A family listens to a director of one of the camps.

Photo Credit: Patrick Stapleton

Renee Flax, the Director of Camper Placement, thinks this is the best option for parents when picking a camp for their children.

Photo Credit: Patrick Stapleton

Mamaroneck High School hosted the event and on Sunday the Doubletree Hotel in Tarrytown will host it.

Photo Credit: Patrick Stapleton

The tables filled the sidelines of the Mamaroneck High School gymnasium.

Photo Credit: Patrick Stapleton

MAMARONECK, N.Y. – Mamaroneck High School hosted the Camp Fair Tour of the American Camp Association on Saturday. Over 30 tables filled with brochures and DVDs on the camps filled the sidelines of the gymnasium as parents walked around, some with their children, to find the perfect fit for their son or daughter this summer.

Renee Flax, the Director of Camper Placement for the organization, believes the camp fair is the best option for parents because the process can otherwise become tedious.

“The best part about it is that it becomes one stop shopping for a parent whether they’re looking for a day camp or an overnight camp,” said Flax. “Whereas they would otherwise go online or have to call camps or request their information.”

As the Director of Camper Placement, she “works with families to help them find the right summer camp for their child."

While the attendance was lower than what Flax had hoped for, she said that there is another Camp Fair Tour on Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. at the Double Tree Hotel in Tarrytown. 

Luckily for the children and their parents that attended Saturday's event, the choices of camps were abundant, and each offered something different. The camps ranged from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania to New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Maine. Some of them were overnight while others were just for the day and the ages varied with some going up to 18 years old. A few were for girls or boys only and certain ones concentrated on just music, academics, or tennis.

Jonathan Potack of Scarsdale was there with his three children and their grandparents. He was looking at day camps in the area for his 4-year-old daughter, Alice, and his 8-year-old son, Ben.

 “I think it’s great, a lot of big camps and a lot of choices for the kids,” said Potack. “We thought it’d be good to see the choices around and let the kids see a little bit about each of the camps and if anything caught their interest.”

He thought Ben and Alice liked the event because it gave them something to look forward to with the winter weather hanging out Westchester.

“I think it’s fun for them to see all the different things they can do over the summer, especially when it’s cold and winter out,” said Potack. “It’s nice to look forward to."