Sports, Chess, Animal Care? So Many Camps, So Little Vacation

Asked what she wanted to do at summer camp, 7-year-old Tanya Hidajat leaped down the hall in her Brownie uniform and told her mother she wanted to “learn to walk on the moon.�

Her mother, Wan Hidajat, gently urged her to sign up for a sports camp.

That’s what happens when you put 1,000 parents and children in a room with representatives of 75 youth camps and begin asking everybody what they want to do this summer.

At a Westside recreational center last week, frazzled moms and dads led their offspring through Camp Fair ‘98, a dizzying maze of booths hawking everything from heli-skiing in Switzerland to herpetology classes in Culver City.

In small clusters throughout the gymnasium, parents debated the meaning of “appropriate summer activities� while children let their imaginations run wild.

“I want to make a movie,� 6-year-old Sterling Toliver announced to his mother, Georgia.

A budding cartoon animator, Sterling has already used her as his production assistant for several projects--he operates the camera and barks orders while she holds up his drawings one at a time.

“He’s very dictatorial--he’d make a great director,� Georgia Toliver said proudly.

Luckily for Sterling, he just made the age limit for Kids on Stage, a day program at Crossroads School in Santa Monica where participants learn to write and direct a five-minute video.

One little girl was mesmerized by the colorful photo display from Rustic Pathways, an Australian camp that offers courses in bush survival.

“I’m not going unless a koala shows up,� she said curtly to the camp counselor, a buff bloke sporting a buzz cut.

“Koalas are deadly, ya know,� said counselor Clint Miller, in a thick Melbourne patois. “They can rip your arm right off!�

The girl recoiled, then ran off in search of her parents.

Camp Fair ‘98, sponsored by the American Camping Assn., gives parents an opportunity to interrogate camp directors and counselors in person rather than simply thumbing through the Yellow Pages, said association spokesman Steve Siegel.

Interrogation is exactly what Jack Goetz was doing to Larry Evans, director of the Mountain Lake Chess Camp.

What time do they serve dinner?

What time do they get up in the morning?

How many children to a cabin?

What type of activities are offered?

And last: Can parents go to camp with their children?

Goetz was especially concerned because his 9-year-old son has diabetes and needs daily insulin shots. His fears were allayed when Evans, a national chess champion, told him that there was an on-site nurse and yes, parents could attend the camp--for an additional $200.

“Dad!� objected his son, Jason.

*

The camp offers six hours of chess-playing a day besides archery, rock climbing and swimming classes, Evans told the family. Best of all, everyone takes home a clunky metal award, regardless of their skill level: knights, rooks or kings.

A few booths down, a son tugged his father toward a video of skiers slashing their way down mountain slopes.

“I want to go there!� he said.

The man turned to the eager booth attendant and asked gruffly: “Where’s that?�

“The Swiss Alps,� she responded.

“I thought it was Montana!� he said, hurriedly leading his son away.

Camp La Moubra, as it were, is a three-week $2,600-per-camper resort in the Swiss town of Crans Montana, at the foot of the Matterhorn.

“What a lot of parents do is drop off their kids and tour Europe,� said Lynn Metrow. “We get a lot of kids from the Arab countries,� she said, adding that some children bring thousands in spending money.

*

At the table of Lazy J Ranch, where youths have learned animal care for 53 years, a gaggle of youngsters fawned over three calico-colored rabbits and a rooster.

Among the animal lovers was 17-year-old Alex Hirsh, looking ever the rebellious teenager with his biker jacket and a T-shirt on which he had drawn a downward arrow and scrawled the words: “Hey girls pinch me here.�

He had attended the Malibu camp when he was younger and was trying to convince a younger sister to choose it. The ribbons he won for horseback riding, animal care and sharpshooting still adorn his bedroom wall.

“They have these cute fuzzy rabbits,� coaxed Alex.