We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jennifer Wisdom-Muentes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
The most meaningful project I have ever been honored to create is called Camp Yampire, which was born in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s a free online summer camp experience for adults that was created to combat the negative effects of isolation. I run a small events company that is my “bread and butter” and have seen my share of success in NYC for over a decade. However, once the pandemic in March of 2020 hit, and the city that never sleeps started shutting down, hospitality rightly screeched to a halt to keep people safe and social distancing – my company included.
Along with many creatives and small business owners who had the privilege and ability to do so, I moved all of my client events to Zoom and Topia. I specialize in custom and exclusive murder mystery dinners, so it was an interesting but rewarding challenge to convert those experiences to a virtual space. Some things we tried worked, and others fell flat when on Zoom. It was a time of trial and error in the midst of all the horror that was 2020.
While the pandemic brought an extremely difficult time to my company and the hospitality industry as a whole, something amazing was born from all of that creative energy I’ve been so used to hustling with daily: Camp Yampire. In 2020, I found myself with canceled events left and right from clients who didn’t want to try bringing everything online (understandable), a pro Zoom account, more time than my anxiety would let me be comfortable with, and fourteen years of events experience I wanted to share in order to try to make a difference during a very dark time for everyone. While essential workers were keeping the city going like the badasses they are, many New Yorkers had the privilege of staying indoors to stay safe. Some sewed masks, others were clapping daily for essential workers – I hoped to create some light through what I knew best: events.
So, in March of 2020, my husband Edgar (a fellow whimsy-maker) and I created an online summer camp to keep adults indoors and entertained while social distancing. Why choose the concept of camp? It’s nostalgic, it encourages silliness and fun, and it was easy to tie in lots of activities that would appeal to many tastes. I designed the first camp weekend as a way to connect with friends and family we loved and were missing, and Edgar was a willing and wonderful co-host. We set up a tent in our living room and games, arts and crafts, a scavenger hunt, happy hour, trivia, a virtual bonfire, s’mores and more were all on the schedule. The results of that weekend on Zoom left me feeling refreshed and connected to friends across the nation. It’s incredible how “Zoom fatigue” drops to an unseen level when you use it for fun and fellowship, rather than work.
With the success of our summer camp weekend on my mind, Edgar and I made the decision to take this experience to the public, and reached out to some news sources in NYC, then across the nation. It was a pandemic, and we had no idea how long we were going to be indoors, so we wanted to bring joy to others using what we had in our home. We are both extraverts and love meeting people, but had never had random interactions with strangers online before, so we didn’t know if there would be interest in what we were putting out into the world, or if the people that DID show up would give us that same burst of serotonin from REAL connection, like we had experienced with our friends and family. What happened next far exceeded our expectations. We wanted to combat isolation during the pandemic – not only did the free programming I created for adults on Zoom end up forming lifelong friendships among strangers, it also gave permission for grown-ass adults to practice self-care through FUN.
We were offering a bit of wholesome escapism, where you could participate as much as you had time for. Each camp weekend was created as a virtual festival that happened in real time and in a meeting capacity (rather than a stream), with breakout rooms on Zoom serving as activity spaces for attendees to hop between at will, and activities changing every 30 minutes. It was extremely ambitious, and handling the logistics of a virtual conference was a challenge, to say the least. Our largest camp weekend had 160 activities to attend, with dozens of Guest Camp Counselors sharing their awesome with the world.
Every activity one might do at camp, we did our best to convert that to a virtual space over the course of twenty hours over three days on Zoom, culminating in a midnight glow dance party and campfire storytelling. We even had a “nickname academy,” where you could be given a nickname from a magical woodland bear puppet named Grizz if you were feeling shy. Edgar and I went by “Pie” and “Yam” respectively, and strangers were comforted to know they didn’t have to pay a dime or even turn on their camera if they were struggling and just wanted to be around people without having to show their face.
Campers were encouraged to volunteer as “Guest Camp Counselors” if they wanted to share their talent, art, or interests with others at a future camp weekend. That was a big plus to having a free event – anyone could host anything camp or whimsy-related with every level of experience, or even try something out of their wheelhouse. There was no price to attend Camp Yampire, and therefore no assumptions or expectations could be attached to it. Adults of all ages logged on to play music, create art, lead a workout, or just chat over drinks. Everyone who volunteered had a virtual tip jar, where they could encourage campers who enjoyed their session to either “buy them a cup of coffee” through venmo, or donate to a non-profit of choice. It was truly a community forming in an organic and wholesome way. We saw so much kindness during that time, as people wanted to give back to the artists and musicians who were sharing their work, time, and talent, for free.
Camp Yampire is a place for creatives of all kinds to be uniquely weird and wonderful, with the chief rule of “being kind” to one another. Our ninth camp session, which was themed as a virtual state fair, had campers across the nation showcasing what their state fair activities were like. We celebrated all holidays on Zoom so people didn’t have to feel that they were missing out by being indoors – for example, our fourth of July camp weekend saw online bar-b-que, a music festival, and virtual fireworks. Our 2020 endeavor saw ten successful camp weekends, with thousands of campers moving through our virtual space, joining from as far as Senegal and Serbia! Some logged on for fifteen minutes over the weekend to catch a specific session, while others stayed all twenty hours with us. Those campers are ones we proudly call friends after years of hanging out on zoom and celebrating life, in all its up and downs, together.
Edgar (Pie) and I didn’t leave our tiny Manhattan apartment for about two years during the pandemic, and so our sole form of entertainment and connection was Zoom and Camp Yampire. I know many might hold Zoom with disdain – or associate it with the pandemic – at this point, but 2020 held so many wonderful memories for me because of our virtual space. Sure, summer camp for adults already exists, but it has never been given away for free, nor has it been presented online in the creative capacity we have aimed for with every new camp weekend.
Fun and connection are forms of whimsical and wonderful self-care, and as we continue Camp Yampire into 2023 and beyond, I can’t help but reflect on how meaningful and magical it has been to put something out into the world, and have it make a difference that I could see in real time. I’ve been in the events game for so long, but this labor of love, born from the pandemic, hit different in the best of ways. I’m still in awe of the random acts of badassery we experienced alongside people from all walks of life and all around the world! With 100+ Camp Yampire-specific online events down, I am now looking towards transitioning it to a non-profit, so we can hopefully offer free or low-cost in-person programming to adults who’d like a little more connection and a lot of creativity and kindness.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
.Camp Yampire was brought to life in March 2020. It’s a judgment-free, whimsy-filled remote summer camp for adults. Our camp is different every time we hold it, with different Guest Camp Counselors to teach you things and make you laugh. Camp Yampire was founded in March 2020 by two New Yorkers (who go by their camp nicknames Yam and Pie) in direct response to the beginning of the NYC pandemic isolation period, when many of their friends were quarantining solo and in need of connection. The initial goal was to provide a bit of whimsical escapism and community for their circle of friends, but after the first installment, they opened it up to the public, and it continues to grow.
The motto of Camp Yampire is “play,” “love,” and “endure” and sees campers joining in from nearly every state in the US, as well as an international following in Canada, Mexico, Kenya, Australia, India, Serbia, & the UK and EU. The zoom camp offers opportunities to learn, move, play, and create with camp counselors across the country and around the world! Open to all ages but centered towards adults, breakout rooms activities range from watercolors, beatboxing, pendulum painting, workouts, and jam sessions, to virtual museum tours, juggling, baking, coding, video games, and self-care sessions. Campers build lasting friendships through collaborative main events like interactive murder mysteries, scavenger hunts, trivia and Jeopardy, Escape the Rooms, talent shows, and glow dance parties. Previous camp weekends have seen themes such as, “Virtual Travelers,” “Halloween,” “Dancing in Starlight,” “Ecological Empathy,” “Life Imitating Art,” “State Fair,” and “Chaos & Creation.” Camp Yampire is an online experience that is free, and fun, with a mission of being inclusive and spreading joy.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Camp Yampire itself is a story of resilience. Zoom can absolutely bring about that dreaded “zoom fatigue” if the fun you’re having in a virtual space turns to work. Neither my co-host Pie, nor myself, ever felt like we were doing work when hosting our virtual camp weekends – we found happiness and comfort in the company of others who enjoyed whimsy and fun, and their energy and excitement kept us going. We would spend twenty hours on Zoom, sometimes more, so that during the darkest of times, anyone could log on for a little bit of light. Connection and friendship takes time, so we wanted to open up a space where people could meet, bond over fun activities, and continue to meet throughout the day and night. Campers would return to the next camp weekend at an amazing rate, greeting each other by their camp nicknames. Some have become great friends as a result of Camp Yampire!
During our opening ceremony of a camp weekend, we share the fun fact that the name, “Camp Yampire” is a combination of my camp nickname, “Yam,” and Edgar’s camp nickname, “Pie.” But, there is also an “R” in there, and that R stands for resilience – the resilience of our campers, and of our world in the midst of a pandemic. Everyone is a part of that “R,” and utilizing self-care to strengthen one’s resilience is at the forefront of what we do at Camp Yampire.
It was quite challenging to create fresh (and free!) monthly content for camp weekends, connect with campers to have them volunteer as Guest Camp Counselors, coordinate the ever-growing schedules, create all of the graphic design, and run social media and marketing for our events as a “passion project.” I’ve been a one person army with this endeavor in many ways. That being said, I have also been so lucky to have the help of husband and co-host extraordinaire Edgar, as well as that of amazing strangers – now friends – from around the world, who have volunteered their own resilience to make our virtual space a fun one. Camp Yampire continues to be a test of my own resilience – but it’s brought me more joy than I could have ever hoped for.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
There are two major driving goals for me in the creative journey that is Camp Yampire. The first is a pure desire to create connection and friendship via play in virtual spaces. Play is just as important for adults, but its one of the first things to go when things get tough. We had such success with forging connections during the pandemic, when so many were indoors and feeling lonely, helpless, and full of grief (myself included). Combating social isolation through play became a battle cry, as we joined strangers on Zoom to just “be” around one another. We laughed, we cried, we created, and we played games together. This led to organic and beautiful seeds of friendship.
Now that the pandemic has moved to an endemic, our camper attendance has understandably been minimized as people take to the outdoors, but I know without a doubt that what we provide is special, unique, and needed, and there are still many friendships to be found at Camp Yampire! Each camp weekend is something entirely different, and we evolve based on the direct feedback and suggestions from our virtual community. So, we will keep moving forward with cultivating connection and opportunities for friendship at the forefront of our events. It’s exciting to think about the new friends we have yet to meet!
The second driving goal I have for Camp Yampire is creativity – moreover, to create for the sake of creating and take on a project that is out of your comfort space. For example, I had never touched watercolors before, but had always wanted to try them, so I taught a session for beginners during an art-themed camp weekend. Was I great? Not really. BUT it was something that didn’t exist until I put brush to paper, and that is a beautiful thing. So many get bogged down by the thought of failure that we never even take the first steps to create – but it is only by trying new things, that we grow.
Another story of creating outside of your comfort zone reminds me of one of our Guest Camp Counselors, who was a prominent performer on Broadway. They didn’t opt to perform, because that would have been work for them. Instead, they had always wanted to lead a makeup tutorial, so that’s what they brought to camp – and it was AWESOME. Campers still rave about that session. This Guest Camp Counselor wanted to create for creativity’s sake, even if they had not done it before in a formal setting. To me, that’s the purest form of art one could ever hope to experience. I want you to bring what makes you happy and feeling creative to Camp Yampire – you’re sure to find others who will love what you love, too. I personally have found so much inspiration and many kindred spirits though the creativity that’s been cultivated in this weird and wonderful virtual summer camp.
Contact Info:
- Website: CampYampire.com
- Instagram: @CampYampire
- Facebook: Facebook.com/campyampire
- Twitter: @CampYampire
- Other: See previous camp experiences at CampYampire.com/archive Join us for the “12 Days of Holiday Joy” at CampYampire.com/holidayjoy
Image Credits
Camp Yampire