Bi-Camp Games!
Today we hosted the Bi-Camp Games, our annual friendly competition with Camp Nebagamon. This long-running tradition dates back to 1945, when North Star was founded. The event features eight different competitions: canoeing, chess, swimming, tennis, archery, riflery, cross country, and sailing. Each showcases a skill our campers have been developing throughout the summer. In the days leading up to the games, our campers practiced hard, worked together, and prepared to give their best. This morning, they welcomed Nebagamon with the friendly spirit North Star is known for, wearing their new Bi-Camp 2025 T-shirts and ready to compete.
The connection between our two camps runs deep. Before founding North Star, Lou and Renee Rosenblum worked at Nebagamon and even considered buying it. When that deal didn’t go through, they chose to start their own camp on Spider Lake. Many of our core traditions, like Friday Night Services and the keylog ceremony, were inspired by their time at Nebagamon.
The Bi-Camp Meet is a great reflection of how we approach competition at North Star. There are no trophies, and we don’t announce winners. Instead, the focus is on using the day to put our skills and values into practice through spirited and respectful competition. In fact, our camp’s famous cheer, “It Just Doesn’t Matter,” comes from a pre-Bi-Camp skit in the early 1980s, when then-program director Bob Feller reenacted a scene from the movie Meatballs. His version brought down the house and the chant stuck.
It was great to see our campers meet their counterparts, encourage each other, and enjoy the day together. It was also a pleasure to spend time today with Noah Stein, Nebagamon’s new director. One of my favorite things about the camp world is the way that camp directors support each other, even though we are theoretically competitors. Adam and Steph, Noah’s predecessors, served as a great resource to me and even better friends. I’m grateful for the shared values between our camps and the friendships, even for the directors, that make Bi-Camp such a meaningful part of the summer.
In other news, tonight we held a surprise social with Birch Trail for our 8th & 9th graders (S3, S2, S1, Pine & Manor) at Hayward Beach. After our usual 4th of July social was cancelled, our President and Vice President of the Great and Glorious North Star Party kept bringing it up at staff meetings. Tonight, as a complete surprise, we made it happen.
Last night’s evening program was the Basketball Bonanza, and it lived up to its name. We turned the Fieldhouse into our own arena, with campers packing the sidelines to cheer on their counselors in a series of high-energy games. The show featured some impressive three-point shooting, scrappy defense, and just enough chaos to keep everyone entertained. I had the pleasure of refereeing the event, which gave me a front-row seat to the action and the antics. The campers loved watching their counselors dive for loose balls, celebrate big shots, and compete with the perfect blend of intensity and humor. It was a great reminder of the community spirit that makes these events so much fun.
