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Kids are seen playing outside during Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Kids are seen making art during Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Kids are seen playing with a large beach ball during Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Rec leader Mia Hernandez-Marin speaks to the kids before starting an activity at Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Mila Gomez-Sanchez, age 9, spent part of her Wednesday morning getting her wiggles out. While other kids played inflatable volleyball, this Napan was effortlessly bending and twisting into handstands, backbends and even the splits.
Mila, along with about 40 others her age, has definitely flipped for Camp Napa.
The camp, produced by Napa’s Parks and Recreation department, is one of several week-long summer events hosted by the city.
Created for children ages 5 to 9, Camp Napa includes both indoor and outdoor games, crafts, walks, and other activities. It's held at the Las Flores community center on Linda Vista Avenue.
“I love camp; it’s super fun,” said Mila. “We play games all day, we eat snacks, we go to the park … I really don’t want to leave it for school.”
And what's another reason she likes Camp Napa? Because it gets her away from her brother, said Mila. “He’s absolutely, really, really, really, really annoying."
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The 9-year-old said that after gym time on Wednesday morning, “I’m looking forward to (using) fuse beads in the craft room and playing more games and having more fun with my friends.”
Skylar Dodd, 8, said the best part of camp is “going to the craft room and doing fuse beads and Encanto lights.”
What’s an Encanto light?
“It’s a toilet paper role that’s painted white with a candle inside of it,” named after the animated film “Encanto,” explained Mila. “And you color it.”
Another camp favorite for Skylar was “doing Night at the Museum with the lights off.” According to Skylar, this is a game where “it’s like you’re in a museum and the seeker catches you and you’re out.”
If she wasn’t at Camp Napa, she’d probably be at home, “just calling my friends and playing video games.”
She recommends the camp to other kids her age. “I think everyone would love it,” said Skylar. “They take care of you,” at camp, she said. “Like if you fall they give you bandages (and) they give you a lollipop sometimes to make you feel better.”
Audrey Cui, 8, is another Camp Napa kid. On Wednesday morning, she wanted to talk about ninja cows: “one of my favorite animals!”
For those that don’t know, a ninja cow “is a cow that turns into a ninja and they chop boards and stuff," she explained.
Audrey is going into fourth grade. “I don’t actually live here,” she noted. “I live in Florida.” But she’s visiting Napa for the month of July.
Camp Napa is “awesome because we get to do a lot of activities and make new friends. The counselors are all really nice.”
Her favorite activity is crafts, said the 8-year-old. “I like to do bracelets, fuse beads … all that kind of stuff.” She’s made at least five bracelets, said Audrey. “You can wear them or put them on your backpack.”
Jaxon Hamilton, age 8, said he’s spending about four weeks of his summer break at Camp Napa.
“It’s really fun. You do a lot of sports and you get to go on walks to the park and stuff.”
“Probably doing badminton,” said Jaxon, who described the game as "basically just tennis but the ball can’t hit the ground. And if it does the other person get a point.”
Camp runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mon-Fri.
Cost: $475 total for two weeks
Produced by Napa Parks and Recreation department
For more info visit secure.rec1.com/CA/napa-ca/catalog
If he could add anything to Camp Napa, he’d suggest a trampoline and “maybe a small pool. And maybe a hot tub.” But with 40 kids, how would all the campers get a turn in the hot tub? “Well, they’d wait in line,” Jaxon explained.
Five-year-old Ava (who didn’t remember how to spell her last name) she the best part about Camp Napa is that “we can go to the craft room and go outside and eat snacks and lunch.”
She likes to play games outside, especially one called Star Wars. Ava explained how the game works. “So you pick a person. I was a princess. And there were Star Wars guys who were bad guys and… you try to save the world. And Baby Yoda and Normal Yoda were there.”
Seven-year-old Jack “but my real name is Vincent,” said his favorite thing to do at Camp Napa was “ride my bike.”
In that case it was a good thing it was Wheels on Wednesday.
What happens on Wheels on Wednesday? “We just ride our bikes or a scooter,” said Jack, who was too focused on making a Pikachu picture to spell his last name.
“If you don’t have a bike you get your scooter and if you don’t have a scooter you just get your bike. And you ride around, for fun.”
Hannah Ramirez, Parks and Recreation department coordinator, said that camps are a great way to keep kids busy while having fun during the summer.
“Parents are potentially still working so instead of (the child) staying at home with an older sibling or going to grandma's or playing video games, this way they are able to come and get their wiggles out and get some exercise, socialize with other kids (and) maybe make some new friends.”
Twelve to 14 staffers help run Camp Napa, including Jeremiah Nicolis and Isaac Diaz-Reyes.
Diaz-Reyes, Camp Napa program manager, said the past week had been going great.
“The kids are having an excellent time here. It’s the most rewarding thing to see them go home and say that they had a lot of fun. And having parents come every morning and say they were talking about this activity or that counselor.”
These kids met big bugs at the Napa library. Take a look here.
Diaz-Reyes noticed that depending on the session different trends become popular. This past week it was Pokémon.
“It’s something that was a childhood thing for me and it’s been really sweet to see them bring it back to life,” said Diaz-Reyes. “It’s 2022 and these kids are still (into) Pokémon,” he said with a smile.
Jeremiah Nicolis is the camp director. “I spend from March until now planning and prepping so it’s awesome seeing it all come to fruition,” he said.
“The kids are having a good time. They’re running, jumping, playing.”
If he had unlimited resources and got to choose an activity for the kids, he’d add traveling field trips, said Nicolis.
“I think the kids have shown they can handle being out and about a little bit so I’d like to take them a little farther. I think we would start with Six Flags because it’s so close,” and accessible by bus, he noted. “And we’d have some funnel cakes, go on some rides and have a good ol’ time.”
Kids are seen making art during Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Ava, 5, is seen drawing during an art activity at Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Kids are seen playing with a large beach ball during Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Rec leader Mia Hernandez-Marin speaks to the kids before starting an activity at Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Kids are seen playing outside during Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Kids are seen making art during Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Kids are seen making art during Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Kids are seen making art during Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Program manager Christine Gonzales plays with Gaetano Lefler,7, and Madison Hughes, 6, during Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Program manager Christine Gonzales, left, plays with kids during Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Kids are seen walking to an activity during Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
You can reach reporter Jennifer Huffman at 707-256-2218 or jhuffman@napanews.com
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Jennifer Huffman is the business editor and a general assignment reporter for the Napa Valley Register. I cover a wide variety of topics for the newspaper. I've been with the Register since 2005.
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Kids are seen playing outside during Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Kids are seen making art during Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Kids are seen playing with a large beach ball during Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
Rec leader Mia Hernandez-Marin speaks to the kids before starting an activity at Camp Napa, a city of Napa Parks and Rec sponsored summer camp at Las Flores Community Center in Napa on Wednesday.
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