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An expensive night camp in New Hampshire was abruptly called off after it escalated into a “Fyre Festival” like a debacle – with tales of fist 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, the report said. .
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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] lie to all of you, ”the camper would have written.
“You have to trust us. You have to do it. We are not kidding and we are not having fun. So many things are wrong with this place,” added the camper.
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 look like you’re 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 journal 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.
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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.
Additionally, trans counselors said they did not feel comfortable at the “LGBT friendly summer camp”, and several children were taken away because their parents did not want them to live among campers and trans and non-binary staff, according to the report.
The day before Carlson asks parents to pick up their children, he emailed them to say that “the last two days have been a bit rough” but the campers are “having a great time.” , according to the article.
Carlson said the premature shutdown was linked to delays in the food supply and staffing issues across the industry, according to the article.
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Some parents interviewed by The Globe said they thought those reasons were excuses to justify a season plagued by deeper issues.
“We sincerely apologize to all those families and staff who have seen their summer plans disrupted by our premature closure,” Carlson reportedly wrote in a statement, adding that the camp will 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.”
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