Camper Banquet and Carnival

About a week ago our head chef Gary Witkes approached me and said that he wanted to do something special for the camper banquet.  He wanted to make hors d’oeuvres for the whole camp and serve them out on the tennis courts.  As a caterer, he said it was his specialty.  This, of course, was a monumental task.  Making appetizers for 750 people is daunting.

I approached the hanhallah (lead staff) and pitched the idea.  They loved it.  Then, Rabbi Ethan Linden, our assistant director said that we should get a dunk tank.  I’m not exactly sure why he was obsessed with this, but I found a dunk tank and added a moon bounce and obstacle course.  Then, our specialty staff agreed to make booths like face painting, sponge toss, water gun/candle, Shabbat O Grams, Israeli Folk Dancing, etc.  The next thing you know, we had a full-blown carnival. 

The kids loved the event.  Then, we went inside for a lighter meal, a spirited song session, and the other banquet rituals.

The only thing I need to tell you is that the water in the dunk tank was VERY cold.