Jacobs Camp announces 40th anniversary events

The Henry S. Jacobs Camp announced that a major part of the camp’s 40th anniversary celebration next summer will be a concert by Dan Nichols and E18hteen, featuring favorite camp songs from across the years.

The concert will be on Aug. 8 in conjunction with the 40th Anniversary Reunion, and during the first-ever Alumni Family Camp. Nichols will also be the songleader for the family camp.

Nichols is one of the most popular and influential Jewish musicians in North America, performing over 200 concerts a year. His music has become an import part of the Reform movement, with synagogue and clergy alike incorporating it into their curriculum and services.
His last two albums have garnered critical acclaim and a legion of growing fans. Songs like “L’takein (The Na Na Song),” “B’tzelem Elohim,” “Kehilah Kedosha,” and “My Heart is in the East” are some of the most poplar songs in Reform Judaism today.

All Jacobs alumni and their families are invited to take part in the festivities.

The Alumni Family Camp is an opportunity for out-of-region alumni and their children to join with their local counterparts to experience the camp. Alumni who move out of the region often wonder if their children would fit in at the camp; this is a way to have them experience the camp.

Children will get a full camp experience, complete with counselors, camp activities, evening programs and a Shabbat experience. Their parents will also get to take part in all that Jacobs has to offer, while reliving fond camp memories, and experiencing how Jacobs continues to affect lives.

Children will spend the week in the camp’s newly-remodeled air conditioned cabins and have song sessions, two camp-style evening programs, kids-only sports, arts and crafts, tower/ropes course time, canteen, a campfire and more.

There will also be family “open waters” time for swimming in the pool, as well as swimming, blobbing and boating in the newly-rejuvenated Lake Gary.

Adults will stay in the newly-remodeled air-conditioned adult housing. There will be an adults-only area for relaxing and hanging out with friends, and adult-level activities similar to the children’s activities.

The family camp will be from Aug. 5 to 9, and space is limited.

On Aug. 8, the camp will open at 9 a.m. for the alumni reunion. Guests will register and have the option for breakfast.

At 10:15 a.m., Shabbat services will take place at the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, followed by the highly-anticipated All-Camp Photo.

There will be a cookout in the breezeway, followed by Open Camp and a few scheduled activities.

At 5:15 p.m., the camp’s famous fried chicken will be served, followed by the Dan Nichols and E18hteen concert. Havdalah will end the day.

The cost per person is still to be determined; all event proceeds will go to the “Friends of Jacobs Camp” Fund, which supports camp scholarships, facility improvements, and more.
Applications and further information will be made available on the camp’s website, http://jacobs.urjcamps.org.

The camp has also launched an alumni on-line forum, accessible through the camp website.
In conjunction with the camp’s “Trees to Plant” 40th Anniversary Capital Campaign, an Alumni Plaza is being created as a gathering place for the camp community. Donors who contribute at least $1,000 over the next three years can dedicate a personalized brick in the project. The plaza is scheduled to be ready for the August reunion.

The campaign has a goal of $4 million to strengthen the camp programs and endowment.
The Henry S. Jacobs Camp is the Reform Movement’s summer camp serving the Deep South: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Western Tennessee and the Florida Panhandle. The camp opened in 1970.