With the recent dreary San Francisco weather, it can be a stretch to recall the warm, colorful days of summer camp. It takes an even more creative mind to imagine the Golan Heights, the Dead Sea or Tel Aviv in the height of warmth.
The Bay Area’s two-day Jewish Summer Camps and Israel Programs Fair on Sunday, Jan. 29 and Monday, Jan. 30 helped to dissolve some of these winter blues.
Held Sunday afternoon at the Albert L. Schultz Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto, and Monday evening at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, the fair covered a lot of ground not only geographically, but in content and age.
Day camps, overnight camps and international programs all exhibited their goods and tried to demonstrate for potential campers, participants and parents why their experiences would be beneficial.
Orli Rinat, an Israeli American mother from Los Altos Hills thought up the idea of the fair three years ago. With a group of her peers, Rinat decided it was important for parents and children to know their options when deciding what to do over the summer.
“People weren’t aware of the wide variety of Jewish programs [in the United States] and in Israel,” said Rinat. “[And] Jewish camps and Israel programs are important to Jewish identity.”
Over the past three years, the fair has grown and improved, Rinat said, now providing booths for 50 camps and programs.
For the younger child, the local JCCs have plenty to offer this year.
Karen Einbinder, the Youth and Family Department director of JCCSF, said that the center will offer more specialty day camps, such as Girls Gymnastics, Art, Dance & Swim Camp, Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp, and Cooking Camp. Normal camp delights include swimming, sports, art, music, nature exploration and field trips.
“Our programs are known for quality,” Einbinder said, noting that the day camp is a good step toward going to a sleep-away camp like Camp Tawonga, as the JCC frequently takes the camper outside of the city, and even outside of their homes for an evening or two.
The fair had a distinctive Israeli flavor Monday evening as blue balloons with silver stars dotted the hall, indicating camps with Israeli subject matter.
Camp Milk and Honey in the Golan Heights of Israel was one of the two Israeli camps highlighted at the fair. Entering into its first year, the camp bills itself as the first Israeli Family Camp, a chance for families traveling in Israel to experience life on a kibbutz together.
Seeking Common Ground, a Denver camp, brings together young women (16-19) from Israel, Palestinian territories and the United States to participate in an intensive summer program. Associate Director Erin Breeze said that the camp is for young women to explore their own identities but to also experience and learn from a diverse and different community.
Parents and children were handed an overwhelming amount of information and camp brochures as they combed the rows of booths.
Alystar Sachs, 12, a student at Wornick Jewish Day School in Foster City, is intent on finding the right camp this year. She will not be going back to the one she previously attended, she said, because of its rigid structure and schedule.
“I want to find one that fits my interests better. I like camp, but not schedules. I want the camp experience, but also I want to just hang out,” Sachs said.
The fair was sponsored by the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin & Sonoma Counties, the San Francisco Israel Center, Albert L. Schultz JCC, JCC of San Francisco, Kehillah Jewish High School, MASA — The Gateway to Long Term Israel Programs, The Jewish Agency of Israel and the Foundation for Jewish Camping.