Comments Off on Innovative Family Vacation Treasured by a Few, Still Unknown to Most
A unique twist on the summer family vacation has been around for over a decade, yet remains known only to a relatively small number of families. Vacationing at a Family Camp is a trend recently highlighted by Parade, Child, Family Fun and Frommer’s Budget Travel magazines as well as The New York Times, Boston Globe and Baltimore Sun, yet most people don’t quite grasp the idea of going to camp with their kids. Family camps (think grown-up-friendly summer camp with one-week-long sessions, comfortable beds and good food) are known for wholesome, unplugged, old-fashioned fun, and are popular with the typical modern-day, overscheduled family. Parents and kids, busy going from school to soccer games to dance lessons to scout meetings to tutoring, want a chance to unwind in a pristine setting far removed from the daily grind, as written about in Family Fun magazine. And families really like the idea once exposed to it, with camps averaging a fifty percent return rate. Our Mom and Dad “campers” have been telling us for years that the main reason they come back is that they leave content and relaxed, like they just had a “real” vacation; a feeling strangely absent after their week at the beach or Disney World. As for our kid campers, their biggest complement is that they don’t want to leave camp at the end of the week.
Comments Off on Northern Family Camp Popular with Southern Families
An innovative twist on the summer family vacation has been well known to residents of the mid-Atlantic and northeast for quite some time. Family camps (think grown-up friendly summer camp with comfortable beds and good food) are known for wholesome, old-fashioned fun, and are most popular with the typical overscheduled family. Parents and kids, busy going from school to soccer games to dance lessons to scout meetings to tutoring, want a chance to unwind in a pristine setting far removed from the daily grind, as has been pointed out by Family Fun magazine and a variety of other publications in recent years. Vacationing at a Family Camp is a trend highlighted by Parade, Child, Family Fun and Frommer’s Budget Travel magazines as well as The New York Times, Boston Globe and Baltimore Sun. The trend also shows real satisfaction, with camps averaging fifty percent returning families. Our Mom and Dad “campers” have been telling us for years that the main reason they come back is that they leave content and relaxed, like they just had a “real” vacation; a feeling strangely absent after their week at the beach or Disney World. As for our kid campers, their biggest complement is that they don’t want to leave camp at the end of the week.
Another trend noticed in the last couple of years has been an increasing number of families coming from states in the south and southwest, a demographic strangely absent from our registration rolls in the past. When quizzed about why they chose to come to a Family Camp in Maine, our families from Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, the Carolinas and Florida quickly point out the cooler weather. And when asked why they overwhelmingly choose to come in June and July (months not as popular with mid-Atlantic and northeastern families, due to school ending in late June), they point out that their schools let out in May and early June , making June and July prime-time for family vacations. Late July and August are extremely busy times for most Family Camps and we always have wait-lists with families from places like Massachusetts and New York. But this demographic naturally has left vacancies for northeastern vacation spots in the beginning of the season…vacancies increasingly being filled and enjoyed by new demographic, families not usually associated with New England.
Comments Off on Maine Medomak Retreat Center Offers Something for Everyone
Medomak Retreat Center in Washington, Maine opens its doors for the third season this June. The summer 2005 schedule offers a series of programs to spark diverse interests in arts and science, as well as family fun.
Medomak welcomes back for a tenth season Medomak Camp alumni, Kenneth Kiesler, Director of Orchestra and professor of conducting at the University of Michigan, Music Director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and the founder of the Illinois Symphony Chorus and the Illinois Chamber Orchestra. Kiesler returns with his highly popular Conductor’s Retreat. The Retreat, June 30- July 17, offers conductors the opportunity to focus on their music, polish skills, and gain new perspectives through music score study: creating the opportunity for novices and experienced conductors to inspire and learn from each other. A final concert with a 40 piece orchestra, open to the public, will be held July 16 in the century old Medomak Retreat Center Lodge.
For a second summer the Medomak Retreat Center will offer a week-long workshop, from July 18-23, with renowned ecologist and biologist Tom Wessels, Professor of Ecology at Antioch New England Graduate School. Dr. Wessels has spent nearly a quarter of a century interpreting the northeastern landscape and teaching others how to listen to the conversations of the forest. He has an uncanny ability to step into a forest and reveal its unique natural history simply by turning over a decaying stump or looking for basal scars (a sign of fire damage) on mature trees. He asserts that by coming to a fuller understanding of our native landscape, we attain a greater sense of place for ourselves, and can be much more effective stewards.
In a series of lectures and field trips over a 6 day period, Tom will teach natural history buffs, teachers, land trust members and lovers of the New England landscape how to read the landscape in the same way one might solve a mystery. Once basic patterns are recognized, the skill, referencing the forested landscape of mid-coast Maine, can be applied anywhere. With little practice during peaceful walks in the woods you will be able to begin to unravel the natural and human history that has led to the current lay of the land. Past participants found the seminars and field study invaluable in helping them develop an even greater appreciation for the land about which they care so much.
In August the Retreat Center will offer a perfect opportunity to get away from the summer city heat and share the wonders of the universe! Astronomy lovers, ranging from school age to post-retirement, will join us for Medomak’s first Perseid Meteor Party. The dark Maine skies are perhaps the best in the country for observing the annual Perseid meteor showers. During the day participants can explore Medomak’s mile of lakefront, join in supervised land or water-based activities, or sit in on a talk by one of our guest lecturers. Medomak is excited to welcome J. Kelly Beatty Editor of NIGHT SKY, a new magazine for beginning stargazers, and Executive Editor of SKY & TELESCOPE as our featured speaker. Along with sharing his extensive knowledge of the night sky, he will be on hand to answer questions about constellations, comets and telescopes. Participants will also have the chance to hear from internationally acclaimed and self-taught artist, Greg Mort. Mort has graciously invited Medomak’s participants to his summer studio, in Port Clyde, ME, to learn about his lifelong passion for nature and astronomy and experience his artwork. Mort serves on the Boards of the McDonald and Lowell Observatories. Carl Sagan included Mort’s works in his book “Pale Blue Dot”. Mort’s works can be found in many prestigious museums and private collections including the permanent collection of Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum, NASA and the White House.
Medomak Family Camp and Retreat Center has over a 100 year history of summer camping, located in Washington, Maine approximately 25 miles inland from Rockland/Camden in the mid-coast region of Maine. For additional information:http://www.medomakcamp.com.
Comments Off on Newest Trend in Family Travel…Family Camp!
One hot trend in travel, as reported by The New York Times, Family Fun Magazine, and Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine, is Family Camp. Does this conger up the thought of driving to a campground, pitching a tent, starting a campfire to cook hotdogs, and sleeping on the hard ground? Think again! Family Camp gives the entire family the opportunity to experience traditional summer camp activities in a setting far removed from what you might imagine the Griswold family’s antics might be in National Lampoon’s “Camp” Vacation.
Family Camp is one of the fastest growing segments in the camp industry. This alternative vacation choice gives overscheduled families a chance to slow down, unwind, reconnect and try something new. Medomak Camp, located in the mid-coast region of Maine, is one of the first original Family Camps and has been a leader in this industry. Medomak has been in the camp business for over a century and for the last decade has dedicated their eight week summer season exclusively to Family Camp.
Archery, arts & crafts, photography, lakeside activities, and campfires every night are just the beginnings of activities offered each week. How does the thought of a chef preparing three healthy hearty meals a day sound? We’re not talking about your traditional camp food. Think lobster, mussels, and homemade muffins replete with fresh picked blueberries, pancakes or cobbler enhanced with more of those blueberries, salads made from just picked vegetables from the camp garden…
Worried about sagging tents, blowing up air mattresses or sleeping on the cold, hard ground? Worry no more. Clean pine cabins equipped with rocking chairs, queen and twin size mattresses and box springs, reading lights and private bathrooms with hot showers offer welcome creature comforts. Adirondack chairs strategically placed outside each cabin in the sunshine entice you to enjoy a good book or a glass of wine before dinner.
I can imagine the worried look on your face. Can I meet the expense of this? The answer is Family Camp is surprisingly affordable. Tuition is all inclusive so there are no hidden costs for boat or equipment rentals, instruction or snacks. In fact, a family of four can enjoy a week’s vacation for approximately $2000.
With Medomak’s location, in Washington Maine, is an easy hour and a half drive from Portland’s International Jetport, or a three hour drive north from Manchester New Hampshire’s airport or from Boston’s Logan International Airport. It speaks to the easy access to Medomak from almost anywhere on the globe. Once at camp, campers have the opportunity to explore coastal towns, Acadia National Park or Maine’s State Capital, Augusta. Family Camp, hmm…I bet you might just want to give it a try!
Comments Off on Summer Camp for Families Offers Thanks and a Discounted Vacation to Armed Services Families
Medomak’s Family Camp located just outside the village of Washington, Maine has been in the business of family fun for a decade. This summer, as a thank you to our military personnel, Medomak is offering free tuition to any active servicemen or servicewomen who come to camp with their family.
Medomak Camp’s eight week season is devoted to offering traditional as well as inventive camp activities for campers of all ages. Families come to the lakeside oasis to enjoy a week-long program that includes archery, arts & crafts, photography, swimming, boating, campfires and three hearty, home-cooked meals a day. This traditional summer camp, with programs designed for families, has been welcoming a loyal following of campers under a year old to over 90 years old from around the country to the mid-coast region of Maine since 1994.
Founders George and Holly Stone believe in Medomak’s century old camp philosophy to always remember the other person. The Stones feel that is exactly what our armed forces are doing by guarding our freedom as Americans. Free tuition for servicemen or women will provide an opportunity for these courageous men and women to decompress and reconnect with their loved ones in a relaxing, peaceful, natural environment.
Medomak Camp in Washington, Maine will be celebrating its 100th season of camping July 4-6, 2003. Originally founded by the man whose family farmed the land for generations, Frank Poland (who ran the camp for 50 years) opened up his family’s rural home to city boys seeking refuge from the pitfalls and trappings of a hot, idle summer in the city. The perception at the time (and maybe still today) was that due to the rapidly changing world where the jobs created by technology and progress lured thousands into the cities, society as a whole was in danger of losing the skills and knowledge essential to a self-reliant lifestyle. Summer camp (and Medomak Camp as one of the founding pioneers) began as a way to get children out of the city at the height of the industrial revolution and immerse them in the secure rhythms of rural life.
Over the past 100 years Medomak has never been pigeon holed into any specific category of camp. It has offered an all-American program, with a place for all faiths, all talents, and all inclinations and placed its greatest emphasis on individual self-development and appreciation of community. At the turn of the century (and now) children learned how to fish, make a fire, find drinking water, prepare food, identify constellations in the night sky, animal tracks and flora & fauna, find their way with a map & compass, and build shelters. True to its founding mission, Medomak Camp today operates as a summer camp for families and adults; still surrounding it’s campers in the beauty and simplicity of the natural world.
Medomak (rhymes with comic) is a slice of history. Many of the buildings are original to the camp, including the Sr. lodge built in 1811. Of special significance to everyone who has attended Medomak is the “meditation seat”, where for close to 100 years, campers and staff have recorded their personal thoughts and observations. These writings, continually kept in the same copper box, remain as a unique perspective on life during the entire 20th century.
Thousands of campers have summered at Medomak and many now return to share the experience with their families. They come to camp to re-visit their youth and expose their children and spouses to the kind of memories that can only be made at camp. Holly Stone, the newest steward of Medomak and mother of four, was a former camper & counselor at Medomak. Stone states, “Like many other Medomak alumni I have no hesitation in saying that, other than parents, Medomak was the driving force in making me who I am today. I believe that is because camp allows children to flex all their aspects – feminine and masculine, strengths and weaknesses, solo and team player – they learn about themselves and the world around them. They learn how to build a community based on cooperation; they learn how to respect others and the land they depend on. In short Medomak campers learned what’s important and enduring.” Duncan Goldthwaite, a Medomak camper from 1937 until 1944 and a counselor at Medomak in 1948, recently wrote, “I don’t think I’d be exaggerating to say that, other than my family, Medomak was the biggest influence on my life during my formative years, and for the good.”
Many generations of former campers are expected to attend the centennial weekend which will host a dedication of an alumni-built log lean-to (using trees on site), the unearthing of a time capsule and the remaking of a new one, and a 5k walk/run open to alumni and neighbors to celebrate its 100th season. A highlight of the week will be the unveiling of old camp films from the past 60 years that have been preserved to VHS tape. Also on display will be photos from each decade but notably those made from Silver/glass slides dating back to the beginning of the 20th century, postcards and letters from campers written home in the 1920’s, camp awards, crafts and written memories chronicled by former campers.
