After a successful Summer Season, we are in full Fall Retreat mode at Overlook. This year we welcomed 157 campers to Summer Camp, which is an increase from last summer. Most of our increase came through our Day Camp program which we hope will translate to future overnight campers. We started our summer off with a week of Day Camp (our traditional program and an Art Camp) and we welcomed some campers at our Friends Together Camp (our camp for adults with intellectual disabilities). The rest of the summer had traditional Overnight and Day campers. Some of our specialty camp programs included Horse Camp, Adventure Quest, and Night Flights. We welcomed 16 campers for our Half week, Mini Camp program. Mini Camp is to allow for the youngest of campers to get a taste for camp without staying the entire week. We have started planning for next year with some new ideas for Day Camp and new activities for our Overnight camps. At the end of our season we hosted two outside groups that rented our facilities to run their own Week Long program. During the Summer, the Blessings Lodge also welcome several groups including church groups, family reunions, and special interest groups. There were only a few nights all summer that we did not have guests on the property.
We are currently in the search for a new Program Director. The hope of this new person will be to grow our existing programs including Summer Camp, Winter Camp, and Walk to the Manger as well as develop some new weekday programming for school and other groups. We hope to welcome this new person to the Overlook family this fall.
This fall we are almost fully booked. We will be welcoming guests to the Blessings Lodge every weekend until Thanksgiving and then we will be preparing for our Christmas meals. On the Camp side of the property we will be welcoming several groups including the Fall Walks to Emmaus, the Rainbow Girls, the JMU Cru, and the area Girl Scouts Fall Camporee.
Mark your calendars for our annual “Paul Bunyon/Work Day” on November 7th. There will be plenty of work to be done outside (tree cutting and splitting) and inside (cleaning and winterizing). Lunch will be provided. More information will be coming, so watch for more details.
We would like to invite our Shenandoah River District churches to come out to Camp for a day. We welcome you to hold a Worship Service or have a Picnic on our grounds as our guests. Please contact the Camp Office (540-269-2267 or campoverlook@gmail.com) to find out our availability and get your event scheduled.
We are also able to come to you. If you would like Chad or another staff member come and speak to your Church or Small Group, please reach out to Chad at chadhrbek@vaumc.org. We are continually grateful for the support we receive from individuals and churches through your Askings and personal donations.