A Ukrainian Summer: where to go, what to do...
Plast's 1999 schedule offers variety: from camping, to mountain biking, to...
by Andrea Roman
NEW YORK - Variety is the key word for this year's Plast camps, as is evident from even a cursory look at the schedule of activities offered throughout the United States.
Along with the usual complement of camps for "novatstvo" (age 7-11) and "yunatstvo" (11-18), there are leadership camps, training courses for counselors, day camps for preschoolers and special interest camps such as mountain biking, sports, horseback riding and sea scouting.
There are also a family camp and a cultural camp, Stezhky Kultury, the latter of which takes place this year in Ukraine.
The Plast camping system divides the country into regional camp committees. Thus, camps at the Vovcha Tropa site in East Chatham, N.Y., are one entity, while those at Novyi Sokil in North Collins, N.Y., are another. Both New York state campsites offer camps for novatstvo and yunatstvo, while Vovcha Tropa also offers what has been popularly dubbed "Supercamp" for teens age 15 and up.
For information about Vovcha Tropa contact: Katrusia Harusewych, 407 Hemlock Road, Flourtown, PA 19031; (215) 233-4918; harase@bellatlantic.net; for Novyi Sokil: Plast Camp, 25 Hummingbird Lane, Amherst, NY 14228; (716) 689-6998; kapysta@juno.com.
Camps further west, held at Owassippe, Mich., operate under the aegis of the Regional Camp Committee - West. In the Chicago area contact: Oleh T. Skubiak, 314 Bonnie Brae Road, Hinsdale, IL 60521; (630) 986-9180; skubiak@devry.com; in the Cleveland area: Dr. Mark Bej, P.O. Box 347209, Cleveland, OH 44134; (216) 481-7762; bejm@eeg.ccr.org.
Camps for preschoolers (Tabir Ptashat) will be held in 1999 at three sites: Soyuzivka (June 27-July 4, and July 4-11), Owassippe (July 17-24) and Novyi Sokil (July 18-24).
One-week camps for first-time campers age 7 are scheduled for Vovcha Tropa (July 1-17, July 18-24, July 25-31) and Owassippe (July 17-24).
Special counselor training courses will be held as follows: Lisova Shkola, Hunter, N.Y., June 26-July 9; Vyshkil Novatskykh Vykhovnykiv (for counselors of novatstvo), Vovcha Tropa, June 27-July 8), Vyshkil Yunatskykh Vykhovnykiv, Vovcha Tropa, June 27-July 3.
Zolota Bulava, a special leadership camp, will take place at the Baturyn Plast camp in Quebec on June 25-July 3. As well there is a Kraiovyi Vyshkilnyi Tabir for youths working toward the highest rank in yunatstvo, i.e., skob/virlytsia at Vovcha Tropa on July 31-August 14.
Specialized camps include: Sports Camp, Vovcha Tropa, July 31-August 7; Family Camp, Covington, Pa., August 7-14; Mountain Biking Camp, Lehighton, Pa., August 7-14; Stezhky Kultury, Ukraine, July 30-August 21; Horseback Riding Camp, Hunter, N.Y., July 31-August 7; Morskyi Tabir, Tolland State Park, Mass., August 14-21,
The 1999 camp season ends in December with Winter Camp, featuring myriad winter pursuits, such as snowshoeing, and winter camping and hiking at Lake Placid, N.Y., December 26-31; and Ski Camp, which offers skiing and snowboarding, at Glens Falls, N.Y., December 25-31.
For additional information on Plast camps, contact your local Plast branch, see the listing of camps published in Ukrainian newspapers (e.g., The Weekly, April 4), or call the National Plast Command in New York, (212) 475-6960.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, May 2, 1999, No. 18, Vol. LXVII
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