In early February, many parents better start thinking about summer camp for their children or they might be left out in the cold. John Barber of Wits End in Springfield has already signed up his 13-year-old son for hockey camp in July.
"If you don't get in there by March, you're out of luck. If you're thinking about traveling away [for camp], you really have to make a commitment now," Barber said.
Burke resident Shelley Jennings has experienced the early registration blues first hand when she didn't get her daughter into golf camp in time last year. She had to settle for an alternate date.
"You do need to start early because things get booked up. The specialty things will book up first. I'm signing my son up in the next day or so. The paperwork is on my desk," she said.
Jennings' son, age 9, is going to Camp Friendship in Virginia for two weeks and then she is considering county camps for the rest of the summer. RecPac is a county program that many choose.
Kim McGoff turned her daughters' application in last year on the first day and still had to change her summer plans because the camp was booked up.
"Last year, we sent it back the day we got it, and we still didn't get the date. We had to switch around our plans," she said.
<mh>Camp Expo
<bt>The weekend of Feb. 9-10, Springfield Mall and Families magazine is holding a camp expo so parents can explore the camp options out there and get their children registered. This is the third annual camp expo at the mall and seven participants have been there all three years. The list of veterans includes Browne Academy, Chesapeake Academy, Wilderness Adventure at Eagle Landing, Sidwell Friends, the YMCA, Camp Friendship and the Fairfax County Park Authority.
Diane Tyrrell is the director at Camp Friendship, which is in Palmyra, Va., near Charlottesville. She's seen about 10 percent of the slots at Friendship fill up when the parents are picking their children up the summer before.
"They know that they're returning. The prime sessions and popular programs fill up," she said.
"Equestrian camp" is popular among the girls while their "traditional summer camp" followed by the "challenge trip camp" are their most popular camps overall, according to Tyrrell.
Between January and March, Camp Friendship participates in 67 different fairs around the state. Malls have become attractive in recent years because of advertising efforts.
"Clients that show up at malls have changed because they're [mall marketing efforts] getting the word out. Shopping is the afterthought. They didn't use to be the prime choice [of locations] though," she said.
YMCA Camp Letts has also been involved with the Springfield Mall expo in previous years. Executive director Scott Peckins indicated the importance of early sign up.
"Early sign up is wonderful for the parents and the camp. The horse programs fill up really quick. Last year we had 1,600 kids, which is definitely capacity," he said.
Although this is his third year at the mall and his camp participates in about 10 fairs from January through March, Peckins feels the fairs are not his best advertising method.
"Our best way of marketing is word-of-mouth," he said.
The YMCA Camp Letts is named after the man who donated the land in Annapolis, Md. for the camp in 1922.
<mh>Camp's Role
<bt>Summer camp during the teenage years is impressionable as well. Fairfax resident Elizabeth Dull remembers going to camp as a 12-year-old in Virginia Beach.
"I think it's a good way to meet new people and have something to do over the summer, you learned a lot cool things. That's the only opportunity I had to shoot a bow and arrow," she said.
For Ann Frolova, camp was a big factor in her daughter's childhood.
"I have sent my kid to camp. She said that's when she became a tomboy. She had so much fun there," she said.
Frolova is considering ice skating camp this year for her daughter.
McGoff sent her daughter to the University of Virginia Summer Enrichment camp the last couple of years, but this wasn't just a matter of filling out an application. There were four essay questions her daughter Maggie, 10, had to fill out as well, plus get a recommendation from her school. The extra effort made her daughter appreciate it more.
"She had so much fun. She loved it. I think it was a huge growth experience," McGoff said.
Barber noted the importance of fun too. His son plays ice hockey and is perfecting his role as goalie.
"He has fun at the camp too, that's important," he said.
Jennings liked the rules at her son's camp even if they were restrictive.
"There's no cell phones or televisions. They learn a little independence," she said, noting that for her word of mouth paid off too.
"I understand from the campers that have gone there that it's one of the best," she said.
Stacy Heller is a junior at West Springfield who attended work camps the past two summers with St. Bernadette's Church in Springfield. At the camps, she helped build houses for under- privileged people in North Carolina last year and Manchester, N.H., the previous year.
"It's kind of like a habitat for humanity, community service," she said.
Heller signed up with the church in October.