Insight into the building blocks of Camp Magic

First of all, I want to thank everyone for being so invested in Camp Getaway. This is going to be an amazing show with plenty of drama about a real place with real struggles. It will provide an incredible escape for so many people who need to forget about everyday stresses. Nothing is more relevant right now, as we go through this pandemic together.

Watching the show for the first time was surreal. Seeing yourself as a character doing what you do is quite entertaining and challenging. Having your actions critiqued is even crazier, but, this is what we signed up for, so let’s do it!

After watching the first episode quite a few times, I can understand the confusion as to why Claire and I were so upset about a cake. I do train all of my staff to do everything they can to get to yes, and yes, that is what Neely and Nile were doing. Although, there is a bigger picture that I want to share. In this case it was not better to beg for forgiveness rather than ask for permission, as it did have an effect on the business and the camper experience as a whole.

The show follows eight of our staff members and a group of our campers. This is only a small snapshot of what is happening during the weekend. I have two goals at Camp Getaway: Keep all campers safe and create an environment where everyone can have an amazing time. To accomplish the 2nd goal, we strive to create camp magic.

Camp magic is when everyone is having a moment together. Imagine going to a concert with 70,000 people, and the band hits a crescendo, the lights are going crazy, and you look around and there is a shit eating grin on all 70,000 attendees. Imagine being in a night club and the beat drops, and everyone’s dancing their asses off. Camp magic is the moment when you are having the time of your life, nothing else matters, and all other cares disappear. Camp magic must happen organically and cannot be forced. Based on our extensive experience, we know the building blocks that go into creating these moments. Once these building blocks are in place, the magic may or may not happen. Once you remove one of these building blocks, the camp magic will NOT occur. In the cake scenario, removing a large group of campers from the equation (the dinner tent as the band is about to start playing and the dance floor is about to explode) kills the camp magic moment,by deflating the energy in the room

This is why we were so upset! If Nile or Neely would have asked, we would have easily told them to hold off a few minutes until the band started, let the camp magic moment happen, and then serve their cake. It would have been a better experience for Kash and a better experience for the rest of the campers. Nothing at camp happens by accident. Neely and Nile did not know this and made a decision that did not allow us to provide the full Camp Getaway experience for Kash’s group and the other 180 campers.

What I was explaining to Neely the next morning is that the pressure is real, Claire is director of an orchestra with 500 instruments trying to create a piece of music. The decision to take people out of the tent was akin to doing a trumpet solo that was not part of the composed music. She was pissed, as was I.

Keep on watching! Things are about to get fun….