This summer NBC will be airing
Camp, a 13-episode, hour long dramedy about the eponymous youth rite of passage that will likely have viewers digging up old color war T-shirts. Coincidentally, the "
nostalgizing" of summer camp is occurring off-screen as well, as several recent weekend retreats have adopted the camp model to provide young adults with experiences that are both educational and recreational.
Offsite: This past September (what seemed like) half of Williamsburg boarded a fleet of buses bound for a Catskills sleep-away camp. The reason?
The Last Weekend, a three-day sojourn intended to facilitate personal interaction through art, music, and culinary activities. Though unaffiliated, last month’s
Offsite bore resemblance to the summer event. The multi-disciplinary affair, organized by a museum veteran and a community engagement specialist, gave New Yorkers the opportunity to escape the urban grind not only for the pastoral surroundings of the Berkshires but also a weekend of creative workshops. Sessions included everything from lantern construction to
natural dyeing.
Brooklyn Craft Camp: Brooklyn has become a well-established
international brand, in no small part because of its thriving maker culture.
Brooklyn Craft Camp, a one-day event happening in Greenpoint next weekend, is giving the uninitiated an accessible, social way to see if they can do it themselves. Attendees of the “one-day DIY vacation” choose four 90-minute craft classes from a
Portlandia-worthy
course catalog (among the choices are terrarium assembly and headband crocheting), guaranteeing that they will leave the camp with both skills and self-made souvenirs. Cocktails and music to craft by provide atmosphere that’s perhaps more socially lubricating than the typical camp activity.
Life of Yes!: Former digital media producer Saya Hillman has been self-employed for nearly a decade, and believes that the solo path is “the best thing ever”—so much so that she’s teaching others how to trade the goal of ‘work-life balance’ in favor of just
living. Among the offerings in her
neo-life coaching program is
Life of Yes!, a weekend getaway that aims to resuscitate rote self-improvement agendas by distancing participants from their everyday. Attendees are strictly forbidden from attending with acquaintances, but
activities (Kumbaya-style sing-alongs, campfires) are designed to make sure that, just like at summer camp, everyone comes home with new friends.
