There is No Raining on Camp Loyaltown’s Parade
It was a rainy and cool day at Camp Loyaltown in Hunter, NY during Session 3 on July 23. Stepping onto the camp grounds, there was almost no one to be found, as the rain drizzled onto the sideway, pond and the adaptive pool. It wasn’t hard to find everyone, though, as singing and laughter echoed across campus. Following the joyful noise, you’ll find the Rec Hall, where costumes, karaoke and crafts awaited all who wanted to join in.
“What’s going on here?”
“We’re preparing for tonight’s fashion show,” said Unit Head Cesar Mendoza Diazleal from Mexico.
On stage, a group of campers were dressed up in outfits from the camp’s wardrobe, including a wide array of costumes and dresses collected over the years. Campers took turns singing hits like “I Want it That Way” by the Backstreet Boys and “OMG” by Usher. Other campers simply relaxed and talked to their friends, while some chose to craft. 
Freddy Rodriguez, a camp regular from Uniondale, said this year has been his favorite, and that he’ll be back in 2025.
Among Freddy’s favorite activities were swimming, petting the alpacas, feeding chickens and rabbits, helping in the dining and laundry rooms, making ceramics, taking pictures, learning about new cultures and languages, and seeing old friends and making new friends
When asked his impression of Camp Loyaltown, Fredy shared that he appreciated reflecting on the importance of “Helping each other and being kind. . . respecting people and being helpful.”
Fellow camp regulars Jonathan Beiner of Bayside, Queens and Charles (Chuck) Westhoff of Patchogue shared the sentiment.
“Getting to see everybody and waking up here and hanging out with everybody is my favorite part of camp,” Chuck said. “I love coming here.”
Jonathan enjoys the camp’s atmosphere, as well as being with all the campers and counselors. Jonathan and Chuck said they have both made A LOT of friends up at camp, keeping in touch with many of them throughout the year.
“I really enjoy the atmosphere of other people being happy here and coming back,” Jonathan said, adding that his favorite activity is jamming out in the music room and participating in theater.
“I like the drama show with Nyle,” Chuck said. “We put on an awesome show with Nyle the other day. It was fun.”
Nyle Mohan, from Ireland, is the Unit Head of Programming this year. He started with Camp Loyaltown in 2016 as a cabin counselor.
“In the area of performance, they really enjoy that reaction from the crowd when we do a talent show, or we do a showcase, or we something in relation to music,” Nyle said. “You can really see in our creative arts program, how they express themselves.”
His background in education, specializing in behavior, has lent itself well to planning activities and centering on moments of achievement for campers.
“This season is all about rebuilding and rebranding what camp was,” Nyle said, referencing health measures that had to take place during the pandemic. “We’re fully staffed, in terms of an activity staff. All our activity areas are open all day, every day, for our campers and counselors to enjoy.”
With all activity areas open all day, there is no fixed schedule, giving campers options on how they want to spend their day.
Camper Colleen Smith of Babylon enjoys the arts and crafts. She was excited about the sunflower-themed souvenirs she made, which she plans to give as gifts back at home. Colleen, who went to Camp Loyaltown for the first time this year, was enjoying herself, and has made many friends. 
Arts and crafts are also camp regular Margaret Daly’s favorite, including ceramics. She is proud of her ceramic Olaf, the beloved character from Disney’s “Frozen.” She also enjoys swimming and the theater arts. It’s the people that keep her coming back to camp, Margaret said as she was preparing for the fashion show.
Another initiative, Nyle explained, is a focus on showing staff appreciation through international meals, fried food night, ice cream night, and awarding counselors with trophies on a regular basis.
It’s the dedication and compassion of staff, such as counselors and unit heads who have traveled from all around the world to Hunter, NY on a J-1 Visa, that helps to make camp such a magical place. Everyone spends almost every waking moment with one another, from the time they wake up to bedtime, developing friendships and bonds along the way. Even just by spending a short amount of time on the camp grounds, the amount of care and support counselors have for campers is evident, as well as the trust and kinship campers have for the counselors.
Perhaps what makes camp so special is the unstructured time where everyone can just be themselves. The agenda of every day is just to simply have fun. All the while, everyone can learn about each other’s cultures, languages and abilities.
“I can see that there is a lot of love,” said Unit Head Anouk Jennifer Henneke, sharing that during Session 1, while there was still a lot of love, it was a time of learning for everyone. “During Session 2, you could see the friendships between campers and counselor’s form. It’s beautiful.”
Anouk, traveling from South Africa, is in her second year serving the camp. Part of her responsibilities include providing leadership in cabins.
“Campers get so much out of the camp,” Anouk said. “I don’t think there’s any aspect they don’t learn something or feel something. When they come here, it’s like heaven to them. It’s so beautiful. It’s whatever they want. It’s perfect.”
Samara Gomez, who has been serving the camp for four years and is traveling from Mexico, works as part of the behavioral team, providing support for campers in times of stress. Samara also observed that campers and counselors were enjoying themselves
“It’s nice to see that,” Samara said. “Campers love the camp and we’re trying to do our best for them.”
Dirang Stephens Mataboge, traveling from South Africa to Camp Loyaltown for his eighth summer, provides leadership for the camp. He described camp as a second home.
“This will be a fantastic summer for both the people we support and the staff,” Dirang said during Session Two. “It’s going to be an amazing, amazing summer.”
And an amazing summer it has been, with three sessions left.