‘Fyre Festival’ night camps closed after 6 days

An expensive night camp in New Hampshire was abruptly called off after it escalated into a Fyre Festival-like debacle – with tales of fights, unsanitary meals and mass vomiting.

Camp Quinebarge directors told parents who paid $ 3,400 for a two-week stay to pick up their children after just six days this month, following a “summer of challenges” that drew comparisons with the infamous Fyre Festival, reported the Boston Globe.

The closure of the 85-year-old camp in Moultonborough, New Hampshire was initially blamed on food supply issues, but parents later learned the camp was reeling from a number of issues including under-trained counselors who quit and were fired en masse.

Other issues included a camper who attacked both staff and other children, dirty dishes provided at mealtimes – and reports of several children vomiting and quarantined, according to the article.

A child’s letter home, provided to the newspaper by his father, read like a parody of a camping trip gone awry, the outlet noted.

“We have been in tears, bored and devastated all day. [The camp director] lies to all of you, ”the camper would have written.

“You have to trust us. You have to. We are not joking and we are not having fun. So much is wrong with this place, ”added the camper.

More than a dozen parents, alumni and staff and campers told the newspaper about the fiasco, which drew comparisons to the Fyre Festival 2017, a luxury Caribbean music festival that promoted luxury accommodations but delivered FEMA tents and food to prison, the article said.

The first signs of trouble were said to have emerged when Quinebarge suffered from a hiring crisis as enrollment increased.

Eric Carlson, executive director of the camp, sent an urgent email to parents two weeks before the children arrived to let them know of the situation, according to the report.

“We are in desperate need of additional staff for this summer,” Carlson reportedly wrote, adding that 15 staff members had recently “given up or ghost” their jobs.

“I was hired about four days before the campers arrived,” 21-year-old counselor MJ Lowry told the newspaper.

“They just said, ‘Hey, you’ve been referred, we’ll send you the application. You seem qualified, do you want the job? ‘ “

“I played kickball and got to see the turtle and the frog in the pond and learn about the tadpoles. It was stuff like that, ”Lowry told the newspaper of his brief training.

A 19-year-old staff member, a former camper who had no plans to work at Quinebarge, said he accepted a last-minute job offer out of desperation, according to the report.

“My options were either emergency housing or Camp Quinebarge,” Chris Bigler reportedly said.

Kayden Gove, 8, told the newspaper he was hit on the head with a block of wood by another camper, who also attacked Bigler, according to the report.

“The shock does not even begin to cover him,” reportedly wrote parent Rebecca Gove at the camp.

A broken dishwasher in the kitchen meant dirty dishes were given to children at mealtimes, food preparation consultant Caliban Chesterfield reportedly said, a tale Carlson disputed at the point of sale.

A cook was also fired after serving a staff member’s child a mostly raw meatball, according to the article.

Four children were also reportedly quarantined after suffering unexplained vomiting during the trip.

In addition, trans counselors said they did not feel comfortable in the “LGBT-friendly summer camp”, and several children were taken away because their parents did not want them to live among them. trans and non-binary campers and staff, according to the report.

The day before Carlson asked parents to pick up their children, he emailed parents “the past two days have been a little tough” but the campers “are having a great time. time “, according to the article.

Carlson said the premature shutdown was linked to delays in the food supply and industry-wide staffing issues, according to the article.

Some parents interviewed by The Globe said they thought the reasons were excuses to justify a season plagued by deeper problems.

“We sincerely apologize to all those families and staff who saw their summer plans cut short by our premature closure,” Carlson reportedly wrote in a statement, adding that the camp would continue its story next year.

“Upon reflection, we know that camp is only good for children if we can ensure their health and safety,” Carlson, his wife and camp director Nick Hercules, wrote to parents, according to the article.

“That is why as soon as we have completed our closing work for 2021, we will start preparing for the summer of 2022.”