Hundreds of visitors from around the world, including father’s and mother’s, brother’s and sister’s, bubby’s and zaidy’s uncle and aunts and others spent their Sunday afternoon visiting with campers & staff @ Gan Yisroel in Parksville, NY.
The highlight of the day was the grand dedication ceremony of a brand new bunkhouse on the famous hill in CGI.
CGINY’s Executive Camp Director Rabbi Avrohom Shemtov addressed the crowd, reminding them of the extra special connection & attention the Rebbe gave to this camp.
Afterwards, the red ribbon was cut and the Fellig brothers from Miami Beach, FL, Zalman & Shlomie, who dedicated the new bunkhouse in memory of their dear father R’ Yosef Mordechai ben Tzvi Meir OBM, were honored with affixing the Mezuzos on the 2 doorposts.
Following the ceremony the large crowd enjoyed delicious fresh donuts and soda.
While many campers & staff left campgrounds for the day, many others remained to enjoy the delicious food from the canteen, relax and picnic on the front lawn, have some fun on the lake and much more.
11:00 Camp Time (12:00 Eastern Time) visiting day officially began. Many parents came from the NY area and beyond to visit their children. At 12:00, a ceremony began for the dedication of a new bunkhouse. Rabbi Avremel Shemtov spoke how when Camp Gan Israel moved from Swan Lake to Parksville the Rebbe said that grounds belong to Merkos, and the keys are lent the camp staff. This land legally belongs to the Rebbe. The Rebbe also said that the land of Gan Yisroel is an extension of 770. He then spoke of the great zechus the Zalman and Shlomo Fellig have to be able to sponsor a new bunkhouse in the Rebbe’s camp. Camper Yossi Fellig cut the ribbon in front of the house, and the head staff, the directors and the Fellig brothers walked onto the porch. Each of the Fellig brothers affixed a mezuzah on one of the doors. In the meantime, a sign was put up dedicating the house to Rabbi Yosef Mordechai ben Tzvi Meir Fellig, the father of Shlomo and Zalman. The large crowd then enjoyed soda and fresh donuts.
Throughout the day, parents kept coming to camp. Many spoke to their sons’ respective learning teachers and counselors. A buffet lunch was put out in the dining room for all the campers and visitors to enjoy. In addition to the usual array of fine food available at the canteen, specially for Visiting Day, hot dogs, hamburgers, and grilled chicken wings were for sale the entire day. Camp T-shirt and caps were being sold in the main lobby. The camp video (to come out at the end of the summer) was on sale for $16.99, including free shipping to anywhere in the US. After camp, the price will go up to $20. The special sale price is still available, so order yours today! In lobby, an exclusive sneak preview of the video was being shown. There were paddleboats, bumper boats, rowboats available to be taken out by the lake. Many parents took their children out to the many attractions available in the area. All in all a great time was had by all.
Among our distinguished visiting day guests was former Night Activity Director Moshe Markel. First a game of “mummy wrap†played. Two teams of two campers were selected. One camper had to wrap his teammate entirely in toilet paper. The winner’s entire bunk got to play another game.