February 2017In This IssueFeatured Alum ............................................................. 2Alumni Info ................................................................... 3Sarv’s Corner ................................................................ 4Appel Farm For Life ................................................... 5Camp Reunions ........................................................... 6Ice Cream Parties ........................................................ 7Look Who’s Coming to Camp 2017 ....................... 8

Fun in February!We are counting the days until camp 2017! We are especially excited to get together with some of our camp friends in NYC and North Jersey this weekend for our annual Ice Cream Parties! We will be at Sugar & Plumm in NYC, and McCool’s in Madison, NJ - check out page 7 for more information, and make plans to come out and join us on Monday, February 20th!

Until then, please enjoy getting to know camp alumni Daniel Gittler. Read about the ever flowing river with Sarv. Celebrate Appel Farm For Life, and see who’s eating ice cream in the cold of winter! See who’s already signed up, and continue your countdown to Camp 2017!

We would love to hear from you as well! Let us know what you’re up to! Share news about your art, upcoming shows, college, jobs, family, and life in general! Help us break through to 1,500 “likes” on Facebook at facebook.com/appelfarmcamp. Follow our Instagram account at “AppelFarmArtsCamp”. Save the date for our Earth Day celebration, and check out all the posts on our School Year Blog.

Let’s stay in touch all year, and next thing you know it’ll be time to come back to camp!

Tracy and CaraPhotos by Jerzy Ellanna

Register for Camp 2017 before March 31st, and receive a $200 discount off your 4, 6, or 8-week tuition!

(856) 358-2472 camp@appelfarm.org www.appelfarmartscamp.org

Refer a Friend!If you know anyone who might be a great fit for the community at Appel Farm (and who would know better than you guys,) we would love to introduce ourselves!

You can refer a friend on our website, or just give us a call!

Stay in Touch! ; Read the Appel Core! ; Schedule a play-date with your camp friends!

; Read the School Year Blog!

; Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest!

; Come to our Camp Reunions!

FEATURED ALUM Daniel Gittler1. When were you at camp?

2005-2011 (except 2006)

2. What was your major and what were some of your minors?

I alternated majors between piano and theatre tech. By my last few years I didn’t really have a major! I was accompanying the musicals, so I was technically split between piano and theatre. For minors I did things like video, photography, theatre tech, and piano.

3. What was camp like when you were a camper and what are some of your favorite memories?

Appel Farm was (is) one of the most open and loving and warm communities I’ve ever been a part of. When I first started I was scared of being away from home for 4 weeks - back then there were only 4 or 8 week sessions. Within the first 5 days I extended to 8 weeks.

Some great memories: During evening snacks sometimes I would bring all of my sheet music to the dining hall and play Disney songs and other musicals and everyone would come sing along. The power outage right before Once on this Island where we all had to bring flashlights to the theater to light the stage so they could still perform. Any time Albert would drive around with his dog. Getting to write and perform an original musical with my best friends. And of course, the very rare occasions where I got to ride in the golf carts.

4. Where are you living now, and what are you doing for work and fun?

I’m attending Berklee College of Music in Boston where I’m studying music direction for the theatre. Recently, I took

off to work on the music team for the new musical Dear Evan Hansen, during its run in DC and Off-Broadway. I’ve also done work for other shows (even a little bit for Hamilton!) and I’ve worked with very talented music professionals, like songwriting duo Kerrigan & Lowdermilk. While at school, I’ve been music directing and playing piano for lots of shows at different colleges like Boston University, Northeastern University, M.I.T., and Boston Conservatory. You could say my work IS my fun!

5. How do you think you were influenced by your Appel Farm experience? Appel Farm gave me my first experience playing piano for musicals so it definitely jump started my passion and career path. If it hadn’t been for the counselors who trusted me so much to support their shows, I’m not sure I would’ve found my way into this path. Appel Farm also taught me about collaboration and an Always-Say-Yes attitude.

6. What advice or suggestions do you have for present day Appel Farm campers?

Don’t be scared of new opportunities! Especially at camp, use the experience to explore different crafts and different genres of what you do. You’ll never know where it’ll lead!

Above: Dan at the opening night of Dear Evan Hansen. He worked on the music team during the show’s DC and Off-Broadway run!

Above: Dan and his camp friends, Ava and Tori, enjoying a meal on the dining hall porch!

Left: Dan at the wheel of one of those illusive Appel Farm golf carts!

Appel Ambassadors Share your love for Appel Farm with everyone you meet... We just can’t stop talking about Appel Farm! Somehow, every day, there is a moment in which we are reminded of the joy of a summer at camp. We are transported back to days spent with friends, laughing at camp memories, and wishing we could go back in time... We know you know the feeling!

We are asking our alumni to help us spread this love for Appel Farm to all the corners of the globe. We know that the very best way to share camp with a new camper is through the recommendation of our alumni. We are seeking alumni who have some time to share, helping us expand our reach and share the gift of Appel Farm with future campers living in your area.

How do our Appel Ambassadors support Appel Farm?

; Help distributing flyers to local studios, theaters, schools, workshops, etc.

; Hosting a “Camp Party” for families in your area who want to learn more about ; Appel Farm.

; Spreading the word through web postings and social media.

; Sharing opportunities for Appel Farm to be more involved in your community.

If you are interested in joining our Alumni Ambassador program, email Cara at ccorradetti@appelfarm.org to get started!

Join Us!an evening with

Friends of Appel FarmWe would like to invite all of our Alumni, funders, volunteers, and Board Members for An Evening with Friends of Appel Farm. We’ll be gathering for a wine and cheese social in our Theater Gallery to catch up on all of our memories of Appel Farm, and then joining the audience of the long standing tradition...our Friday Night Concert!

Friday, July 14th

Friday, August 11th

Appel Farm Social MediaKeep in touch with Appel Farm all year long! We hope you will follow us and spread the word to your camp friends. Help us connect with former campers and staff and continue to share the love that is Appel Farm.

facebook.com/AppelFarmCamp

@AppelFarmCamp

AppelFarmArtsCamp

Use #AppelFarmForLife to keep us in the loop anytime you reunite with your camp friends!

Alum Info

My mother used to say to me, “when you get older you will understand.” That really annoyed me. I was the age I was and didn’t feel like waiting until was her age to understand something.

Then, lo and behold, I have recently found myself about to say the very thing that my mother said. I guess I really did need to wait a little bit before understood some things. Take the passing of time and getting older.

Each summer at Appel Farm I am confronted with the steady march of time. For example, most counselors were not born when I started working at camp. Kids that were campers my first years at Appel Farm are sending their kids to camp. Campers become counselors and counselors become parents. Last summer there were six staff members that were former campers. So the cycle goes on.

There is nothing magical about all of this. People grow up, have kids and the kids grow up. Human beings have been doing from the time we became human and even before. It is ordinary. But who says the ordinary cannot be extraordinary? Having babies is hardly unique. About 370,000 babies are born in the world every day. Quite ordinary. Yet each one is unique to its parents—an extraordinary miracle.

I am the same person I was when I was nine years old. Perhaps I am a little wiser only in the sense that I can see myself a bit more clearly. And sometimes I can even step back and look at myself, something I did not do very much when I was nine.

At Appel Farm I am forced to see this relentless march of time. And each year it’s different. People come back each year—counse lors , campers, me—and it’s always different. It’s like what that old Greek philosopher Heraclitus said over two thousand years ago, you can’t step twice into the same river. Maybe that’s the most important thing I have learned at Appel Farm.

The Appel Farm river flows on. Each summer I step into it. Each summer it’s different. But the caring is always there—the concern for each person as a sacred being. But even that changes as we all—counselors and campers-- learn to become more conscious people.

People keep returning to Appel Farm as campers, as counselors, as parents, because we feel good there. People feel that they can be themselves. That river never changes. It just keeps on flowing.

The Rivers of Appel Farm

Sarvananda Bluestone has been a college professor, published author and professional psychic. In addition he has been the Head Counselor and a Theater Director at Appel Farm for 30 summers. He originally came so that his daughter, Hira, could come as a camper, and in 2013, his grand daughter, Lucy, finally came to camp!

Just as Sarv wrote, the kaleidoscope of people continues to change, season after season. So many of our beloved Appel Farm campers become amazing Appel Farm campers - here are just a few of our former campers, turned staff...

Above: Eloise Schieferdecker.

Below: Rachel Lachaga and Laura Boyman; Jason Pyne.

The spirit of Appel Farm doesn’t really change. It’s a spirit of caring, mutual respect and even love. It doesn’t change. It just gets better.

T h e k a l e i d o s c o p e o f people—the evolution of the generations—that changes. And an awe-inspiring change i t i s . Campers become counselors . Counselors become parents. And I am blessed to witness it all.

It has taken me a long time to really experience this extraordinary ordinary march of time. My mother was right. Some things I just needed to experience. It’s like Mark

Twain said, “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years”

APPEL FARM FOR LIFEEveryone who has spent a summer at Appel Farm knows the magic that happens at those green picnic tables and Friday Night Concerts. Our community is what makes this farm so special every summer and we would like to celebrate that loyalty! During camp, we will recognize campers and staff who have chosen to come back year after year, keeping their Appel inside them forever! Check out how we will celebrate the many years people have dedicated their summers to Appel Farm. #AppelFarmForLife

YEARS 1 and 2: Ice Cream PartyOnce you’ve attended Appel Farm, you’ll always be a part of the Appel Farm family! We would like to welcome you into the family with one of our favorite treats, ice cream! We’ll have a grand ice cream party during your session to recognize the important choice you made to call Appel Farm your summer home.

YEAR 3: High-Five MuralMembers will leave a lasting impression on Appel Farm! They will put their handprints on our High-Five Mural, adding on year after year, high-five after high-five!

YEAR 4: Appel Farm Song LeadersMembers will teach the Appel Farm Song to the whole camp at the closing of our first Friday Night Concert each session. For the rest of the session, at the end of each Friday Night Concert, at campfires, and any time we sing our song, they will lead the camp!

YEAR 5: Golden Appels ClubMembers will join the Golden Appels Club, and each new member will be recognized on the Golden Appel Club plaque in the Dining Hall, which will grow year after year. Who will join this year? Check out the list below! We’d love to see all of your names on the plaque someday...

YEAR 6: Bunk Photo Collage Members will receive a framed collage of their past 6 years of bunk photos, signed by this summer’s bunkmates, staff and Camp Directors. One frame with 6 years of camp memories...

YEAR 7: Appel Farm Fleece PulloverMembers will receive an Appel Farm fleece pullover to wear during those chilly campfire nights, and all year long!

YEAR 8: Appel Farm Coffee MugMembers will be presented with an Appel Farm coffee mug...if you’ve been here for eight years, you can enjoy camp coffee and tea in style!

YEAR 9: Garden Stepping StoneMembers will make a personalized stepping stone for our garden, which is a wonderful place to relax and laugh with friends among the veggies and fruit trees!

YEAR 10: Dedicated Adirondack Chair or BenchMembers will have a new Adirondack chair or bench dedicated in their honor. Any place we put them will surely to turn into a new free-time hangout!

Save the date for our last reunion on Sunday, April 23rd: Earth Day at Appel Farm!• Appel Farm is celebrating Earth Day, and you are invited to introduce your friends to Appel

Farm and our welcoming community of tree-hugging artists!

• If you have a friend from home who wants to learn more about Appel Farm, this is your chance to spend the day at the farm, gardening, making art, learning about our environment

• Connect with your friends from home, your camp friends, and campers who will be coming to Appel Farm for the first time this summer!

When we can’t connect in person,

let’s connect online! Keep in touch on...

Twitter:@appelfarmcamp

Instagram:AppelFarmArtsCamp

Facebook:Facebook.com/

AppelFarmCamp

This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding made in part by funds from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Pascale Sykes Foundation, Family Enrichment Network and South Jersey Industries. Other funding sources include foundation, corporation and individual contributions by friends, Trustees and alumni of Appel Farm. Visit other South Jersey events at NJHeartland.org.

Please call two weeks in advance for assistance.

Accessibility ServicesNJ Relay Service TRS (800) 852-7899

FREE!FAMILY DAYNOON-4PM

Interactive Recycling WorkshopsGardening ActivitiesOutdoor Games (Soccer, Basketball, Tennis)

Family Line Dancing Live music by The Naked Sun

and more!

457 Shirley Road, Elmer, NJ 08318Easy access to Routes 77, 40, and 55 www.AppelFarm.org

Rain or Shine Event

Performance and Art Exhibit showcasing student’s work from The 2017 Salem County Teen Arts Festival.

Arts Camp Tour

Food Trucks

Craft Vendors

Door Prize

Earth Day Festivalat Appel Farm Sunday, April 23 12 – 4 PM

Free Family Activities for All

Campsick?

It was so much fun to see so many campers, new and old, at our Philly parties! We can’t wait to see more of you on President’s Day!

Families are invited to join us for a free ice cream, to reunite with friends or to learn more about Appel Farm. Spread the word to your friends who might be interested in camp.

Monday, February 20th - President’s Day11:00am - 12:30pm @ Sugar and Plumm377 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10024

2:30pm - 4:00pm @ McCool’s Ice Cream26 Main St., Madison, NJ 07940

Want to join us for Ice Cream? Let us know by sending your RSVP to camp@appelfarm.org!

Benjamin Ainslie, Isaac Ainslie, Kate Apostolacus, Chelsea Appelbaum, Haven Arms, Isabel Attenberg, Grace Barrett, Livia Bernstein, Lilyanna BickleyJonathan Bierck, Robert Bierck, Nina Bombeke, Rex Borgenicht, Katie Brunetta, Angela CarrollSofia Carusone, Max Cohen, Jaxson Cole, William Cole, Julia Colen, Sydney Colen, Daisy CunninghamZora Dancy, Sky Davenport, Katherine Dee, Sam Dorbin, Kaitlin Dunsmuir, Sofia Econa, Margalit Eisenstein, Bella Etkin, Lucy Farruggia, Sarah Fichter, Rowen Fisher, Sofia Foote, Emilia Foote Wallentin, Zamira Frost, Arthur Furniss, Ilana Goldman, Isaac Goldman, Julia Goldstein, Rebecca Goldstein, Annabella Gollotto, Carl Gombert, Eva Greenberg, Max Groner, Phoebe Grupper, Julia Hall, Olivia Haney, Michaela Hart, Marysol Harter, Casey Hein, Anna Higer-Paris, Chiara Huber, Leila Israel, Livia Janjigian, Larisa Jeffers, Lily Jensen, Tate Jensen, Ben Kalb, Abraham Kaplan, Elena Kaplan, Jared Kaye, Lauren Kaye, Lydia Keenan, Mila Kisch, Samuel Kleiman, Jake KurtzFreilich, Ethan Lafazan, Molly Lo, Francesca Lockenour, Kendall Lockhart, Anna Loftus, Sihan Luo, Callie Mahoney, Olivia Malin, Zev Marinoff, Mona Marshall, Willa Marshall, Bernadine Mattson, Ava Monroe, Evelyn Monsalud, Samantha Morales Federman, Georgia Morris, Marina Morris, Calvin Mustokoff, Amalia Nachman, Stella Neff, Emily Orlich, Dominic Paolini, Nadav Perlman-Greenberg, Gabriella Pollack, Ellie Reiner, Jillian Roche, Ellie Rojer, Sasha Rojer, Catherine Roser, Lily Rowan, Miles Savulich, Nina Schatell, Aviva Schuh, Zachary Schuh, Hannah Scott, Matthew Shuster, Zachary Solano, Estella Stein, Gregory Stone, Solomon Stone, Anna Stribrny, Rose Swan, Virginia Tamburello, Eli Troll, Clare Uppenbrink, Luke Uppenbrink, Adam Wachtel, Vivian Ward, Juna Waugh, Sophie Weinberg, Camille Williams, Ariana Gwen Wilson, Lila Woodring, Isadora Zbyszewski, & Dorothea Zimmerman.

Look Who’s Coming to Camp!

Second Session Bunk 23

Countdown to Camp;;:;;:;;

131 days until First Session!2-week Session: June 25 - July 94-week Session: June 25 - July 216-Week Session: June 25 - August 68-Week Session: June 25 - August 18

159 days until Second Session!2-week Session: July 23 - August 64-week Session: July 23 - August 18

145 days until our First 1-Week Session!1-Week Session: July 9 - July 16

173 days until our Second 1-Week Session!1-Week Session: August 6 - August 13

School Year BlogAre your reading our School Year Blog? If you are, you’ve brushed up on Appel Farm traditions, caught up on the latest STEAM initiatives, and enjoyed some wonderful “throwback” albums! You also know all the ins and outs about Appel Farm, and how we take care of all of our campers. It’s all really great information to have!

If you’re not already reading the blog, check it out asap! From Motivation Monday through Fun Friday, each blog highlights a different theme and core value. We welcome guest bloggers from any member of our camp community, even parents, so get in touch if you have an idea!

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