It was a week of transitions at Scatico as we said goodbye to the 4-weekers and the Soopers/ Upper Seniors who departed on their service trip, and hello to the SITs! As we crossed the halfway mark of summer we marveled at how deeply embedded we are into the routines and rhythms of camp. We know with the end of summer approaching… the highlight moments will just keep coming!
CARNIVAL
Another week, another special, full-camp event… Carnival! The brainchild of Ken Valario and Laura Gold— both heads of art— this summer’s Carnival theme was “It’s a Small World” and it was a post-dinner evening in order to beat the heat! The theme was meant to be less Disney and more a celebration of our beautiful planet (both thinking of the Earth at large and “planet Scatico,” as often, we can feel like a world unto ourselves).
Donning our globe spray-painted white tees, we kicked off the celebrations at the Pavilion for a full-camp chat with David Fleischner, who set the mood for our theme. David talked about the ever-shrinking Earth (our, quite literally, small word) and how back in 1921 when his great-uncle Nat Holman founded Scatico, most kids and counselors who attended camp had never been outside of the Lower East Side, and how camps in general, were a way for kids, mostly Jewish immigrants, to escape the insularity (and grit) of early 20th century New York City in order to explore and experience a different world. While much about the essence of Scatico has remained, access to travel and technology means that our reality in 2022 is quite different! Today Scatico has community members from 18 countries (and every continent besides Antarctica), spanning (remarkably) 20 out of 24 different time zones!
From the Pavilion we promenaded down the road path to start Carnival in earnest! Each division was responsible for their own booth— from cotton candy to “funky fishing”, skee ball to the Marriage Booth, karaoke to the milk bottle toss, an inflatable obstacle course to face painting. In addition to the traditional favorites, Carnival had a few new elements this year, including two “small world” food trucks. One was a Dominican food truck serving tostones (twice- fried plantains) helmed by our DREAM Project staff, and the other Mexican street corn made by Chef Justin (co-head of Cooking) and Alejandro (a cooking counselor and Mexico native).
The other special Carnival element was Ken’s ride! Each summer Ken envisions a new “ride” (aka golf cart journey) that incorporates an interactive activity. For this ride, campers journeyed from the Pagoda down to the old stables (currently the girl’s campout site), where we have been working on creating Scatico’s first official garden. While on the golf cart (which played “It’s a Small World” from portable speakers, naturally) campers stopped to pick out a potted flower, which they then brought down to the garden to plant. The garden is circular, with rings that will each incorporate a different design element. One outer rim will be filled with rocks, and creating it will be part of our 100th celebration in September!
As always Carnival ended with the DL “horse race” (involving wooden horses, and giant dice). Shoutout to Gat, Branden and Marly….the dynamic trio who won!
SOOPERS AND UPPER SENIORS HEAD TO NEW ORLEANS
After a sweaty day of packing, on July 23, the Soopers and Upper Seniors boarded a flight, destination NOLA! They will be spending one week on a service trip coordinated by Westcoast Connections and working in conjunction with SBP, a disaster relief nonprofit. Founded in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, SBP now works around the country with the, “mission to shrink the time between disaster and recovery.” They still have a tremendous presence in New Orleans, which is still recovering from Katrina as well as Isaac, Ida and a 2022 Tornado.
The Soopers and Upper Seniors are working alongside the SBP team in the Florida Area (yes, official neighborhood name) of New Orleans, which is in the Bywater District. Together, they are helping construct a house for the organization’s Opportunity Housing program, which converts abandoned properties into affordable housing for low-to-moderate-income, first-time homeowners. Beyond their work with SBP, the Soops and Upper Seniors will get to experience all the wonder that New Orleans has to offer— from a Creole cooking class, to swamp tour, to time in the French Quarter!
Welcome SITs!
Not spotted at Scatico since 2019… the Scaticonians in Training (SITs)! We were so excited to welcome our 17 SITs to camp on Sunday, and they are already off to a fantastic start. Taking over the Sooper and Upper Senior cabins while they are away, the SITs will get to experience all things camp. Both the boys and girls groups have already listed “night fishing,” in which they head out in rowboats to catch fish, as a favorite activity so far.
Camper ContributionS
Once again we have articles and videos from contributing camper writers who signed up for the Scatico blog optional!
ONLY AT SCATICO
by Eden Miller and Emma Justus
While Camp Scatico embodies many typical camp aspects, we also have many traditions, events, and philosophies that make Scatico unique. In order to gain a better understanding of camp’s one-of-a-kind environment, we interviewed Senior Staff, about things, activities, or elements that are, “only at Scatico”…
“Slapball, which is an invented sport, is, I am pretty sure, only played on the B court at Scatico.” - Matty
“For someone who was not a returning camper, being here allows for me to meet and build relationships with people from all over the world.” - Chef Justin
“Legends of Scatico is a full boys side event that creates a special atmosphere, because of how unique full boys side activities are.”- Mark
“Our number of full camp activities, where all of girls side is able to come together and bond, creates a unique sense of community.” - Dusty
Jimmy’s Favorite Foods
by Kate Schmeidler and Emma Miller
Jimmy Wexler has been working at Scatico for 17 years as the Head Chef of camp. He grew up in Patterson, NJ and went to Brant Lake as a kid. During the off season, Jimmy runs his cookie business, Two Fat Cookies, as well as a catering company with Ricardo. Both businesses are based in Florida, where Jimmy lives. The following includes Chef Jimmy’s favorite camp meals, dishes to make, and some fun facts:
Jimmy’s Favorite Camp Foods
Chicken Patties
Chicken Heroes
Mac n Cheese with Chicken Nuggets
Caprese Sandwiches
Fried Chicken
Corn Muffins (favorite breakfast)
Caesar Salad Wraps
Pesto Cous Cous
Jimmys Favorite Camp Soup- Tomato Bisque
Jimmy’s Favorite Desserts— Ice Cream and Eclair/ Cream Puff
Jimmy’s Favorite Off-Season meals— To eat: Steak; To make: Branzino
Fun fact: David’s favorite camp meal is spaghetti and meatballs!
10 Questions with Mark + Matty
by Mia Groom
We asked Boys Head Counselor Mark Gretenstein, and Assistant Head Counselor, Matty Carrol, some questions about life at camp.
DIVISIONAL SNAPSHOTS
Boys Side
Freshmen— Played an intense game of “Assassins”! In Assassins each camper gets the name of a camper they need to “get” by throwing a tennis ball at them. Each person has a mitt, and if the ball is caught on a fly, the assassin is out versus the person getting assassinated.
Sophomores— Enjoyed a co-ed mystery ride to go berry picking! They also had their overnight, complete with cooking over a fire, sleeping in tents, and playing some acoustic guitar.
Sub Juniors— Loved their waterfront cookout! A nice break from the heat the Sub Juniors ate and swam the night away.
Juniors— Went from hot to cold! They played inferno trivia (you start with many layers of clothes, and get to take off items as you get questions right) and ice bucket kickball (each base has a bucket of ice to cool off in).
Inters— Pumped iron (kind of literally)! They competed in an Iron Man (swimming, boating and running) and enjoyed a period of co-ed Iron Chef.
Sub Seniors— Tried a somewhat-new-to-boys-side activity… Yoga with Arturo! Arturo is the Head of Woodshop but doubles as Scatico’s resident yogi.
Seniors— When asked about their top activity of the week?…. soccer in the rain! The Seniors headed to the girls fields for an intense game of soccer, and the rain did not stop them.
GIRLS SIDE
Pixies + Juniors— Had a joint Pixar Theme Day! They dressed up as their favorite Pixar characters and enjoyed activities like a “Wreck it Ralph” vs. “Cars” Relay Race, and a Finding Nemo Treasure Hunt!
Jinters— Headed out on a co-ed mystery ride! It was blueberry picking at Greig’s Farm followed by ice cream.
Inters— Had a themed Frisbee Golf tournament. The teams? Scatico Senior Staff vs. The Skittles vs. The “Earthsicles” vs. Rainbow Chicken!
Centers— Started to learn how to sail. They hit the “high seas” with Ishai, and practiced capsizing and how to rig a sailboat.
Debs— Won the Lip Synch battle, a particularly spirited Evening Activity. Each group had to choreograph a lip synching routine, and was judged on costume, dance, spirit, and lip synching talent. The Deb’s rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Shallow” (dressed in bathing suits and goggles) blew the judges away.
Subs— Competed in their rendition of Shark Tank aka “Speedo Tank” (Speedo being the Fleischner family pet turtle).
Seniors— Finished filming their music project— a zombie-themed music video to “Thriller"!
