CGI-Parksville Marks 60th Year with Grand Banquet

On the 16^th of Tammuz, 5716 (1956), the Rebbe visited the grounds of the fledgling Camp Gan Yisroel, which had been founded that year in upstate New York. Touring the installations, the Rebbe showed great interest in every aspect of the camp.

As the 60th summer of Camp Gan Yisroel–New York continues, this day was celebrated in a truly special way.

Immediately following Mincha, the campers entered the shul, which had been decorated for the occasion with special lighting, large screens, and state-of-the-art surround sound. The evening began with greetings from former campers and staff, including Rabbi Shmuel Lew, Rabbi Zev Katz, Rabbi Moshe Feller, and many others. This was followed by a few words from Head Counselor Berel Slavaticki, who emphasized the importance of the day.

After singing Ani Maamin with a video of the Rebbe, the Rebbe’s kapital was read by Rabbi Dubinsky.

Following the lavish main course, prepared by chef Shloime Futerfas and the dedicated kitchen staff, Rabbi Avraham Shemtov spoke. He shared with camp a note that he recently found in which Rabbi Lazar had written the directives that the Rebbe gave regarding the founding of camp. After describing in detail the Rebbe’s close connection with camp, Rabbi Shemtov called up the guest speaker, Rabbi Moshe Lazar, who flew in especially for the occasion from Milan, Italy, where he is a shliach. Rabbi Lazar was privileged to be the one who founded Camp Gan Yisroel together with Rabbi Yossi Weinbaum and Rabbi Kehos Weiss, as well as being the first head counselor. Rabbi Lazar described the Rebbe’s fatherly care to each and every individual, and spoke about how Camp Gan Yisroel has grown from 1 camp with under 100 campers in the inaugural season to 400 branches, with 10,000 staff and 150,000 campers annually.

Gan Yisroel’s very own choir then sang a song that was composed especially for this event. A sicha of the Rebbe about the importance of camp was then shown, after which a camper spoke and introduced the theme video. The theme video describes the change that camp can make in the life of each camper. Then came spirited singing and dancing.

The evening was capped off by a performance by the world-renowned psychologist and “mind-reader” Mark Salem. Salem, who himself was a camper in Gan Yisroel, enthralled the audience with his seemingly impossible feats.

The banquet was made possible by the efforts of CGI’s dedicated staff. Special thanks go to Rabbi Shemtov, Rabbi Futerfas, Naftali Marasow, Shmuli Zalmanov, ECAD’s Yisroel Cohen and Sholom Loebenstein, and Shishim Shona coordinators Dovi Pinkovitch and Tzemach Dovid Feller.