What’s cookin’ at Camp Pembroke? The short answer? Grilled cheese and French fries, BBQ dinners and congo bars for dessert, quesadillas and chicken tender lunches. But in reality…there’s so much more. The ingredients for forever friendships are starting to come together, campers and staff are filling one another’s cups with kindness and patience and empathy and fun, and our staff, the master chefs behind it all, have only just begun to craft the most fulfilling summer for everyone here at camp. Just like your favorite recipe, a summer at camp takes the perfect mix of ingredients, time for it to all come together, and patience in knowing it may take a little bit to get it just right…and when it does, it’s so, so worth it.

In just two short days, we’ve already begun mixing our ingredients and watching all the flavors come together. We’ve spent the last 48 hours walking around, observing activities and checking in with campers and staff, and in all of my years I’ve never been more blown away by the ease of this community. Without missing a beat, or an ingredient or a step in the recipe, everyone is finding their friends, their activities and their place here at camp. This group of counselors, our true masterminds behind the menu, have shown us that they are here to show up for their kids. Bunk 10’s dance party last night, Bunk 4’s declaration that they will always “take care of each other” upon discovering the independence they have even as the youngest campers, Y’Rush’s spirit and kindness during Gold Rush, the excitement on camper’s faces as they jumped off the ski boat or tried the new 8-person paddleboard, the look of awe on campers faces as they completed their very own clay pinch pots in ceramics, bunk meetings to share expectations of inclusion and kindness, 2As very rowdy and spirited song session with Eugenia…all of these things are the beginning components for what we know will be an incredibly satisfying summer.