‘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 become 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” as well as 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!” – you need to experience ‘Camp’ Camp for yourself.
1997-2011
Camp’s Original Logo
1997
Year 1: August 24-30, 1997
“A summer camp for gay & lesbian adults” celebrates its inaugural week, running 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.
August 23-29, 1999
Year 3
Camp’s dates shift to Monday to Sunday with 138 Campers & Staff in attendance. Camp’s now-iconic Name Chips make their first appearance, and registration fees top out at $685. Camp sponsors a New Year’s Eve Gathering in Bath, NH in honor of the millennial New Year — 32 Campers attend.
May 2012
Year 16
Camp releases a new logo and redesigned website in May, prior to their 2012 season which runs August 19-26 with 231 Campers & Staff attending.
Year 20
Camp’s 20th Anniversary season attracts 244 Campers & Staff. A special 20th Anniversary Logo is released, and Brett Auttonberry begins a three-year tenure as Owner/Associate Director. Registration fees range from $1475-$1725, with Staff fees running $50-$1275.
August 20-27, 2023
Year 25
Camp’s 25th Anniversary! 220 Campers & Staff attend with registration fees at $1825 and 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 this will be our last season at our longtime host camp in southwestern Maine.
August 11-18, 2024
Year 26
252 Campers & Staff join us as Camp begins its second 25 years at a new (to us), upgraded host camp in central Maine – and a revamped logo. The new location offers air-conditioned communal and private cabin options, some long-requested activities like horseback riding and archery, and 1.5 miles of waterfront and a pool with waterslides. We all decide we love our new home!