was produced at Wahanowin and it was well worth the wait. The show was a raucous celebration of fun and friendship performed by a talented cast. Standing Os all around!!

We honoured the Grad and PGs with an extra-long sleep in and brunch on Monday!! This week’s brunch highlight was the Belgian waffle bar!!!!

On Tuesday night, the camp gathered in the theatre for one of the most popular traditions and competitions at Wahanowin: Camp Wide Air Bands. Every unit, dressed in their unit colours, performs a well-rehearsed Air Band. The performances were out of this world. Each unit blew us away. This year’s Air Bands had a unique Cake Boss/Waha Cafe twist: every unit decorated a cake that was judged by our very own Captain Dave. Units had an opportunity to earn additional points based on the quality of their decorations. In the end, the mighty LTPs emerged as the Air Band/Cake Boss Champs.

The night was capped off by the tennis staff handing out Golden Racquets to those first month campers who spent a significant amount of time at tennis this summer perfecting their skills.

First month campers went home with their cabin photos along with certificates that were awarded at various activity areas throughout the summer.

So here we are at a new beginning. We can’t wait! If campers thought first month was action packed, just wait for what we have planned.

For our second session parents, we would like to take a moment to let you know our theme of the summer at Wahanowin: “No Day But Today.” Camp has an immeasurable and long-lasting impact on the lives of everyone at Wahanowin. It’s easy to forget that the summer is so short. That’s why it’s so critical to savour every moment. Camp is the perfect place to be constantly reminded of how lucky we are to spend our summers on Lake Couchiching.

The boundless enthusiasm of changeover has come to a close. We can’t wait for the sun to rise and for our campers to get to their activities together tomorrow.

Remember to check out our BLOG every few days to stay up to date on what’s happening at Wahanowin. And don’t forget our pics are uploaded Wednesdays and Saturdays and our social media feeds are updated regularly.

Let’s keep this party going!

Elijah & Tia

July 22, 2023

Let the sun shine in! What a perfect day to welcome families back to camp after 3 summers with no Visitors’ Day.

We hope you had a great catch up with your child(ren) and got a chance to hear about all the cool things happening at Wahanowin this summer.

The heartwarming feedback we received today was overwhelming. Thank you!!! Our staff work tirelessly to provide a memorable camp experience for our campers so hearing countless stories about kids who are having the summer of a lifetime just feels good.

We understand that some campers struggle with post the Visitors’ Day adjustment. To help with that transition, we jump into special programming the moment our families exit camp.

Some of you may have seen the horses that joined us as the day was ending. Campers enjoyed guided pony rides before dinner.

After dinner was our Wahanoween program. The Main Camp campers (BBs/Bears, Eagles and Seniors) dress up in costumes and go ‘trick or treating’ throughout the Grove.

The night culminates in our annual Masquerade Ball!

Last night, it was the Alumni unit’s turn to lead our Friday night service. The theme this week was Resilience, which was an ideal topic to explore, especially for kids who have dealt with the challenges of growing up during the pandemic.

As a special treat at the end of the service, long time Wahanowin veterans, Troy Lebane and Osher Mader joined staff members Jenna Weir and Jesse Garber to sing the Song of the Week, California King Bed. Those four first performed California King Bed as the Song of the Week 10 years ago, almost to the day. It was a magical Wahanowin moment.

We finished off Friday night with our annual milestone ceremony to honour campers who have been part of the Wahanowin family for 5 years with a slide show and gift presentation.

As we now begin to think about the end of first month, our program schedule gets even better! First month ends with one of the most popular programs of the summer – Camp Wide Unit Airbands. Rehearsals are well underway for the big night.

Thank you again to those who spent your day with us!!

July 19, 2023

It’s hard to believe that we’ve hit the halfway point of the summer.

One of the big events of last weekend was our annual camp wide Olympiad where team Waha faced off against team Nowin. Campers are assigned to one of those teams their first summer at camp and remain on that team for their Wahanowin career. Siblings are assigned to the same team. It’s always one of the best days of the summer as camper and staff and enthusiasm is off the charts. The day was action packed and the competition was fierce. In the end, Team Nowin edged out a victory for the coveted Olympiad trophy.

The other big event of the weekend was the BB/Bear/Eagle show, Beaglemania. Our youngest campers presented the music of the Beatles in a fresh and entertaining production that received a well-deserved standing ovation.

We honoured Beaglemania and Olympiad with our second Sleep-In & Brunch of the summer. Sunday’s brunch even included a smoothie bar!!!!

There was a special surprise for the camp as we were leaving the Dining Hall after lunch on Monday: an Ice Cream Truck!! All campers and staff enjoyed frozen treats from an ice cream truck that stopped by Wahanowin for the afternoon.

To help our community take the time to appreciate the natural beauty of the Wahanowin sunsets, our A&C team ran a sunset painting program for campers and staff that took place on Bunny Beach. Participants painted their own interpretation of our sunset in real time.

We hosted Dance Intercamp yesterday afternoon, the first one since 2019. Eight rival camps participated in dance competitions in the under 12 and under 16 categories. Both our teams performed at an elite level with spectacular choreography. We are proud of all our campers who participated!

Lastly, the MasterChef Canoe Trip left this morning for a food focused adventure in Algonquin Park with some PGs, Alumnis and LTPs.

Can’t wait to see many of you for Visitors’ Day in 3 days!

July 15, 2023

We are having a blast at camp!

Last night, the Grad Unit hosted the Friday night service. The theme of the service was Growth. In his post service speech, Elijah reflected on the camp life cycle by identifying members of our dynamic Grad staff who sat in their campers’ shoes just a few years ago.

Campers are enjoying the Under the Sea theme day at swim today where they will search for toy creatures placed by swim staff and compete in various mermaid themed games.

The Seniors returned from their canoe trip yesterday. They enjoyed two days of fun in Algonquin Park. The highlight for many was getting to sleep in followed by Tripper Breakfast which included eggs, potatoes and veggies. Despite the rain, the Seniors persevered.

On Thursday night, we held a team ceremony for new campers who were formally welcomed to their Olympiad teams. Our Olympiad opening break is coming up soon! Shhh!!!

Tonight, the BB/Bears and Eagles bring the British Invasion to the Phyllis Weisfeld Theatre with a celebration of the music of the Beatles called BeagleMania!

Visitors’ Day is only one week away and we can’t wait to see you!

July 12, 2023

Time flies at Wahanowin!! It’s hard to believe that our Two-Week campers are spending their last day at camp today. We will miss them!

Last night the barn was transformed into Alice in Wonderland’s world of wonders as Main Camp enjoyed our annual Midnight Madness program. The White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter and Alice herself were there to guide the campers through the looking glass. There were treats, games, and a photo booth for our campers to enjoy.

The BB-Bears had a taste of the camping experience on their overnight at Balsam Lake. The weather was perfect, and the campers loved cooking steak fajitas by the campfire.

We are celebrating the end of the Two-Week program with an another LTP/BB/Bear/Eagle buddy picnic today.

The entire Senior unit left this morning for a two-night canoe trip in picturesque Algonquin Park. The kids are looking forward to getting to spend time in one of the most beautiful areas of Canada while they get to hang out and chill with each other. We’re so happy canoe tripping is back in 2023!

Our campers from Mexico returned yesterday from a special trip to Niagara Falls where they got to experience the Falls up close while on the Maid of the Mist!

The W Tournament was a huge success despite the afternoon rainout. Our Under 16 Girls Baseball team fought hard and emerged the champions of their tournament. We are proud of all our athletes who participated yesterday.

The summer of 2023 is full of Wahanowin Firsts. Earlier this week, we held our first ever Pickleball Tournament. This new activity is quickly becoming one of the most popular sports at camp. Congrats to all our competitors and a special shout out to our first pickle ball champions.

We are mixing things up at many of our activity areas this summer. Our trapeze team recently had campers participate in Trapeze Ball where they combined trapeze with basketball. The goal was to score a basket in a specially constructed net while swinging on the trapeze. It was a huge hit!

More to come in a few days but don’t forget to check out our pictures which will be posted on our website later today!

July 9, 2023

It’s been an action packed few days at Wahanowin!

Intercamp Sports and Dance Intercamp is back for 2023. Tryouts for all the sports teams and the dance pack have been ongoing. Our first big intercamp of the summer is the W Tournament on Tuesday played on our home turf where teams from several camps compete in an all-day softball tournament. Our teams are training hard to ensure the trophies remain on home soil. Tonight is our W Tournament Pep Rally – the entire camp gathers and celebrates our athletes to build enthusiasm for the big day.

On Friday night, the BB-Bear, Eagle and LTP units led our service in the theatre. The theme of the service was friendship and was a great reminder of the strong bonds that form at camp, many of which last our entire lives.

The first play of the summer was produced by our powerful Senior unit. They blew us away with their production of Annie which marked Mary Doyle’s first production as the Wahanowin Theatre Director.

Immediately after the play, the Directors surprised the camp with an intense game of Deal of No Deal, hosted by Elijah. Contestants competed for prizes on behalf of their cabins. Our game had all the excitement and suspense of the TV show. In the end, campers from cabins 28A and LTP3 won a trip to Kawartha Dairy. It was a Wahanowin first!

To honour the excellence of Annie, the camp enjoyed our first sleep in and brunch of the summer this morning.

The pace and schedule on Sunday varies from our typical program day as campers participate in Sunday Fun Day. They have more individual choice for the activities they attend which gives them a chance to work on skills they have been developing throughout the summer at their favourite areas.

The Eagle unit had an overnight on Thursday night at Balsam Lake. The highlight for many campers was getting to make smores by the campfire.

We also welcomed campers from Green Acres Day Camp for a weekend adventure to give them a taste of overnight camp life. It has been a perfect time for our guests to be at Wahanowin as they have experienced many thrilling camp wide events while also enjoying a fun filled activity schedule.

Don’t forget to check out our Week 1 Video Review and we look forward to providing further updates in a few days.

July 5, 2023

The fun continues at camp! Our campers have been here less than a week but it’s impossible to highlight everything that’s happened so far this summer.

It’s no secret to anyone living in southern Ontario that it’s HOT!!!! We continue to practice sun safety – we ensure campers are regularly applying sunscreen throughout the day, take lots of water breaks and we encourage campers to spend rest hour and other down times out of the sun. It’s also ideal to cool off in Lake Couchiching.

Tripping is back for 2023 and campers from our first two trips are back from the wilderness. The LTPs had their annual hiking trip where they went on a 10km hike in the beautiful Killbear Provincial Park. The CITS Whitewater rafting trip on the Ottawa River was a huge success and they are excited to begin their placements with campers and at activity areas.

Speaking of activities…our two newest activity areas are officially open!!! The campers and staff are loving Wahanowin’s brand new Tennis and Pickleball Complex. Our new courts are in a more central location. Also, the new Wahanowin Hockey Court is already a popular spot for cabin hockey games.

The waterski staff ran SkiCountry Day all day today. There was skiing, great Country & Western music, and a BBQ – all with a southern twist.

We had our weekly staff meeting on Monday with the highlight being our opportunity to celebrate our staff for the terrific start to the summer and honouring our Staff of the Week.

The Incredible Boris performed two hilarious shows (one for the campers and one for the staff) where volunteers were hypnotized and lovingly participated in the show.

We are just wrapping up the camp wide carnival where campers are enjoying a classic carnival experience – bouncy castles, sno-cones, cotton candy, pony rides, an inflatable mini putt and the Wahanowin dunk tank. It’s notable how popular the dunk tank is when Elijah is the “prize”.

You will see lots of pics and videos of everything we describe in the blog. Our Wednesday pics are already up and don’t forget to check out our photo gallery every Wednesday and Saturday.

July 2, 2023

Wahanowin 2023 is off to a phenomenal start. The weather has been perfect and camp is in full swing.

Friday night’s service was performed by our staff. The theme was Gratitude which reminded us how lucky and privileged we are to get to spend our summer here at camp.

The service culminated with the entire camp gathering at the waterfront, while everyone enjoyed a famous Wahanowin sunset. The head staff lit a ceremonial flame in a floating fire pit to represent the beginning of a new summer.

Sunday marked the onset of the BB/Bear and LTP buddy program with our annual Buddy Picnic. Each LTP camper is paired with a BB/Bear camper to give the campers a chance to connect and learn from each other.

The Seniors are hard at work on Annie which will be the first show of the summer to be presented at the Phyllis Weisfeld theatre on Saturday night.

Campers are working diligently on attaining levels at the activity areas which are celebrated with congratulatory announcements in the Dining Hall. We are proud of campers who work to achieve new levels at their favorite activities; there is also something special about seeing a camper trying a sport or craft for the first time. We love seeing the real time growth kids experience at Wahanowin.

Look out for our regular blog updates along with our photos and videos that get posted throughout the summer.

June 29, 2023