‘Camp’ Camp was the dream of our founder and original Director, Bill Cole.
Bill was an admitted “late bloomer,” coming out as gay when he was 49 years old and living in Princeton, New Jersey. Soon after, his (now ex-)wife, Kathy (they’re still the best of friends), encouraged Bill to treat himself to a weekend in Provincetown, a longtime, well-known LGBTQ+ destination on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
Bill had a horrible time and spent much of his initial P-town weekend in tears. He didn’t feel connected to most of the gay men he met that weekend – and became convinced that the traditional gay spaces centered around drinking and cruising were a barrier to true, real connections between people who had so much experiential commonality. (Or, they should have, anyway.)
Not long after his disappointing weekend in P-town, Bill was attending a men’s workshop that included a session on manifesting dreams. It was during this fateful weekend that he first had an idea spark around an authentic summer camp geared towards gay & lesbian adults. (Admittedly naïve about queer life, coming out late as he did, Bill wasn’t even aware that bisexual and transgender people existed. The “BTQ+” was added to Camp’s official target audience very soon after.)
With a background in both education and summer camps, Bill realized that traditional summer camps were incubators for rich, genuine, human connections – so he had high hopes that creating a place and experience free from both the technology and everyday pressures of the “real world” (not to mention the pressures inherent in the sex- and/or alcohol-focused of the queer spaces of the mid/late-90s) would facilitate genuine, meaningful connections among LGBTQ+ folks of all orientations and gender identities.
Little did he know…
Within a year, Bill’s dream finally came alive when the first season of ‘Camp’ Camp happened in August of 1997. ‘Camp’ Camp hosted just under 90 people that first year, but – within a few years – it blossomed into a week where 200+ LGBTQ+ folks from around the country and as far away as Germany and Australia would gather in Maine for a week of queer joy unlike any other!
And we’ve been providing the same week full of encouragement, friends, and deep personal connections for over 25 years now.
Below are some notable highlights and fun facts from our past two-decades-plus. But the best way to really understand why 75% of our Campers return for at least one more season – and why they continually refer to their week at Camp as the “best time ever!” – is just to experience ‘Camp’ Camp for yourself.
1997-2011
Camp’s Original Logo
August 24-30, 1997
Year 1
“A summer camp for gay & lesbian adults” celebrates its inaugural week, running six days — Sunday to Saturday — after a full two days of Staff Training. Attended by 88 Campers & Staff (67 Staff & 21 Campers), the cost for the week is originally advertised at $800, though registration fees are later reduced to $575-$675 to encourage enrollment. A second session scheduled the following week is eventually cancelled due to low enrollment. The word “magical” is the most popular word of the week.
Many ‘Camp’ Camp traditions — like Buddy Bags, Opening Circle, Barn Dance, Tea Dance and the Talent/No Talent Show — started our very first summer and continue today.
…And yes, that is Camp’s current Owner/Director, Kerry Riffle (front row, third from left), in the publicity photo above.
December 30, 1999-January 2, 2000
First New Year’s Eve Gathering
Camp sponsors a New Year’s Eve Gathering in Bath, New Hampshire, in honor of the millennial New Year — 32 Campers attend.
The New Year’s Eve Gatherings move to North Conway, New Hampshire, the following year for two years with 50+ people attending each year. The event moves to Eastover Resort in Lenox, Massachusetts, in 2002 where it runs through 2010, after which Eastover closes (temporarily) causing us to discontinue the event. Attendance tops out at around 80 people the final few years at Eastover.
August 20-27, 2006
Year 10
Bill Cole steps down as Owner/Director, and Kerry Riffle and former Asst. Director Susan “Clink” Clinkenbeard become Camp’s new Owners/Directors, joined by Financial Director, Kevin Mihal. They welcome 193 Campers & Staff. Camper fees are $825-$950, and Staff Fees are formalized into the current structure (Staff I, Staff II, etc.) with those fees ranging from $125-$675.
Though we traditionally entertain ourselves at Camp, stand-up comedian Kim Cea and musician Josh Zuckerman are booked for a mid-week Evening Social Event as our 10th Anniversary celebration.
August 23-30, 2009
Year 13
Betsy Orr becomes Owner/Associate Director, replacing Clink and Kevin Mihal. Camp hosts a record 239 Campers & Staff. Registration fees remain the same as the previous year at $965 ($865 with an early-registration discount), and Staff fees range from $130-$680.
August 21-28, 2011
Year 15
Camp’s 15th Anniversary season attracts 250 Campers & Staff, the largest crowd to date. However, over half of them leave early when Hurricane Irene blows through Maine on the last night of Camp.
Registration fees range from $825-$1025 and Staff fees are $150-$700. In honor of our 15th anniversary, stand-up comedian Jessica Kirson entertains Campers at a mid-week Evening Social Event.
2012-2024
Camp’s Second Logo
Camp releases a new logo and redesigned website in May, prior to its 2012 season which runs August 19-26 with 231 Campers & Staff attending.
August 21-28, 2016
Year 20
A special logo is released in honor of our 20th Anniversary season, attended by 244 Campers & Staff. Brett Auttonberry begins a three-year tenure as Owner/Associate Director. Registration fees range from $1475-$1725 with Staff fees running $50-$1275. We change the GLBT in our “America’s Premiere Summer Camp…” tagline to LGBT as the latter becomes the community’s most accepted abbreviation.
2020-2023
Virtual ‘Camp’ Camp & ‘Camp’ Camp Plus
Camp pivots to virtual programming due to the COVID pandemic, offering a range of summer camp-themed activities during the weeks in 2020 and 2021 that Camp would normally be held. 187 Campers register in 2020 — with 110 in 2021 — and discover the Camp’s usual spirit of fun & camaraderie is barely diminished when everyone gathers over Zoom to enjoy activities like Rainbow Group, writing, cooking, and cross stitch classes, and even a virtual version of our Talent/No Talent Show.
Gathering virtually is such a hit that it inspires ‘Camp’ Camp Plus, a Virtual Day Camp for LGBTQ+ Adults. For a $30 monthly subscription, Campers gain access to an ongoing selection of activities & events based on traditional ‘Camp offerings like classes, game nights, and Rainbow Groups, as well as a monthly Saturday Night Social Event. Camp Plus runs from October to May, starting in 2020 through April 2023.
Even though 2021 technically marked our 25th season of Camp, we decide that — no matter how much everyone appreciated having Virtual Camp during the worst of the pandemic — these two years would not be “counted” as official seasons of Camp. (In large part, because we wanted to celebrate our 25th season in person!)
August 21-28, 2022
Year 24
214 Campers & Staff converge in southwestern Maine for our first season in-person in three years after the COVID pandemic forces Camp to go virtual for two seasons. Registration fees were $1775, with Staff fees ranging $50-$1325.
August 20-27, 2023
Year 25
220 Campers & Staff attend Camp’s 25th Anniversary season. Registration fees are $1825 with Staff fees of $75 to $1375. Much to the consternation of some of our longtime Campers, we announce at the end of the week that, after 25 summers, this will be our last season at our original host camp in southwestern Maine.
2024-present
Camp’s Third Logo
We decide that starting our next 25 years — coupled with our impending move to a new (to us) upgraded host camp in central Maine — calls for a revamped logo. Both the logo and a “refreshed” website are revealed in when registration opens in March. After adding the “Q” to LGBTQ on our website in 2020, this refreshed website now reads LGBTQ+.
August 11-18, 2024
Year 26
252 Campers & Staff join us as Camp hosts its first season at our new central Maine location. Registration fees are $1975, and Staff fees are $100-$1450.
Our new host camp offers air-conditioned communal and private cabin options and some long-requested activities like horseback riding and archery — along with 1.5 miles of waterfront and a pool with waterslides. (And that’s just for starters!) We all decide we love our new home… and think you should join us!