Camp BB Riback sits on the shores of Pine Lake, Alberta, about halfway between Edmonton and Calgary. This summer was supposed to mark the camp’s 65th anniversary. But with Alberta having the highest active-case rate of COVID-19 per capita of all provinces and territories in Canada—and as the camp itself faced ambiguity from the provincial government about whether or not they could legally open—BB Riback made the hard decision to cancel camp, lay off staff and hope some parents roll fees over to next year. Camp director Stacy Shaikin joins to discuss how the camp is navigating this uncertain summer.

In the second half of today’s episode, Ellin asks: How did hundreds of TanenbaumCHAT high school families hike the length of the famous Israel National Trail in lockdown? For five months, they’ve been doing the Tigers Trekking Israel challenge. Participants danced, walked, did yoga and jogged—but they did it here in Canada, accumulating enough kilometers to complete the 1,000-km hike. The challenge ended Monday, on Jerusalem Day, with a grand prize of two tickets to Israel. Students Rena Zevy and Stacey Goldberg and athletics director Adam Chaim join to talk about how the idea got started.

What we talked about:

• Visit the Camp BB Riback website at campbb.com
• Read: “Jewish Summer Camps: Ready to Go, Waiting for Directions” at thecjn.ca
• Learn more about CHAT’s trekking initiative at their website

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.