West Coast Overnight Camp Gathering

This year’s gathering is for overnight camp professionals only, and we recommend each camp bring multiple senior and program team members. We are inviting Executive Directors, Camp Directors, Associate and Assistant Directors, Program Directors, etc. We are hoping to bring together a group of 50-60 people. If you want to talk further about who to bring, please contact Margalit Rosenthal at margalit@jewishcamp.org. There will be an opportunity to also connect with our Federation and other partners.

California, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and Colorado are all included. 

FJC is thrilled to bring this opportunity to you at no cost to your camp! Your camp only needs to cover your team’s travel to and from URJ Camp Newman. We are hoping to be able to help connect people for carpools to and from the airport. 

URJ Camp Newman is approximately 20-25 minutes from downtown Santa Rosa and 20 minutes from the Sonoma County Airport, though flights are very limited. If can’t book directly into Sonoma County, we first recommend checking flights into Oakland International Airport (OAK) and then San Francisco International (SFO) and Oakland International Airport (OAK). Please keep in mind that both of these airports often have fog delays, and you should factor that into your flight times. FJC is exploring renting a small bus for transit to camp, otherwise there are shuttles that can take you to the Sonoma County Airport (such as the Sonoma County Airport Express, plan for 2-2.5 hours) or you can rent a car for the standard hour-long drive.

The program will begin at lunchtime on Monday, December 4 and conclude at lunchtime on Wednesday, December 6 to allow for more travel options. More details are forthcoming. 

There will be opportunities for content-filled breakout sessions by role, affinity groups by identity, group work time for your camp team, plenty of breaks, and a tour of Camp Newman’s beautiful new Koret Retreat Center and rebuild after the most recent fires. We will also cover content specifically relevant to the West Coast, including rising insurance and labor costs, wildfire abatement, the impact of climate change, and more.  

Traditional Kosher dietary rules apply to this program, and FJC and URJ Camp Newman will be bringing in a local mashgiach to fully kasher the facility and supervise the kitchen while we are on site. We will also collect any other food, allergy, and accessibility information in your individual registration so we may best accommodate you. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out.