Summer Camps 2008
by David Seitz
Summer’s coming! With April already underway, many parents and guardians are scrambling to fill their families’ calendars with a mix of stimulation and simple summer fun.
But while summertime might ultimately bring easy livin’, planning is not always an easy task for families. For many families, it is challenging to pick activities that square with their budgets and calendars (most adults, after all, don’t get the summer off). Further, it can be tricky to find summer activity environments that are friendly to (much less affirming for) families with a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender parent or parents. Where can families look?
A great starting place for LGBT parents looking to balance fun, funds, and a friendly environment is the wonderfully comprehensive camps listing compiled by Children of Gays and Lesbians Everywhere (COLAGE). LGBT family (and friendly) camps run an incredible gamut, from the faith-based to the secular, from California to Wisconsin to Nova Scotia.
Weekend camps like Rainbow Families’ camps in Alexandria, Minnesota, include parents who work throughout the summer. Grace Tripp, who started the camp with her partner seven years ago, says the camp’s secluded environment and shared responsibilities make for a relaxed environment.
“We’re on a peninsula out in the middle of a lake,” Tripp says. “The whole peninsula is owned by the camp. We’ve got trails, boats, playgrounds, everything. The kids can just do their own thing, and we don’t have to worry about who’s there. Parents take turns watching them.”
Tripp says the getaways give kids and parents a chance both to relax and to share common and unique experiences and needs.
“For some of the families from [greater] Minnesota and Wisconsin, this is the one chance all year that their kids get to play with kids who have gay or lesbian parents,” Tripp, who is from the Twin Cities area, says. “They look forward to it. They count the days.”
“We have a number of families who have African American and biracial children with white parents, and it’s really good for them,” Tripp says. “Parents help each other with things as little as helping each other learn how to do their kids’ hair.”
What’s more, for many families, the relationships of support continue throughout the year. This year’s camps—one for families with younger children, one for older kids—are scheduled for July 11–13 and August 8–10, respectively. The camps usually draw about 40 families.
Though on very different lakes, Michigan’s Rainbow Families Great Lakes (RFGL) camp is home to similar experiences of community, activity, relaxation, and support. The organization is planning a Spring Getaway Weekend for May 9–11, with a full-blown Family Week in Saugatuck/Douglas, Michigan, planned for July 12–18.
Deb Hemgesberg, RFGL board codirector, says the growth of the organization (which recently earned 501[c][3] status) and Family Week, which last year brought in nearly 80 families, has also created personal and community growth for families. Hembesberg, who has an 11-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter, said the family has benefited tremendously from four years of Family Week.
“My son, in particular, loves the opportunity to hang out with the dads and their sons,” says Hemgesberg. “I have noticed that frequently families will join up for activities, especially if the children are in the same age range. All families look to each other for support and validation.
“Parents share support for what they are encountering developmentally and specific to their children, as well as sharing ideas for how to handle some of the unique experiences we have as families,” Hemgesberg said. “We have developed some good friendships.”
Faith-based camps—bucking the exclusive “Jesus camp” stereotype—can also offer opportunity to build community for LGBT-headed families. Located in rural St. Germain, Wisconsin, Rainbow Family Camp at Moon Beach, a camp of the Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ, welcomes families across diverse family formations—and diverse faiths—as an extension of its mission.
“I would have to label it spirituality with a lowercase ‘s,’” Moon Beach Camp Managing Director Glenn Svetnicka says. “We have a lot of Unitarians, Wiccans, atheists, and agnostics. The backbone of the United Church of Christ is that all are welcome, and that’s an extravagant welcome.”
This year’s Rainbow Family Camp, slated for August 10–16, creates a community that is both inclusive and intentional, Svetnicka says.
“Our programming this year is entitled ‘Handle with Care,’” he says. “It talks about God’s universe, about all things green. It’s pretty hard to argue with, no matter what faith base you come from. That, with the nature, arts and crafts, and waterfront components, combines to be a pretty cool experience for people.”
Of course, as Svetnicka is quick to add, a green camp experience need not be a grungy one. “Each family gets their own cabin,” Svetnicka says. “This is somewhere between the Holiday Inn and a tent, probably closer to the Holiday Inn. We don’t rough it very much.”
Another option for those would-be campers of a more domestic persuasion (this would certainly include me) is Family Week in Provincetown, Massachusetts, scheduled for July 6 through August 2. (For tips on an affordable Provincetown vacation—the ferry is cheaper than driving from Boston or flying—try here.)
Candy Collins-Boden of the Provincetown Chamber of Commerce says Provincetown, a longtime destination for some LGBT tourists, has recently seen a proliferation of LGBT families and family-friendly businesses.
“I have raised three children in Provincetown, and I have grandchildren now,” Collins-Boden says. “We’ve had gay and lesbian visitors here for many, many years. I was so excited when the families started coming, to meet the kids, because the kids were just absolutely wonderful.”
