Aim for a great time as Bay Shore Camp opens their season with Family Fun Days on June 19-20. All the usual fun activities arranged for safe social distancing!
Bay Shore Camp and Family Ministries Executive Director Jeff Parsons is proud to announce the opening of their summer season beginning with onsite day camps, traveling day camps, and family-friendly activities.
However, phase four of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s six-phase plan only permits for the camp’s partial open. Overnight children and youth camps at Bay Shore will not occur until Huron County reaches phase five. During a briefing on June 1, the governor said her goal is to fully open the economy by the end of June. “I am hoping we will move into phase five and fully operate camps,” Parsons said. “We are proceeding as though things are going to happen.” This means planning for a day camp in June, from the 22nd through the 25th, which is not in the regular calendar.
For the time being, the director is just happy to invite the community in for day use, swimming, mini-golf, and other events. “Our big Family Fun Days is rescheduled for June 19-20. This is a great family-friendly event.” Parsons said to expect all the usual camp activities, from kids jumping on inflatables to laser tag and archery to mini-golf and swimming in the pool. Activities will be spread across the entire camp property, so social distancing between families won’t be a problem. All the activities are free including overnight camping.
Bay Shore plans to have the Bible-themed mini-golf course and swimming pool open every Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. throughout the summer. Pool capacity will be modified to meet revised health and safety expectations. “Generally, we rarely exceed those new capacities anyway,” Parsons said. “We are excited to be able to offer these activities for families” said Parsons, who has created a traveling camp program in an effort to reach more children. “We wanted to try something different so we are rolling out a traveling day camp,” he added. The idea is to partner with local churches, bringing day camp to the children in their community. There will be arts and crafts, archery, a rock climbing wall, music and singing, drama, skits, huge inflatable toys, water activities, and, of course, worship and Bible teaching.
The camp is eager to continue building relationships with United Methodist churches across the state, so that camp may become mobile and help the local church reach the families in their community. Dates are still available for Summer 2021.
Parsons and his team have received a lot of calls from parents eager to get their kids into onsite, overnight camps. He just tells them camp will go and will not be canceled unless it becomes clear there is no other option. “The most important thing is our commitment to the families who want a camp experience for their children,” said Parsons. “If we’re permitted to operate our overnight camps, we’re committed to providing for a safe and healthy experience as required by our licensing.”
Bay Shore Camp & Family Ministries, is an affiliate ministry of the United Methodist Church. For more information, visit our Facebook page or simply view our website at www.bayshorecamp.org.
Last Updated on October 31, 2023