Welcome to the Seventh Annual Asian Culture Camp of Cape Cod

September 26th - September 28th, 2008
Camp Burgess, Sandwich, MA

Our Mission:

We bring families with children adopted from Asia and other Asian-American families together in an outdoor vacation setting to have fun, make friends, build community, connect with Asian culture and develop pride in our Asian-American identity.

A weekend at the Asian Culture Camp offers choices for every member of your family.

Young children: Asian arts & crafts, treasure hunting

Older children: Asian beauty, mask making, Asian cooking

Teens: Junior counselors for the youngest, small group discussions with a professional adoption counselor

Adults: Seminars on growing up Asian in America, adoption concerns through the ages, visiting birth countries

All for FUN and thoughtfully designed to create community and encourage our children's self esteem.

Each year we include:

Friday night: Ice breaker for everyone together, maybe a magic show, a DJ with prizes, or a contra dance

Saturday afternoon: Camp activities you choose: adventure on the high ropes or climbing wall, archery, kayaking, canoeing or just relaxing at the waterfront

Saturday night: Our special Moon Festival brings a dramatic presentation followed by launching of the candle-lit dragon boats made by each child, and authentic moon cakes. It closes with a bonfire and the story of the moon festival.

Sunday: Cultural performance - maybe Odaiko drummers, Asian storyteller, costumed dances, lions & dragons!

Not only FUN builds our community,
but also LEARNING.

As bi-racial families and families with trans-racially adopted children we experience similar challenges. We join to learn how to answer these questions in ways that strenghten our families and our children's identities.

This learning takes place in different ways for different ages. So, on Saturday and Sunday mornings, we separate into age groups for special camp experiences.

For young children, ages 4 to 9, it is enough that they are in a place with other families that look like theirs. They are happy to make new friends while they work on constructing a dragon boat for the evening Moon Festival, play Asian games, or participate in a scavenger hunt with Asian themes. Activities are led by Asian students from Wellesley College and Tufts University. http://ase.tufts.edu/act/ They are assisted by our own teens as well. Cooperative play encourages friendships and during the afternoon new friends continue to enjoy each other's company.

Older children, ages 10-13, are starting to have more questions about their own identity. Sessions for this age group include a two-day workshop on identity, led by Katie Naftzger, a Korean adoptee and psychologist whose specialty is in interacial adoption issues. The children, grouped by age, are able to talk about and explore, in creative and expressive ways, some of their own questions about adoption and race.

This group has other special activities. In the past we have had sessions in Chinese cooking, cosmetics, and mask making. The activities are led by our college aged counselors and the chance to spend time with these role models is one of the highlights of the camp.

Teens participate too. Many are anxious to spend time with our college aged mentors and are delighted to help out with the younger children's activities. We also have a panel of young adult Korean adoptees who share their experiences growing up. In these more casual conversations the teens can feel that their experiences are shared.

For the adults we offer three seminars that address issues such as growing up Asian in America, adoption concerns for children at different ages, growing up in a biracial family. These topics change yearly as we find new speakers who expand our understanding of adoption and racial issues. The seminar format allows parents to share their own experiences with each other, engendering more significant learning.

CAMP ATMOSPHERE

Camp Burgess provides a year round conference center with heated, new cabins and clean showers. The dining hall, campus buildings and meeting rooms are sunny and spacious.

The setting is lakeside in the woods of Sandwich, Massachusetts.

Friday and Saturday dinners are Asian catered and the lunches are American camp style. Breakfast buffet includes eggs, cereals and pastries.