(Note: We are bringing back the summer blog after a bit of a break. Blog posts will be added a few times throughout the session. If you are looking for more frequent and consistent content, we suggest following @campnorwester on Instagram or Camp Nor’wester on Facebook).

The 2023 summer staff have been working hard to prepare for camper arrival. Over the past few weeks, the “To Do List” contained a wide range of tasks, including building all camper living structures, learning Camp folk dances, practicing technical skills, going on an overnight, discussing tips/tricks/expectations for working with kids, introducing jumping (a meal-time role that includes setting tables and getting food from the kitchen), inventorying, setting up departments, and much, MUCH more.

This afternoon, we had an incredibly capable staff eagerly awaiting the arrival of First Session campers. And arrive they have; staff can now put everything they’ve been working on into practice!

Campers were on Johns Island just before dinner this evening after a long day that included drives, buses, airplanes, and boats for many. Anyone who has worked at Nor’wester knows that there is something unique about the energy that buzzes in the lodge on arrival day. It’s almost as if the building has been waiting in anticipation for this moment, along with the campers and staff who have been looking forward to the start of the summer for days, weeks, months, and (in some cases) years!

This evening, units gathered to unpack, set up, and get to know each other.

Now it’s off to bed because an action-packed month at Camp requires plenty of rest, particularly at the end of exciting days like today!