Picture this: a balmy summer evening and the view of the beautifully calm lake stretching out to the endless green woodland. The sun is slowly setting for the day producing an unbelievable sky of soft orange and pink. Everyone is sitting, watching in admiration. But the nature isn’t the only thing everyone is admiring right now because we are seated at the new Starlight Amphitheater!
The Starlight Amphitheater, whose stage frames our picturesque lake, was a project over the winter months that took a simple idea and turned it into an outstanding reality. Designed by director, Allison Miller, it offers a new outdoor experience like no other. The amphitheater is outfitted with lights and sound and further enhances our lakefront experiences.
Although new, the structure maintains some sentimental elements of its previous years. Four original trees from this location have been incorporated into the finished product, acting as pillars at the four corners of the stage.
From the stage, the lake seems closer than it ever has before, like you could stretch out your hand and feel the warm water on your fingertips. And if you turn your back to the lake, you face a beautiful panorama of bunks, sporting fields and tall trees.
On Friday night’s this view of camp sports an even prettier foreground; the first generation to use this facility, the Starlighters of 2018. The weekly Friday Night traditions and many other evening activities take place here giving campers and staff a special place to gather and appreciate both the nature surrounding us and how lucky we are to be here at Starlight this summer.
Throughout the day you’d be hard-pressed to find a time when there are not a group of campers on the stage practicing for the play, playing with diabolos or simply sitting, chatting and appreciating the view.
It’s such perfect location to be enjoyed by the Starlighters of today and many generations to come.
this celebration gets taken to a whole new level!
Today marks the tenth day at our beautiful summer home. To celebrate, some of our Junior campers were happy to share their favorite part about Camp Starlight so far! Here’s our top ten list:
The environment you are surrounded by has a major impact on your life. If you are in a positive environment, chances are, those feelings will rub off on you. It’s a natural process called entrainment, where you become synced internally with the strong external rhythms around you.
Many things inevitably grow over the course of the summer: the grass, your height, and of course, everyone’s love for Camp Starlight skyrockets to new levels. As the days roll by, the most noticeable growth and developments are the prospering friendships between new campers.
Break out the anywhere chairs— it’s time for a cookout! Hearing their division called on the loudspeaker summons a crowd of hungry and eager campers to the cookout site. While the Seniors serve the chef’s best knishes, hot dogs, hamburgers, and watermelon, they also serve up some hilarious tactics to get the campers enticed by lettuce, pickles, and onions to top their burgers. From lower juniors to CA’s and staff, there is not a knish left to spare. Campers and staff laugh, eat, play games and throw footballs in front of the scenic Pocono mountains. 
The Rec Hall is a special place on camp that is home to both the Starlight Playhouse, known for its incredible performances, sing-alongs, and talent; and its newest creative spot: “The Basement”
It’s the second night of camp and Girls Side and Boys Side alike were already eager to meet their new camp sisters and brothers. As much as the campers are obsessed with the old friends they’ve waited ten months to hug, they also could not wait to make new ones. Just over 24 hours after arrival the kids stayed up late catching up, passed their swim tests together, and were onto the next new adventure asking left and right about the camp sister and brother reveal. To say that the campers were looking forward to tonight is an understatement. After a jam-packed first day including a pizza lunch, athletic evaluations, the first fruit call, polar bear plunge, and divisional meetings to kick off this season, the campers couldn’t wait to read the message and find out their camp sisters and brothers. Through the commotion of hugging, yelling, and running into each other’s arms, everyone found their siblings.
Bringing back amazing campfire traditions for the summer of 2018, the girls sang about a moose named Fred, the flowers and daffodils, and more, in various repeat-after-me campfire sing along favorites. Likewise, the boys cheered and showed off their divisional spirit showcasing one of the loudest HOORAH’s the inter division had ever seen.
Arrival day is finally here and every part of the camp is bubbling over with excitement. You can feel it in the air, you can see it in the smiles, you can hear it in the high-pitched voices that people get when they can’t contain this feeling and you can touch it in the warm embraces between friends old and new.
As the children tumble out of the buses there’s no stopping them. They run in all directions in search of their best friends, arms wide open for the bear hug that they’ve been waiting 10 months to give their fellow campers again. As the music blares, the boys and girls rush to their eagerly awaiting counselors and friends in their bunk for the summer. Cheers and laughter can be heard all around the campus as campers and counselors meet for the very first time and also reunite after months of missing each other. This blanket of happiness is so electrifying and comforting and this is only the beginning of the adventures as the Starlight family of 2018.