WEEK 2 – SUNDAY, JULY 7
Dear BLC Families,
We had an action-packed week two at Brant Lake Camp!
July 4th – What a day! Starting in the morning with our thoughtful tribute to the founding of the USA, the rest of the day was filled with festive and fun activities, including a track meet for all ages, a swim meet for all ages, and a 3 point shooting competition for all ages. We culminated the morning with music and dancing at the Lake. For dinner, we had a wonderful BBQ with grilled chicken, ribs, corn-on-the-cob and ice cream sundaes put together by our amazing head chef Abu. (Unbelievably, BLC has had only three head chefs in our 107 years, with Abu now in his 38th summer!) In the evening, all groups spent some time with our sister camp, Point O’ Pines.
This week we had two shows in our Junior Clubhouse following an equally spirited opening week of two shows. Our Junior Clubhouse, named after Irwin Cohen who dedicated over 70 summers to BLC, welcomes campers of all talents. At BLC, renowned for our thoughtful approach to sports (“It’s about the Journey, not the Destination”), it’s in our songs and shows that the true heart and spirit of BLC shines the brightest. For us directors, there’s nothing quite like witnessing boys so joyful and at ease that they break into song spontaneously and without reservation.
Brant Lake Camp’s deep connection to music dates back to our founding years. In 1920, Lorenz Hart, of Rodgers and Hart fame, penned our alma mater and the beloved closing night song “Last Night.” Arthur Schwartz, another illustrious composer, collaborated with Hart on the BLC original “I Love to Lie Awake in Bed,” which was later reworked for Broadway as “I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plans.” Mel Torme famously recorded both versions on an album. (Take a listen!) Today, our Clubhouse is helmed by Blake Pearson and his assistant, Conor “Mini-Moo” Haynes, who continue to delight audiences with laughter and appreciation, as showcased on our Instagram page. (Click the Highlight on our profile that is titled “On the Stage!”)
On Friday night, we hosted our first Varsity Basketball game of the summer versus Camp Baco. With the assistance of a festive, raucous, yet sportsmanlike full-camp crowd (cheering 100% in support of BLC, 0% anti- our opponents), BLC played well and won convincingly. Our Senior Cs not in the game led the cheering with painted bodies. The half-time show featured an exciting performance from Brant Lake Dance Camp and a record-breaking number of “Sundae Shots” (the Frosh, Soph B, JC all made the shots) with the coup de grace half-court shot made by Max Gersten, for which the entire camp receives sundaes. Additionally on the Athletic front this past week, our Inter A’s won a soccer tourney at Echo Lake and our Varsity Basketball team won the Echo Lake Tournament.
Lacrosse, flag football, ice hockey, and golf are all activities that are available at BLC, and in which we take pride. For many years -and still today- we’ve stressed our core five activities: baseball, basketball, tennis, soccer and lake. Now, we have a strong flag football program, led this year by Mark Anderson, a PE teacher and football and track coach at the Dalton School. Mark also co-directs the Jonathan Taylor (NFL) football camp. We are one of the few camps that offers ice hockey – three times during the summer – led by Dave Cramoy, a retired director of BLC and a longtime hockey coach with the prestigious hockey program at the National Sports Academy in Lake Placid. We are doing more golf than ever for our interested campers- both in camp for our younger campers and both in and out of camp for our Inters and Seniors.
We move into week three with continued enthusiasm, shows, intercamp games, and our first set of overnight trips! Our Inter Bs will be leaving for a two-day, one-night trip to the Berkshires; our Senior A’s for two-days, one-night to Burlington; our Senior Bs for four-days, three-nights in Toronto; and our Senior Cs for three days, two nights in Philly. Our Inter A’s will be offered the opportunity to sleep out in tents at Scaroon Manor on Schroon Lake. As mentioned last week, we also look forward to a visit from a BLC alum, Ben Lee, who is a D-1 basketball coach at Siena.
Have a great week yourselves,
Richie G
Dear BLC Families,
We had an action-packed week two at Brant Lake Camp!
July 4th – What a day! Starting in the morning with our thoughtful tribute to the founding of the USA, the rest of the day was filled with festive and fun activities, including a track meet for all ages, a swim meet for all ages, and a 3 point shooting competition for all ages. We culminated the morning with music and dancing at the Lake. For dinner, we had a wonderful BBQ with grilled chicken, ribs, corn-on-the-cob and ice cream sundaes put together by our amazing head chef Abu. (Unbelievably, BLC has had only three head chefs in our 107 years, with Abu now in his 38th summer!) In the evening, all groups spent some time with our sister camp, Point O’ Pines.
This week we had two shows in our Junior Clubhouse following an equally spirited opening week of two shows. Our Junior Clubhouse, named after Irwin Cohen who dedicated over 70 summers to BLC, welcomes campers of all talents. At BLC, renowned for our thoughtful approach to sports (“It’s about the Journey, not the Destination”), it’s in our songs and shows that the true heart and spirit of BLC shines the brightest. For us directors, there’s nothing quite like witnessing boys so joyful and at ease that they break into song spontaneously and without reservation.
Brant Lake Camp’s deep connection to music dates back to our founding years. In 1920, Lorenz Hart, of Rodgers and Hart fame, penned our alma mater and the beloved closing night song “Last Night.” Arthur Schwartz, another illustrious composer, collaborated with Hart on the BLC original “I Love to Lie Awake in Bed,” which was later reworked for Broadway as “I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plans.” Mel Torme famously recorded both versions on an album. (Take a listen!) Today, our Clubhouse is helmed by Blake Pearson and his assistant, Conor “Mini-Moo” Haynes, who continue to delight audiences with laughter and appreciation, as showcased on our Instagram page. (Click the Highlight on our profile that is titled “On the Stage!”)
On Friday night, we hosted our first Varsity Basketball game of the summer versus Camp Baco. With the assistance of a festive, raucous, yet sportsmanlike full-camp crowd (cheering 100% in support of BLC, 0% anti- our opponents), BLC played well and won convincingly. Our Senior Cs not in the game led the cheering with painted bodies. The half-time show featured an exciting performance from Brant Lake Dance Camp and a record-breaking number of “Sundae Shots” (the Frosh, Soph B, JC all made the shots) with the coup de grace half-court shot made by Max Gersten, for which the entire camp receives sundaes. Additionally on the Athletic front this past week, our Inter A’s won a soccer tourney at Echo Lake and our Varsity Basketball team won the Echo Lake Tournament.
Lacrosse, flag football, ice hockey, and golf are all activities that are available at BLC, and in which we take pride. For many years -and still today- we’ve stressed our core five activities: baseball, basketball, tennis, soccer and lake. Now, we have a strong flag football program, led this year by Mark Anderson, a PE teacher and football and track coach at the Dalton School. Mark also co-directs the Jonathan Taylor (NFL) football camp. We are one of the few camps that offers ice hockey – three times during the summer – led by Dave Cramoy, a retired director of BLC and a longtime hockey coach with the prestigious hockey program at the National Sports Academy in Lake Placid. We are doing more golf than ever for our interested campers- both in camp for our younger campers and both in and out of camp for our Inters and Seniors.
We move into week three with continued enthusiasm, shows, intercamp games, and our first set of overnight trips! Our Inter Bs will be leaving for a two-day, one-night trip to the Berkshires; our Senior A’s for two-days, one-night to Burlington; our Senior Bs for four-days, three-nights in Toronto; and our Senior Cs for three days, two nights in Philly. Our Inter A’s will be offered the opportunity to sleep out in tents at Scaroon Manor on Schroon Lake. As mentioned last week, we also look forward to a visit from a BLC alum, Ben Lee, who is a D-1 basketball coach at Siena.
Have a great week yourselves,
Richie G
