Around 1:00 pm today at camp, it was quiet. Quiet enough to hear the loons. This is the sound of anticipation.

After weeks of pre-camp, the camp staff assembled for one final check-in before the start of camp.

The sky was blue, the air was fresh and the team was ready for camp to begin.

We heard sounds coming from the camp road, then one, two, six… a dozen cars pulled into camp. The first campers were here. Minutes later, the buses began to arrive. Mostly, we heard the sounds of transport visiting our outpost up North.

And then the doors opened. Kids poured out of the buses, immediately hugging and high-fiving each other and the staff. Friendships that had been put on hold for ten months were picked up as if there hadn’t been a pause at all.

Conversations and cheers and greetings ricocheted around camp. New campers fell into step with returning ones. Staff, new and old, were instantly part of it.

This is what magic sounds like.

The dining hall came alive tonight. After just a few hours, it seems like we’ve been here, together, all along. The tennis courts are full, cabins are walking around together, night activities have begun.

The ruckus is real. The connections, the history and most of all, the possibility of tomorrow are real. As real as magic.

Thank you for making it possible.