PHOTO: BB360 Chief Community and Jewish Life Officer Kim Schneiderman, top center, performs at the dedication of the expanded dining hall and performing arts facility at the organization's facilities outside Lincoln City during Friends and Family Day Sunday, June 23. (Courtesy BB360)

By ROCKNE ROLL
The Jewish Review
As temperatures warm and schools go on break, the focus of many Jewish families turns to camp. 
At B’nai B’rith Camp on the Oregon Coast, the first busloads of overnight campers arrived Tuesday, June 25. But at BB Camp, there’s plenty of camp excitement to go around even before the first buses arrive. 
The weekend before, the camp celebrated Friends and Family Day, opening their doors to the broader community, including those who would be starting their camp adventure just days later and those who had their first taste of camp long ago. 
“As long as I can remember, we’ve done it,” BB360 Chief Executive Officer Michelle Koplan said. “Honestly, it’s been really fascinating to see how many alumni come and how many donors and supporters attend just to kind of spend the day in the magic of camp.”
Recent years have also seen the day’s bevy of camp activities expanded to include dedication ceremonies for new buildings popping up on the shores of Devil’s Lake as the camp grows and renovates. This year’s event was no exception, with the dedication of a performing arts space and extension of the facility’s dining hall. 
“We got to cut the ribbon and had three young adult counselors that spoke about how they’ve been inspired by the arts at camp and how that has impacted their lives and has truly made them who they are as individuals,” Koplan explained. 
There will be more such ceremonies coming – including a new administration building which, it was announced, will be named after Koplan, who is marking 25 years as CEO. The new building will be the first at camp named after a professional staff member.
The focus of Friends and Family Day remains a small taste of the camp experience. Koplan shared a story of a woman and her child taking a ride on a canoe in the lake, with another woman they did not know accompanying them to fill the space in the canoe.
“They were chatting the whole time and as they were coming back to shore, they asked each other to exchange phone numbers,” Koplan said a staff member told her, showing that it’s not just kids that make new friends at camp.
While Friends and Family Day is always a special moment of the year, little compares to busses pulling into the camp driveway, their passengers stepping off to a tunnel of camp staff singing “Shalom Aleichem.” Koplan said this year had a special energy, particularly on that first evening as the campers gathered for a meal of Sloppy Joes, the traditional first dinner of each session. It was the first time since 2019 that a full camp session had assembled for a meal as the cohort dining protocols that had been a product of the pandemic have been withdrawn.
“Right away, the kids started the song, ‘We’ve got spirit! Yes, we do! We’ve got spirit! How about you?’” Koplan said. 
Later, the campers chanted in unison, “Bring out the chef!” prompting Becki Bazen, BB360’s Food Service Director and head Sloppy Joe maker, and her team to step out for a curtain call. 
“The energy is awesome, and kids are so excited to be here,” Koplan said. “It’s just really lovely.”
“Letters From Camp” will feature stories from each of the five Jewish overnight camps in the Pacific Northwest over the course of the summer. Next issue: Camp Solomon Schechter. For more on Jewish summer camps, listen to “Campfire Kehillah with Avi Orlow” on The Jewish Review Podcast, available on all major platforms and visit the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland’s camp resources page at jewishportland.org/inclusion-camping.