This news blog is the place to be for what is happening at Manitou. Specifically, there will be regular postings on the following topics:

• Reunions and winter events
  
• Camp projects and new improvements
  
• Manitou Message Board with information for parents: So you don't miss a beat
  
• Ideas: We want to know what you think. See our first question below...
  
• Letters to the Editor: Send us your letter - some will be posted each month
  
• Manitou Movies: The first movie submission is below, all '07 videos can be found in your myManitou account
  
• Winter Photo library: A selection of photos from camp and some of our many winter events. For summer photos from '07 please log in to your myManitou account
  
• A special section to help us all remember those special summer months in Maine: coming soon!
  

12/31/07: Time Square, NY - The hysteria is everywhere!

Police on horseback, barriers preventing access to streets in the midtown area, yellow caution tape...it's madness. "I never thought a new website could create such a stir," exclaimed JD while trying to navigate through the crowd with his laptop. "Are my tax dollars paying for this police detail or did Oakland Officer Mike call this in?"

Just as flabbergasted, Craig, who has the site ready to launch on his iPhone, shouted "Do these people know that they do not need to stand outside for hours to see our website? They can turn on their computer indoors, where it's warm."

You can follow the countdown live at: www.campmanitou.com/prelaunch

Stay tuned!

This site gives us the opportunity to show some of our favorite camp memories that were caught on video. Many thanks to Manitou Alumni Mike Pertnoy (1994-2002) for putting this together. Feel free to sing along, or send us your own version!



Attention campers: You can learn how to make your own Manitou Movie this summer!

The online Manitou Message Board will post reminders for all upcoming events and important tasks.

1. Specific Camper Travel information - including group flights and buses - will be emailed to you the first week of January. General travel information is posted in the Forms section of this website.
   
2. Spots for the Walk on Water Trip are still available. If you will be traveling from a distance and require a flight, please contact the camp office for assistance.
3. Visiting Day is Saturday, July 19th. Do not forget to make your hotel reservations if you have not already. A complete list of area hotels can found in the Travel section of this website. Also, the Little Brother Sleepover will be held the night before Visiting Day. If you would like to sign a younger brother or cousin, please go to the Forms section for an application.
4. Your 2008 Cloz Catalogue and packing list will be sent to you in mid-January

We are always exploring for new ideas and want to ask for your assistance in determining what the best ones are. Every month we will choose a topic and post a question or set of questions for our camper population to help us with. On the way, if you have any ideas that we do not mention, please let us know.

This month's topic comes from the wide world of food...

If you were to design your own camp fruit bar, what 3 types of fruit must it have? (pizza is not a fruit)

What cooked vegetables will you eat with a meal? (ex: steamed broccoli, not including salad items)

What non-sugary snack items do you like (if any)?

Submit your answers via email at mailbox@campmanitou.com.

Manitou campers and parents joined directors and staff for the annual gathering in Boston in mid-December. Friends, stories, food and bowling highlighted the event. In attendance was: Jonathan Stepakoff, Jared Sheinberg, Aaron Koepper, Michael Karon, Sean Mulhall, Drew Maidment, David and Jake Warner, Noah and Ethan Roberts, Ethan Shapiro, Joel Peckham, JD and Sara, Dave Schiff, Derek Worley, Carolyn Roy, Abby Dunn, and alum Natalie Bailey.

Dropping temperatures in the northeast means one thing at Manitou - the Manitou Ski Trip and WOW trip are right around the corner. "Mr. Summer Never Ends" - Pete Hansen - has three layers of board shorts on he prepares camp for the Walk on Water Trip in March. Pete, who has been in Maine since the end of camp, is busy shoveling snow while crafting the perfect sledding trail down the main hill of camp. Pete's goal is to ride a sled from the top of the hill all the way down to the waterfront. Besides sledding, campers will be able to play there favorite camp sports in the snow including softball at Peckham Park. For more details on the trip, and to get an application, click here: Walk on Water Trip Application

Ski Trip enrollment is currently full. If you would like to get your name on the waitlist, contact us at the camp office. For those attending, packing and travel details will be sent right after New Years.

The home of Manitou's Hall of Fame is now firmly established in the balcony level of Alumni Hall. Many thanks to creative director Chris Marcoux and the maintenance crew for completing the project this fall. All campers will be able to see the plaques on display as well as Manitou's 5-year bar showcase on the other end of the balcony. More than 100 bars will be hanging by the opening of camp. Is your name on one? All 5 year campers, and eventually all five year counselors (or a combination of the two totaling 5 years) in Manitou's 62 year history will have their own bar showing their name and first year at Manitou. Below is a picture of the first segment of the Hall of Fame in Alumni Hall.