Camp Akiba, (the best camp in the world) located in Reeders Pennsylvania, closed in 1997. The grounds are still maintained and as beautiful as ever, and it is now home to the Pocono Picnic Company. But for those of us who were campers at Camp Akiba, we miss it dearly. Fortunately there is a Facebook Group that helps connect many of us who were campers and staff at Camp Akiba.

Those of us who were campers in the 1970′ & 80’s and have children of our own are now faced with a question…

Where do we send our kids to overnight camp now that Akiba is closed?!!

Last summer I had the opportunity to visit and work with many summer camps on a tour with my Path To Rhythm Group Drumming Program. I learned many things, and the most apparent thing that I saw was camp spirit. The campers at all of these camps feel the same way about their camp; that it’s the best camp in the world.

In addition to getting to drum with over 3,500 campers at 12 different camps, I had the chance to meet some unexpected special people. These were the children of my friends from Camp Akiba. Imagine that…the children of Akibaites!

Below is a list and some photos of the next generation of campers that I met in the summer of 2011.

At Pine Forest Camp :

I drummed with:

• Jared Diamond, son of Rick Diamond.
• Jordan Sheppard, daughter of Jennifer (Meyers) Sheppard
• Daniel Weiss, son of my former counselor, Hank Weiss
• Jordan and Justin Shapiro,  the sons of Alison Brodnick Shapiro

And I met:

• Chelsea Gordon, the daughter of Howard and the grand daughter of Uncle Lenny & Aunt Harriet
• Rachel & Carly Garazi, daughters of Carrie (Meyers) Garazi
• Hannah & Jordyn Kieserman, daughters of Amy (Dratch) Kieserman

with Jordan Sheppard, daughter of Jennifer (Meyers) Sheppard

with Jordan Shapiro and Daniel Wiess

with Chelsea Gordon, daughter of Howard Gordon

At Camp Kweebec:

• I drummed with Zack and Alex Jacobs, the sons Cory Jacobs
• I drummed with Ethan Berg, the son of Cami (Fruchter) Berg

At Camp Canadensis:

• I drummed with Carly Sukonik, the daughter of Neil Sukonik

At Diamond Ridge Camp:

• I drummed with Nicky Kelly, son of Sam & Mary Ann Kelly
• I met Brooke Oxenhandler, daughter of Brian Oxenhandler

At Sesame/ Rockwood Camp

• I met Avery & Jacob Ominsky, the children of Tara Dickerman Ominsky

and socially:

The summer began with a visit from Melissa (Storch) Epstein and her daughter Haley.

I also saw Erica (Skala) Napach and her three children, Charlie, Mason, and Lily.

I enjoy meeting the families of former Camp Akiba campers and staff, I consider them my extended family, we are part of the same Tribe.

The Camp Akiba Diaspora Project:

If you want to participate: add the following info to the comment section below…

• Your name
• The years you went to Akiba
• The names of your children
• Where they have attended camp, or where they will be attending camp

This information will be visible here on this page publicly as a way to document where the next generation of campers are attending camp.

See you in September 2012 at the official Camp Akiba Reunion!

Path To Rhythm will be traveling to the following camps this summer to bring group drumming to campers and counselors.

We can’t wait to drum with you!!!!

Camp Timber Tops

Pine Forest

Camp Kweebec

Camp Canadensis

Camp Chipinaw

Liberty Lake Day Camp

Sesame Rockwood Day Camp

Diamond Ridge Camps

Camp Wayne for Girls

Camp Wayne for Boys

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for pics and updates from the road.

I  recently returned from attending the Tri-State Camp Conference that took place in Atlantic City from March 14-18th, 2011.

I had a great time connecting with old friends and meeting new ones!

The high lights for me:

• Jamming with singer-song writer Jared Campbell at the Conference opening evening event at The Tropicana’s A Dam Good Sportsbar.
• Presenting a session and facilitating a panel of great people  to 150 attendees at “The Case for Music Making in Camp: Does Your Camp Rock?!” The panel included Peter Kalvert from Music Ascension, Amy Berger from Camplified, and Andy Pritikin from Liberty Lake Day Camp.
• Sponsoring the PAYCE (Philadelphia Are Young Camp Experts) event on Thursday evening and facilitating a drum circle for their group.
• Hearing Seth Godin speak and then meeting him (see picture  below)!

Image of Pratidah playing a drum by Millie Young

I was driving in my car today and listening to WNYC . The host was interviewing a guest by the name of David Soldier, who tells an amazing story of how he began teaching elephants in Thailand how to play musical instruments. The elephants eventually learned visual cues and were able to play together. David and his team created special instruments for the elephants! No joke… Read more or watch a video about this amazing work here.

This raises one of my favorite questions that I like to ask Camp Directors, “Do you have a music making program for your campers?”.

I usually get a variety of responses, but the general answer is that they would like to, but are not quite sure of the best way to go about it. Or, perhaps they tried to do something a few years ago and they judge that it was not successful, and so they let go of the idea. (By the way, my favorite answer is, “Yes, we have a kick-ass music program.“)

What is a music making program? To be clear, a music-making program is any program, club, elective, or activity that enables campers to learn and play musical instruments together. It can be organized and taught by staff, informal and put together by campers, educational and taught by a hired professional, or a combination of all of these and more. Your programming will be unique as to meet the needs of your camp. You may also find the programs you offer changing and evolving from year to year.

If you do not yet have a music making program, now is the time to start one!

I assume that we all know how schools have been affected by budget cuts, and music and arts are the first programs to be cut. With children missing out on these opportunities during the school year, summer camps have an opportunity to pick up the slack and provide music programs for their campers.

The benefits of having a music making program:

• Campers are given an opportunity that they may not get during the school year
• You will have a program that is educational, and the campers enjoy
• Making music together creates a sense of community and connection
• Encourages creativity and is an outlet for creative expression
• Provides an alternative path for campers who are not interested in playing sports
• rainy day activity

If elephants can learn to make music, imagine the possibilities for all of those intelligent human beings that we call campers!

If you already have a music program in place, I would love to hear about what works for you and your camp. Leave a comment below and start off the conversation.

Learn More About Music Programs in Summer Camp

I will be presenting on this topic at The Tri-State Camp Conference in Atlantic City on March 16th, 2011. Look out for the session, “The Case For Music Making In Camp; Does Your Camp Rock?”.
I hope to see you there!
-Adam Issadore 

I had an amazing time participating in the concert event put on by Liberty Lake Day Camp called Camp-A-Palooza. This is a huge festival-style event that the camp puts on for the campers that features live music, games, food, and all kinds of ridiculously fun things to do.

I worked with groups of campers all week, preparing them to perform at the big concert. We rocked the house by opening the show with a Path To Rhythm BOOM! It was awesome to see how much energy and excitement the group drumming program created.

I also got on stage and performed with singer-songwriter Jared Campbell. I jammed on drums with him for a few tunes, and I even got into some beat-boxing on his version of “Rapper’s Delight”. If you are not familiar with Jared’s work, I suggest you go download this album from iTunes. (I listened to it every day for the entire week that I was at Liberty Lake and it became my favorite jam.)

Another highlight for me was joining Andy Pritikin and the Liberty Lake House Band to play the Liberty Lake theme song. This song is by far the best and catchiest camp song that I have heard in my 25 plus years of camping experience. The campers love it! Congrats to Brandi Carnivale for a job well done.

Check out the video below to see Camp-A-Palooza in action.