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Nearly 60 adult campers took to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains to enjoy traditional camp activities like arts and crafts, a ropes course and, of course, Color War.
Trybal Gatherings, which provides Jewish camp experiences for young adults and millennials across North America, launched its first Trybal South overnight gathering at Camp Ramah Darom during Memorial Day weekend.
Nearly 60 campers took to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains to enjoy traditional camp activities like arts and crafts, a ropes course and, of course, Color War. They also enjoyed activities tailored to millennial tastes, including themed dance parties, karaoke, trivia and an open bar at Bubbe’s Beer Garden.
Trybal Gatherings founder Carine Warsawski said camp participants typically fall into four categories: Those who never went to camp and want to try it; former campers hoping to recapture the experience of their youth; those who didn’t have a fulfilling or meaningful Jewish experience at camp and friends of friends and interfaith couples.
Lilli Jennison, who did not attend sleepaway camp when she was young, fell into the first category.
“When I heard about Trybal, I wanted to try,” Jennison said. “I went to their day camp last year and loved it and was very excited for the weekend this year.”
Jennison said her favorite part of the experience was the camp’s bittersweet ending, when the group performed a friendship circle.
“We all sat in a circle facing outward,” she said. “There were about five people at a time who would leave the circle and become ‘tappers.’”
The tappers would receive a direction, such as: “tap someone who you had a meaningful conversation with … or tap someone who made you smile.”
Jennison said the tappers would anonymously tap as many people as possible who fit that profile. This exercise seemed to make the campers’ newfound connections feel that much more real and permanent.