shockedcanadian
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- Aug 6, 2012
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Judaism supporting the beauty in the world. There was a time Toronto was so moved by Judeo-Christian values. Now, being openly Jewish is probably a nerve wracking experience with danger around. This is not just Canada, it's happening in Australia as well.
www.thestar.com
Ester Reiter is 84 years old and loves to talk about Camp Naivelt — which has been around longer than she has.
Camp Naivelt, a family summer camp founded by the labour movement and facilitated by the secular, socialist United Jewish People’s Order (UJPO), celebrates its centennial this weekend with a festival. It has survived a century of challenges to flourish today as, what she called, a haven for “culture, politics, fresh air, fun.”
Naivelt, Yiddish for “new world,” is located on the Credit River between Brampton and Milton. On Aug. 23 and 24 it will host programming that includes musical performances, art installations and plenty of memorabilia on display. Alumni are expected from around the world.
“This place shaped me,” Sharon Hampson, one-third of the iconic children’s act Sharon, Lois and Bram, told the Star. Her parents went to Camp Naivelt. She was a camper and a counsellor. Her two children both attended. Her late husband, bassist Joe Hampson, was a member of landmark Canadian folk group the Travellers, who formed at Camp Naivelt.
What she took away from her experience, Hampson said, were “the values that I learned in that community: the way people treated each other, the consideration, the welcoming of all kinds of people. And I learned about people making music together. We sang a lot.”
Arts, especially music, has always been central to the camp’s programming. In its first 50 years, socialist U.S. folk singers Pete Seeger and Phil Ochs came to perform and do workshops. Actor-singer-activist Paul Robeson also supported the camp, whose famous alumni includes the Lovin’ Spoonful’s Zal Yanovsky, film director Ted Kotcheff, Toronto International Film Festival co-founder Dusty Cohl, and Estelle Klein, former artistic director of the Mariposa Folk Festival.
‘This place shaped me’: How a lefty Jewish camp with famous alumni has encouraged the arts in the GTA for 100 years
Brampton's Camp Naivelt will celebrate its centennial with a weekend festival featuring Sharon Hampson of Sharon, Lois and Bram.
www.thestar.com
Ester Reiter is 84 years old and loves to talk about Camp Naivelt — which has been around longer than she has.
Camp Naivelt, a family summer camp founded by the labour movement and facilitated by the secular, socialist United Jewish People’s Order (UJPO), celebrates its centennial this weekend with a festival. It has survived a century of challenges to flourish today as, what she called, a haven for “culture, politics, fresh air, fun.”
Naivelt, Yiddish for “new world,” is located on the Credit River between Brampton and Milton. On Aug. 23 and 24 it will host programming that includes musical performances, art installations and plenty of memorabilia on display. Alumni are expected from around the world.
“This place shaped me,” Sharon Hampson, one-third of the iconic children’s act Sharon, Lois and Bram, told the Star. Her parents went to Camp Naivelt. She was a camper and a counsellor. Her two children both attended. Her late husband, bassist Joe Hampson, was a member of landmark Canadian folk group the Travellers, who formed at Camp Naivelt.
What she took away from her experience, Hampson said, were “the values that I learned in that community: the way people treated each other, the consideration, the welcoming of all kinds of people. And I learned about people making music together. We sang a lot.”
Arts, especially music, has always been central to the camp’s programming. In its first 50 years, socialist U.S. folk singers Pete Seeger and Phil Ochs came to perform and do workshops. Actor-singer-activist Paul Robeson also supported the camp, whose famous alumni includes the Lovin’ Spoonful’s Zal Yanovsky, film director Ted Kotcheff, Toronto International Film Festival co-founder Dusty Cohl, and Estelle Klein, former artistic director of the Mariposa Folk Festival.
