Camp Foley vs. Camp Rock

 

Want to talk about Disney? Good, me too!

Most of us are familiar with those classic Disney Channel movies that played throughout the early 2000s. Musicals became the popular thing across disney after the success of "High School Musical". But after a movie about kids singing their way through high school, Disney took it one step further! A movie about kids singing their way through CAMP! I present to you all... CAMP ROCK!

Camp Rock is a 2008 American musical television film directed by Matthew Diamond and starring Demi Lovato, Joe Jonas, Meaghan Martin, Maria Canals-Barrera, Daniel Fathers, and Alyson Stoner. It is about Mitchie (Demi Lovato), a young girl aspiring to be a singer, and her time at Camp Rock, a summer music camp, where she will discover friends, adversaries, romance, and her voice. Pretty standard Disney stuff, but after watching this movie, kids might be left with some pretty unrealistic ideas about what summer camp actually is. I am here today to set the record straight!

You can watch this movie right now with a Disney+ subscription. 

What is the same?

Because the movie takes place at a camp, there will of course be some similarities to Camp Foley...

1. Camp Rock is set on a beautiful, picturesque lake. Camp Foley is set on Whitefish lake and the waterfront is a place where many of campers love to go, although there is more sailing and skiing done, than singing. 

2. 

   Campers helping in the kitchen

   Mitchie’s parents discuss at the beginning of the film that they can’t afford to send her because it’s too expensive. This can be a reality for a lot of families who want to send their children to camp. Camp Foley offers many different options for financial assistance, from scholarships, to helping with dish washing. Our octo and our dishwasher program looks a lot like what our main character Mitchie takes part in at Camp Rock. 
3. At Camp Rock, the character Tess is the diva of the camp. Prepare yourself to be shocked, but all camps have diva’s (both campers and counselors). But this isn't always a bad thing, and camp divas can come into their own and embrace the amazing experience they are apart of. Camp brings out the best in people. Just like what happens at the end of the movie. 
4. The campers (and counselors) break out into random synchronised songs without any advance warning – especially during meal times. While Camp Foley may not have the production value of Camp Rock, we do end up singing an awful lot. Any of our opening and closing campfire skits would look right at home in a Disney Musical. We even sing before every meal in the dining hall, perhaps with less choreographed dancing. 

What are the differences?

There are many differences between a movie about camp and camp itself. Camp Foley, in my opinion, is just as magical as Disney, but we don't the Jonas Brothers... not yet anyway. 

Big and little kids come to Foley

1. The campers at Camp Rock are all practically borderline adults. At Camp Foley, campers ages can range from around 7 to 17 years old.
2. Our diva Tess rocks up to Camp Rock in a limo, without parents. Campers usually get dropped off by their parents or take the bus up from the Twin Cities. We do have some parents picking up campers by boat, and even sea plane, but I’ve yet to see any campers arrive by limo!
3. I never saw anyone on Camp Rock lugging HUGE duffels out of the cars on Camp Rock, or counselors sweating while helping to trek them to the boys and girls end in the midday sun. Real camp is a little less glamorous, and a lot more hard work on opening day!
4. The campers at Camp Rock seem to spend a lot of time unattended, whether in their rooms rehearsing or while eating their lunch in the dining hall. At camp, it’s rare the campers are ever alone without a Counselor in sight. Counselors are always available around Camp Foley, and supervise all activities. Campers may find themselves without a counselor right next to them during free time, when they can lounge on Foley green or hang out in the hammocks. But our staff are never far away. 
5. Although campers often break into spontaneous, synchronised song, it’s rare that a complicated dance ever accompanies it unlike at Camp Rock. Sure we have movements that go along with songs, like Wisconsin Milk, The Damper song, The Banana song and more, but nothing quite as polished as the kids have going on in this movie. Also, I’ve never seen anyone dancing on the dining hall tables at Camp Foley! Lets keep it that way!

   

   We sing at campfires!

6. The Counselors at Camp Rock (minus Shane Grey aka Joe Jonas) all seem pretty old to me. The majority of Counselors at Camp Foley range from 19 to 25. I see your age bias Hollywood!
7. At Foley, generally you will find that the campers spend their free time making friendship bracelets and playing Tetherball, rather than rehearsing laboriously for an upcoming talent show Although this has been known to happen during our Founder's Day celebration, but that's only one night of the session, not the whole point of camp. 
8. The cabins on Camp Rock look pretty cosy with a few single beds dotted around, rugs on the carpet and curtains on the windows. If you have been to Camp Foley you know our cabins definitely don't look like this. We have beautiful cabins here, but having carpet and curtains would make them a lot harder to keep clean and a lot harder to keep fresh air flowing in and out.
9. Camp Foley is technology-free zone. The kids at Camp Rock have cell phones and laptops, which for me defeats the whole point of going to camp and getting away from the real world!
10. The campers at Camp Rock all look very clean and presentable with brushed hair and ironed clothes. Half the fun of camp is that you don’t have to worry about mud on your clothes, or wearing the same outfit twice in two days.

At the end of the day Camp Rock is a fun movie. It has some heart warming moments about kids finding their passions and true selves. This is exactly what we hope will happen for all our campers when they come to Camp Foley. But I think we can all agree, the real deal is always better than a movie. 

Happy Campers are WE, Here at Camp Foley!

Campers! What are you excited for?

We were wondering... what are campers most excited to get to do this summer?... so we asked them!

Molly at Camp!

We have been meeting with campers in virtual meet ups and zoom personal talks to get a sense of how our campers are doing and how they are feeling about this upcoming summer. We posed a simple question to them, "What are you excited for this summer?" and the answers were very different depending on the camper we were asking. The one thing almost all of them said was "I'm excited to just be around people again!" 

Camp this summer will be an antidote to the continued trauma we all experience everyday due to this pandemic. This summer we will be able to offer a safe community for our kids to try new things, gain new skills, and make new friends They will also be able to continue their passions and reconnect with old friends. We feel honored to be able to provide that kind of experience for our campers. 

Take a look at what the campers are excited for...

Lily Mead (11)- "I'm excited to be able to have rest period outside this summer."

So are we Lily! This year after lots of requests from campers over the years, we are now having rest period outside everyday. Campers will still get to do everything they love during this time, like reading, listening to music, writing letters, and napping. 

Lily (in pink) with her friends

Molly Craig (14)- "I'm excited to be back at camp and be on a reliable schedule."

This is a great point. After a year of uncertainty of when school is in person and when school is online,
when there is a mask mandate in the city but a different rule one city over, everyone is craving reliability. Won't it be nice for 3 weeks, our campers will know exactly when to wake up, where to go, and what they need for the day. 

Frances Duffy (13)- "I can't wait to see my best friends again, we've only been able to text since 2019."

Frances is not alone in thinking this! We know from camper surveys that "Friendships" are the biggest reason we our campers come back to Foley every summer. This will be extra special because we will be able to reunite friends who might not have seen each other for 2 years now. Campers will get extra time to reestablish and enjoy these camp friendships. 

Kate Schmid (7)- "I am excited to be on a top bunk!"

Who also loves a top bunk?! Kate is one of our younger campers and will be coming to camp for the first time this summer. She has never been to an overnight camp before or had her own top bunk. This summer we will have many returning campers look for the familiar here at Foley, and we will also have brand new campers. We are committed to giving our new campers the best summer camp experience possible.

Paloma Kronschnabel (11)- "I want to get my Rock Jock award this summer!"

Now that's a good goal! Many of our campers talked about the awards they are excited to earn this summer. With an extra sign up in their 3 week session, they will have more opportunities to work hard and achieve their activity goals. We expect a lot more ribbons to be given out this summer.  

Nick fishing at the Marina

Nick Faley (13)- " I can't wait to show my friends the Beatles songs I learned to play on guitar."

We love that our campers are acquiring new skills. Nick says he learned to play the guitar and rums during quarantine and has been teaching himself how to play beatles songs on his guitar. With a year gone without camp, lots of people have gained new skills, including our campers. They are going to show up to camp this summer filled with new talents to show off. 

There is still space available! Go here to register your child today! 

Would you like a zoom call with an Assistant Director or Director? feel free to email us at fun@campfoley.com 

What is your camper saying about camp this summer? Comment below and let us know!

St. Patrick don't banish our Snakes!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! (Well Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day But Whatever!) Time to don green clothes and lots of shamrocks and celebrate this fun Irish holiday. This day is named after the patron saint of Ireland Saint Patrick who was a bishop on the island during the fifth century.

My favorite myth about St. Patrick is that HE is the reason there are no snakes on the island in Ireland. The myth says that the snakes attacked St. Patrick during a 40 day fast he was undertaking on top of a hill,  and he  banished all the snakes, and chased them into the sea. As funny as that image may seem, the truth is there is actually no proof that snakes EVER lived in Ireland...

But you know where they do live????? HERE AT CAMP FOLEY! We would never want to banish them from camp, and in fact we love them! They are a favorite among campers and have been a staple of camp for over 20 years!

A Hognose snake in the wild

According to some of our snake expert counselors from 2019 Ace and Ryan, one of our most popular snakes is a Hognose snake, named "Hoggy". She's old enough to vote, clocking in at 18 years old. She uses her upturned nose to dig and burrow in her cage. Her scales mimic that of a rattlesnake and sometimes she will "rattle"trying to pretend to be a much more dangerous snake.

Ryan holding Lucy with campers

Our nature instructors  also say our gentlest snake is a black rat snake named Lucy. As you can see from her pictures she isn't black though! She is something called "leucistic", a condition in which there is partial loss of pigmentation in an animal causings white scales or fur. This is similar to an albino animal except leucistic animals do not have red eyes. Lucy loves to climb all over campers and be held.

Check out some pics of our campers with the camp snakes. And from everybody here at Camp Foley... HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!