Banner Day Camp
Banner Day Camp is a day camp located in Lake Forest, Illinois. The camp operates during the summer, and is run by local Allen Schwartz. It has been in operation since 1964, and celebrated its 40th "Bannerversary" (The Banner Day Camp term for anniversary). This is one of the more expensive day camps even for the wealthy Northern Suburbs of Chicago.
Information
The camp is approximately 32 acres. It has 4 swimming pools, 2 pavilions, an air conditioned dining hall, several playgrounds, a zip line, a bungee trampoline, a rock climbing wall, and a trapeze, plus numerous sports fields, and an off-grounds private man-made lake. The campers are divided into groups, separated by age and gender. Each group is named after an object starting with a B (Buccaneers, Banditos, Bleacher-Bums, Etc.):
- 3-5 = Juniors
- 6-8 = Seniors
- 9-12 = Tweens
- 13-14 = C.I.T. (Counselor In Training)
For ages 15 and up, you are a counselor. Counselor rankings work like this:
- C1 = J.C.A. (Junior Counselor Assistant)
- C2 = Junior Counselor
- C3 = Counselor
Each year, Banner has several special guests, ranging from Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears, to the Jesse White Tumblers, to the Chicago Bandits Women's Softball Team, to Erika Harold, the 2003 Miss America winner. Each summer lasts for 8 weeks, but some campers either go for the first 4, or the last 4. The camp provides hot lunches each day. The lunch schedule is:
- Monday - Hamburger
- Tuesday - Chicken nuggets and Macaroni and Cheese
- Wednesday - Mostaccioli
- Thursday - Pizza
- Friday - Kosher Hot Dogs
The camp goes on several special field trips each summer including:
- Bowling
- Minigolf
- Waterparks
- Video arcades
- Beach
- Six Flags Great America
For Seniors and Tweens, 4 days of the summer are "Over-Nighters", in which campers sleep at the camp, and are treated to swimming, a movie, dinner, and breakfast. C.I.T. were previously allowed, but that has been repealed for reasons unknown. Each day, campers are given the chance to win a madball.