Hi all,

I don’t know about you, but in the spring, my thoughts turn to camp. I start to look forward to summer, when it’s so hot that only a swim in the lake will cool me off (although I dread how hot I’ll be by the top of the stairs!). And I start counting the days…

If you’re having trouble waiting for camp to start, and need a camp visit to tide you over, how about coming up to camp for the Open House and Work Weekend? June 11-12, rain or shine! We’re trying something new this year – keep reading!

This is a chance to tour the site and see where the campers spend their time at camp. It’s also a chance to give back to the camp community. We depend on volunteers to be able to provide an awesome program to campers, and without your help, it wouldn’t be possible. This is a volunteer opportunity for high schoolers as well.

But don’t worry – it’s not all about work! There’ll be cook-out lunches (weather dependent), tours, and camaraderie as you as help out. New this year, we will also be offering Sunday afternoon games for any camper-aged children (6-15)! Come on out to meet some staff, some other campers, and just have fun!

Bring your campers, your family, your friends, anyone is welcome! Please RSVP by clicking the link below so we have enough food. Hope to see you there!

RSVP to Kalalla Work Weekend [No longer in use]

Here is the approximate schedule for the weekend. Tours can be offered anytime throughout.

Saturday, June 11:

9:30 – arrive, meet and greet, registration, assign tasks, get equipment, etc.
10:00 – 12:00 – work
12:00 – 1:00 – lunch
1:00 – 3:00 – work
3:00 – 3:30 – recognition and departure

Sunday, June 12:

9:30 – arrive, meet and greet, registration, assign tasks, get equipment, etc.
10:00 – 12:00 – work
12:00 – 1:00 – lunch
1:00 – 3:00 – adults work, activities for camper-aged children
3:00 – 3:30 – recognition and departure

Hi all,

Camp Kalalla would like to introduce our newest fundraising affiliate Mabel’s Labels!

20% of every order purchased through Camp Kalalla’s page at camps.mabelslabels.com goes towards our camp! Just click the link, and select “CGIT Camp Kalalla (Nepean)” from the drop down menu!

This weekend Mabel’s Labels is having a 30% off sale for their birthday. Purchase your first set before Tuesday March 8th to save!

Hi all,

It’s throwback Thursday! Can you guess the camp year from the names in the story?

Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there was a castle. In this castle lived Princess Jewels. Princess Jewels lived with her beloved pet bird Snoopy and her evil stepmother Guin.

One day, evil stepmother Guin was overly irritated by the excessive noises Snoopy was making, so she Toshed, I mean tossed, Snoopy out the window.

Princess Jewels was so upset, and immediately fled the castle in search for Snoopy the bird. Snoopy was just a Tiny bird, but she sure could fly fast. Princess Jewels didn’t know where to begin.

“Snoopy!” she cried, “where are you!”

From around the corner, Little Red Riding Hood came skipping along. “Are you looking for the bird making that awful KRAZ noises?” she asked.

“Yes! That’s her!”

“I just saw her fly over by the Cedar tree” Red replied.

Princess Jewels made her way over to the cedar tree where she saw Teddy the grizzly Bear munching away on some Spicy homemade honey.”Excuse me, have you seen my bird Snoopy?” she asked.

“Is it Tiny and does it make KRAZ noises?” the Bear grumbled

“That’s the one!” Jewels replied.

“Yeah, I saw her fly over the River of happiness a little while ago.”

“Thank you!” Princess Jewels called as the headed towards the River. Once Princess Jewels arrived, she realized the current in the River was too strong for her to swim across. She started to believe that Murphy‘s law was true – everything that can go wrong, will.

Just as she was about to give up, Aqua the mermaid showed up. “Why are you crying on this beautiful Summer day?”

“I can’t find my bird, and I can’t get across the River!” Jewels cried.

“I’ll help you get across, just hold onto my fin!”

And with that, they swam across the River. As Princess Jewels hopped out of the water, she noticed Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory off in the distance. She ran towards it. At the front door, Jewels bought some Mocha maple chocolate cake from Mitch the oompa loompa. She then followed him inside in search of Snoopy.

The factory was huge. There were candies of all sorts, including sugar Quills. Princess Jewels picked one up, and drew a picture of Snoopy, which she showed to all the oompa loompas in hopes that they had seen her. When no one recognized Snoopy, Jewels exited the factory through the back door.

As she was walking away, a giant elephant Squirting hot chocolate out of her trunk stopped Princess Jewels.

“Hi, my name is Lennon. I’m sorry to interrupt you, but I’ve seen that rambunctious bird in your picture. She was flying along making KRAZ noises.”

“Oh please! Where did she go!? I must find her!” Jewels exclaimed.

“She went down Chocolate road,” Lennon said, indicating the stream of hot chocolate flowing down hill, “but the chocolate is too hot for princess’ toes. You mist ride Schultz the camel. She has special heat proof DC shoes!”

So Princess Jewels made her way down Chocolate road on Schultz the camel. Once she got to the bottom, she saw Snoopy perched on a sign that read “Camp Kalalla”.

“SNOOPY!!!” Jewels cried, as she hugged the Tiny bird. “Don’t worry, we will never return to the castle again. We will stay right here at Kalalla.”

So they stayed at camp Kalalla and lived happily ever after, and evil stepmother Guin never bothered them again.

Here in BC today is Family Day. For some unknown reason, we get it a week before you guys in Ontario. So happy early Family Day!

I love the idea of a new holiday, and getting to create new traditions. Traditions are my favourite thing. My family has many – turkey instead of ham on Easter, spraying whipped cream on noses instead of pie on Thanksgiving and having a homemade advent calendar with fun family activities instead of chocolate at Christmas.

Kalalla also has so many excellent ones – tent time, polar bear dip, elbows on the table and the looooooong walk down to waterfront to buddy out when you forget.

What are your favourite Kalalla traditions? Let me know in the comments or by emailing blog@kalalla.com!

Hi all,

It’s been a long time! I hope that everyone had a fantastic holiday season with their loved ones! I know I sure did.

Now that the tree is gone and the decorations are packed away, it’s sometimes hard to see an end to the cold, dark days of winter. Here in BC that means rain, rain and more rain (we’ve had one day of snow in the last two winters combined!) and according to the weather report snow is currently falling in Ottawa.

This is when I always start doing the arithmetic in my head – flying to Ontario would cost how much, and I would have to take how many days off work and I have what other commitments this summer?

Some years, the math goes well, but unfortunately this year it does not. I am flying to Ontario in May for my best friend’s bachelorette party and the budget for a second plane ticket just doesn’t exist.

I hope for those of you who are closer, the mental math works out better and you are able to spend a week of your summer making fantastic memories and fast friends. As always, I will look forward to everyone’s pictures and stories of camp so I can pretend I am there.

So while the weather is dreary, join me in daydreaming about marshmallows over a campfire and morning dip in the lake!

Hi all,

Kalalla is having a fundraiser this Thursday in conjunction with Ten Thousand Villages. If you are looking for some fun, unique presents to give this Christmas, go check it out at 371 Richmond Road in Westboro!

A percentage of each purchase goes towards Kalalla and you get to give an awesome present to someone you love!

See the poster below for more information.

One of my favourite camp moments is the staff story, because it’s a great way to get to know all the new names. On top of that, I always enjoy the various ways the names get used and then how the staff have to try to act that out. Calypso pretty much has two options – the name of one of the characters, or music playing. Just try to imagine for a minute how you act out either of those two things. 😉

This year, Schultz has sent me the staff story, so you can enjoy it again and again!

From Schultz:

A long time ago, before I started attending Kalalla, someone started the tradition of writing what we call a “staff story” for the opening campfire. This story somehow includes the name of each staff member. The task of writing this story traditionally falls to the waterfront staff, who are largely responsible for planning the opening campfire. As a result, I’ve had the opportunity to write 6 or 7 of these stories over the past 9 years. Every year, we try to come up with new ways to use everyone’s names, but sometimes we have to go with the old standbys (sorry Jewels and Gem!). This year, Willy, Cupid and I took it as a personal challenge to find a different way of incorporating everyone who says “well, I’m always _____.” As a result, we have some pretty unique lines in here, and I’m pretty proud of how the story turned out. Willy, Cupid and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it.

with love, Schultz

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Kalalla. Kalalla had a lot of friends, but nowhere for all of them to hang out together. One morning, she woke up in a Chipper mood, put a new SD card in her camera, and set off to find the perfect place.

First, she came across a farmyard. A Goose and her Gosling were there. Before she could get close to them, though, they started running, and were Gonzo before she could talk to them. In the barn, a Lambchopped wood and a cow was Squirting milk. “There is too much commotion in this barn!” she said, and she continued her search.

Next, she wandered into the Hundred Acre Wood. She stumbled over a Boulder and fell on her Heinz-y. “Oops-a-Daisy!” said Tigger, before bouncing away after a Flutterby, leaving Kalalla on her own again.

She started walking towards a cabin, where Goldielocks was eating Pickles and Blondies, because the bears were out of porridge. Then Bentley the bear came home from the mine with a bucket full of Jewels and Gems. Kalalla wondered if the cabin would hold all of her friends. Goldielocks said that would be too much Treble. “Aww, Schultz!” Kalalla replied.

Kalalla was getting discouraged. Walking past an archery field, Cupid drew her bow and arrow, scarring Kalalla Willy-nilly. “If you are looking for a place to hang out, climb those stairs.” Cupid said, pointing her bow and arrow up a hill. As Kalalla walked up the hill, she started to hear voices Echoing among the trees. Snoopyng around a big tree, she saw all of her friends singing together under the Cosmos.

“Kalalla!” They shouted. “Where have you been? We couldn’t find your Digits, so we had no way to tell you we were here!” “Well,” said Kalalla, “I’m here now.”

And they lived happily ever after.

The End

I am sorry ladies, I have been remiss in my blogging duties. My brother has been going through some health issues and he was just released from the hospital, after what we hope will be the last surgery he has to have!

When I am sad and stressed like this past week (year), I drift back to camp memories more than ever. I sing Taps to myself when I go to bed, feeling surrounded by all the Kalalla ladies that have been there for me in the past, present and future.

I also use the upbeat songs to cheer myself up. As much as my boyfriend hates it, Magdalena Hagdalena consistently has the power to make me smile, as I remember kayaking for hours, driving our counsellor crazy singing it over and OVER again.

But most of all, and I don’t even think it’s sung at camp anymore, my favourite is the following:

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns, from Heaven above!
With Wisdom, Power and Love
Our God is an awesome God

So, what’s your favourite camp song to sing, when you’re sad, or when you’re feeling silly? Let me know by emailing and remember – only 3 weeks left until camp! I am super jealous of everyone that lives in Ontario/Quebec and can go to camp, take advantage of your geographical proximity and make sure you register before it’s too late!

Hi Kalalla friends,

This is just a reminder that registration is open! All you need to do is go here to find all the forms and information you need to sign up for another great year at camp!

I so wish I was going to be heading to camp this year. I was watching a TV show and the episode was called “Boom De Yah Da”. It made me so camp sick.

For those of you that don’t have a plane ride between you and the Gatineau hills – you have no excuse.

And now, for your camp singing pleasure:

I love the mountains
I love the rolling hills
I love the flowers
I love the daffodils
I love the fireside
When all the lights are low.

Boom De Yah Da, Boom De Yah Da, Boom De Yah Da, Boom De Yah Da…