On the shores of Lake Tispaquin, another amazing summer has come and gone. Avoda 2024 was one for the books! It’s hard to put into words just how many friendships are formed, laughs are had, and memories are made each year, but we’re certainly going to try!
With our first campers of the season rolling onto Gibbs Road in late June, we hit the ground running with elective activity selections, a cookout in the grove, and of course, flagrush! Flagrush is a long-standing Avoda tradition, known in some circles as capture the flag, where all of camp plays together in an epic battle to steal the other team’s flags! The campers love it, the staff loves it, and it’s a great way to get everyone involved and playing together on night 1.
After the first night, it was smooth sailing for the rest of the summer! We spent our days running, scoring, swimming, climbing, creating, laughing, and resting before doing it all again! Our oldest campers, Bunk 14ers, set out on their overnight where they camped, went whitewater rafting, cooked on an open fire, and had the ultimate bonding experience with their camp brothers. Other groups of campers went to a local country club to play golf, took trips to the beach, the whole camp went on weekly Thursday field trips (Let’s Go Sox!), and we all celebrated Fourth of July together with an epic day of special activities!
As the summer progressed, we announced Desert War- a whole day flag rush event that the kids go crazy for! We continued to take weekly field trips (as if all of the fun and excitement happening at camp isn’t enough!) to places like the boston museum of science, escape rooms, live sports games, amusement parks, and climbing parks. We celebrated Yom Israel, a day in which we honor and show our respect to the country of Israel and get a taste of what daily life is like from our Israeli staff. We turned the waterfront into a Tel-Aviv inspired beach party, we grilled pita bread, learned Israeli dances, wrote letters to Israeli soldiers, and had a day filled with special activities. We celebrated shabbat together as a community week after week with all-camp services in our outdoor chapel site.
“Regular Schedule” Days were few and far between towards the end of the summer with all of the field trips, intercamp competitions, and special events that take place! We said goodbye to July and hello to August with a super special ballpark themed lunch- “Take Me out to the Mess Hall!”. Everyone in camp needed a stadium ticket to enter lunch where our kitchen staff prepared popcorn, nachos, grilled cheese, and ice cream in mini helmets! We set up a jumbotron and a dance cam, sang Sweet Caroline, did the wave, had baseball themed trivia, and we’re certain no one’s ever going to forget that afternoon at camp!
The last week of the season is when everyone’s favorite competition was announced- Color War 2024! All of camp is divided into two teams- this year it was Blue Revolution vs. White Flames. We spent days playing our hearts out and cheering for all of the other players on our teams. From our youngest campers to our oldest, and our most athletic to our most artistic, there’s nonstop activities suitable for everyone! The Color War teams complete in things like basketball, football, soccer, and tennis, but there’s also things like swimming, sand castle building, rock climbing, ping pong, and poker. Campers that like to spend time in Arts & Crafts get to help design team posters, banners, and signs that are proudly displayed in the mess hall and team headquarters. Color War is a truly special time at Avoda and a week that campers look forward to all year long!
Overall, we couldn’t have asked for a better 2024 season! Spending the summer with other Jewish boys under the guidance of experienced, attentive staff just can’t be beat. At Avoda, kids have the freedom to be themselves and gain the skills they need to grow into confident, respectful young men. All of our days are spent with our camp brothers playing, joking, competing, and learning from each other. After almost 100 years of campers passing through our gates, we can confidently say that it just keeps getting better every year. To learn more about what we do and why Avoda is so awesome start here. If you’re new to our community and you’re interested in learning more, chat with one of our amazing directors or schedule a tour here!
To learn more about what we do, and our mission to make Jewish Summer Camp accessible for every child, explore our website here or book a tour here!