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 2nd 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.
PS: Team Waha wins Olympiad 2024!!!
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 23rd 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.