Preparing for Camp-Insider Tips!

Camper forms, activity sign-ups, and store orders have been submitted!  THANK YOU to everyone who completed them on time. It makes planning for camp much easier. After reading through responses and talking with families over the last few weeks, we thought we would address some of our top-asked questions and offer some “tips” for our … Continued

Looking during Holy Week and beyond

“He’s not here.” It’s a phrase simultaneously simple and earth shattering; Frightening and hopeful. It’s spoken by an angel to a stunned group: Women who were terrified, mourning, exhausted, and now confused as to what has happened to the body of their rabbi and friend. For an Illahee Girl, this would be even more shocking … Continued

What’s a Pine and Tree Day?!

At Illahee we offer a ton of different activities, and if you’re attending any of our two, three, or four-week sessions then you, YES YOU get the chance to choose your activities! I love activities. It’s where we get to see campers find their groove and discover new life long passions. In preparation for the … Continued

Cold Feet Leads to Growth

Why the cold feet? We get it, and it’s a conversation we have every year around this time as campers feel the distance between their lives at home and their awesome memories of camp. Their experiences are a little fuzzier, and the smells and sounds of camp are no longer palpable. The jitters are creeping … Continued

Christmas: Tradition and Hope

Last friday I spent a good part of my day cleaning up my office. Anyone on our year round team can attest that my office needed it most. Spring cleaning might be the norm for most folks, but in the camp world, December is when we are able to catch our breath, so I chose … Continued

Illahee: A new or maybe an old meaning?

For millennia, our histories have been passed down through stories. These “Oral Traditions” are powerful in the meaning and wisdom that are communicated. We all love a good story, right? But occasionally, as new information is gleaned, in hindsight we find some inaccuracies. We at Camp Illahee have been told and told others that the … Continued

Full of Gratitude

Moving back to Brevard in May was a huge transition for our family of four. A significant aspect of that transition was my stepson Brooks (9) starting at a new school. At his school, class begins each day with a pledge of gratitude. Singing in the beautiful unison of off-key, 4th grade voices they shout: … Continued

It’s A New Era!

It is with gratitude and excitement that we announce Gardner Strayhorn and Lucas Jones as Illahee’s Executive Directors – the 6th set of directors since camp’s founding in 1921! We look forward to their positive leadership and energy as they and the team continue to build on the amazing camp traditions and experience that Illahee … Continued

Farewell to a Great Summer!

A return to normalcy. That’s what this summer was. Our nurses and doctors joined trips to Sliding Rock, and were often out and about watching all of the fun and action we get to see as directors every day. Our stockpile of Covid tests are gathering dust in the corner of one of our bedrooms…not … Continued

Junior Camp Groove

It’s been a terrific Tuesday at Illahee. The Junior campers are settled looking more confident as they travel from activity to activity around camp. The Junior session sounds different. This afternoon, from my office, I could hear the joyful sound of girls coming from the Busy Bee and the weaving hut, up the hill from … Continued