Date
June 7–9, 2024
Starts 5:00 PM · Ends 3:00 PM
Location
Camp Onas
609 Geigel Hill Road, Ottsville, PA 18942
Newcomers and ECRS veterans alike enjoy the chance to focus on dancing, singing, informal dramatics, crafts, or games during daytime classes. Then, at Evening Program, everyone comes together as a community to dance, sing, play games, and socialize over snacks.
Camp Onas is a summer camp facility on 72 wooded acres, with platform tents offering cots and bunk beds (or bring your own tent), plus a limited number of dormitory-style rooms. There are shared wash & shower facilities with hot water.
Pricing
| Category | Full Weekend |
|---|---|
| Under 2 | Free |
| 2-13 | $85 |
| 14+ | $195 |
No childcare provided
Member rate $170
Saturday evening-only option (dinner, Evening Program, Evening Sing): $30. Newcomers save 50% on already low prices.
Meals
Saturday dinner, plus snacks after evening programs.
Bring your own food for all other meals.
Schedule
- Dance — , , and
Back by popular demand, the Siftar cousins are offering a dance class! Classics like New York, New York, Suavemente, and Ciuleandra — broken down step by step so your body will know what to do when the music comes on.
- Chair Yoga —
Relax and renew. Slow yoga-infused routines to gently stretch and ease your body and mind, done sitting in a chair and moving to music.
- Reading the Landscape in Late Spring — Kirk Wattles
June at Onas is our chance to observe the natural world at its peak. We'll look most closely at trees, rocks, and soil. Rain or shine.
- Relax with Board and Word Games — and Jack Marquess
Enjoy relaxing with friends over new or old games. Bananagrams, Upwords, Scrabble, Boggle, Backgammon, Rummikub, and more.
- Crafts: Zines! — , , and
Making zines — small paper books that anyone can make about anything. Colorful supplies, good vibes, and endless creative possibilities.
- Informal Dramatics —
Dramatic games and exercises including verbal and pantomime, with an emphasis on fun and creativity. No previous experience needed.
- Games —
Active and semi-active games for all levels of ability from other countries and other eras. All you need is a willingness to have fun.
- Joy of Movement —
Explore and unleash your potential through joyful movement. Engage your senses and listen to your body as you dance and move to an eclectic mix of music from around the globe. All levels welcome.
- Water Games — Jack Marquess
An ECRS Camp Onas tradition. Games, activities and dances adapted for the swimming pool. Age 5+.
Event Staff
- Registrar:
- Weekend Coordinator: David Geron-Neubauer
- Weekend Coordinator:
Judi Powers
Movement
Judi has been a member of the ECRS family for over 10 years. She has her blue belt in NIA and is a certified instructor for Moving to Heal. She loves teaching joy of movement, moving your body's way. Dancing is an experience that can be so uplifting and healing on many levels; in a group it's just infectious! She lives in the Adirondack Mountains where she enjoys her many outdoor passions from skiing to gardening. She is a licensed Adirondack guide in hiking, camping and whitewater. She is part of the local theater group of dancing witches. Hope you come join me and share some smiles!
View full profile →Arnie Zacharias
Arnie Zacharias volunteered at Friends Hospital from 1970 to 1976, running a program that trained volunteers to lead leisure activities for patients. From 1976 to 1979, he was Assistant Coordinator to Nancy Schmale (an ECRS leader and the mother of leader Marko Schmale, later known as Nancy Penney), the volunteer coordinator at Friends Hospital. As Arnie's boss, Nancy brought a reluctant Arnie to his first ECRS event in 1979, at the Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC).
From 1980 to 1995, Arnie was a recreation therapist at Eugenia Hospital. He built his leadership style in ECRS theory classes and practice leading.
Arnie has been leading Folk and Line Dancing, Games, and Informal Dramatics at ECRS since 1985. He currently leads Line Dancing (soul, country, and oldies) at senior centers in Philadelphia.
Celia Nicholson
Celia is from Stow, MA, and studied at Haverford College. Things Celia loves include spending time with friends and family, making art of all kinds, farming, learning, dancing, singing, swimming, and laughing. ECRS has been part of Celia's life since before she was even born, and it's really shaped who she is today. Celia has enjoyed co-teaching a class to the people who taught her!
View full profile →Carmen Siftar
Carmen has been raised in ECRS, attending with her family her entire life! She has previously taken on ECRS leadership roles collaborating with her cousins in the realms of dancing, crafting, and snacking. At ECRS she loves to make art, folk dance, sing, play, learn, and connect with community. Outside of ECRS, Carmen lives in Philadelphia and has been a toddler teacher, a farmer, a camp counselor, and a student.
View full profile →Sonia Nicholson
Sonia attended Haverford College (Class of 2026) and has been going to ECRS her whole life. At Haverford, she captained the Sneetch ultimate frisbee team and ran the folk dance club. Sonia loves working with kids and has served as a Children's Program coordinator at Winter Adventure.
View full profile →Bonnie Ostrofsky
Music and Ukulele
ECRS history: member for 30 years, past Board member, and current chairperson of the Programming and Staffing committee. Enjoys the opportunity to play games, dance, sing, and play music together. Leads a monthly ukulele "jam" (play and singalong) in eastern PA.
View full profile →Zsuzsi Nagy
Assistant Business Manager
Zsuzsi has been coming to ECRS since childhood with her family. Following a hiatus during college in Hungary, she returned to ECRS now with her son Daniel, wanting him to also experience the shared joy, freedom, love and community. She has served on the Board and has filled various staff roles at ECRS events. Zsuzsi works as a mental health clinician at a university, in an emergency room and teaches at a Hungarian Saturday school. Biking, hiking, and discovering new things are her joys.
View full profile →Karen Wisnia
Staff Coordinator
Karen has been attending ECRS events since she first came as a sophomore in college (Spring 1979). She loved it so much she's hardly missed an event since. Karen was Treasurer on the ECRS Board of Directors in the 1980s and Board Co-Chair in the 1990s. She was Chair of the Weekend Planning Committee starting in 1986 until it morphed into the Programming and Staffing Committee in 2020, and continued to Co-Chair until 2022. Karen's staff roles at Winter Adventure include Staff Coordinator, Assistant Business Manager, and Class Co-Leader. At weekend events, Karen has held roles such as Co-Coordinator, Class Leader, Registrar, Assistant Registrar, and various scholarship positions. Karen has most recently been Co-Coordinator at several one-day ECRS events in Philadelphia.
View full profile →