Camp Woodland Blog

Now that Labor Day is behind us and summer is winding down in a big way, we find ourselves thinking back to Parents Weekend and the weeks leading up to it. There is something pretty special that happens during the final weeks of summer at Woodland and Towering Pines. While most campers are enjoying the familiar rhythm of camp, our oldest campers, the CITs, are working behind the scenes to create one of the most anticipated traditions of the summer: the Coed Show. Many of you have witnessed it firsthand because you have a camper who is a CIT or you join us for Parents Weekend. And some of you have probably been part of the Coed Show yourself during your era at camp.

Organized Chaos

It is pretty amazing, actually, to watch a few weeks of rehearsals, creativity and more than a little chaos come together as a full-blown production. For nearly three weeks, CITs from both camps work together to bring the show to life, taking familiar songs and giving them a new twist with rewritten lyrics, choreography, staging, props, coordinated T-shirts and plenty of lines to learn. By the time it takes the stage, all of those pieces have come together to create something that is uniquely the Coed Show.

Sing. Dance. Repeat.

What starts with singing through songs again and again in the Woodland Rec Hall eventually moves to the TP Rec Hall, where the group learns dances and staging. At the same time, the gals and guys find every spare moment they can to rehearse their individual numbers, whether during rest hour, in an activity where many of them happen to be gathered, or while getting ready for lights out. By the final week, all of those pieces come together for two performances, one for campers and one for parents.

 It’s About Belonging

The Coed Show is about much more than singing and dancing. At an age when fitting in, finding your people and knowing where you belong can feel especially important, it gives our oldest campers an automatic community and a shared purpose. They know what their friends are doing, they have a role to play, and they are working toward something together. Even campers who would never choose to sing or perform at home often discover that camp makes it different because the focus is not on being a performer. It is about being part of the group.

Coed Show Glow

There is a certain amount of “celebrity” status that comes with being a CIT and part of the Coed Show, and that can be a pretty fun part of being one of the oldest campers. The younger campers look up to the CIT’s all summer, and the Coed Show seals the deal. There are definitely thoughts about being a CIT and in the Coed show one day. More importantly, though, the experience gives the oldest campers a chance to belong to something special and uniquely theirs. They work hard, laugh a lot, learn to depend on one another and, by the time the curtain goes up, they have created something that could only have happened because all of them were there.

That is one of the things we love about camp. Sometimes the most meaningful traditions are not just about what happens on stage. They are about the friendships, confidence and sense of belonging that grow through the process.

Tradition Across Generations

There is also a special invitation extended to Coed Show alumni in the audience each year to join in the traditional slideshow songs, often including “At the Beginning.” It is one of those moments that connects generations of campers and reminds everyone that they are part of something that stretches beyond a single summer.

➡️ We invite you to SAVE YOUR SPOT for 2027 (if you haven’t already) – we will be opening up spots for new campers SOON! Thank you!