French Woods Festival 199 Bouchoux Brook Road, Hancock, NY 13783

"French Woods has been my summer home since 2021. I got to work with many talented campers, and I have met wonderful colleagues and friends. This camp offers all kinds of activities for different levels and ages. My experience in the musical theater program has been amazing -- the campers spend three weeks preparing for a fully staged production with a live orchestra, and the shows always exceed expectations!"

"Nothing is what it seems from the outside. Don't let your children go as campers to this camp, and certainly do not even think about working here. I was counselor at this camp this summer, and both its facilities and the behavior of its managers have something in common: outdated and obsolete. I have felt mistreated, constrained, and a victim of racism (as simply talking Spanish with your spanish friends was disliked by the supervisors, and they would reprimand us because they thought we were speaking ill of them). This is the image they leave of Americans. Fortunately, I know that it's only a few of them like this, but it's a shame that I encountered all of them gathered at this camp. READ FOR CAMPERS (KIDS): The conditions in the bunks (cabins) are dreadful. No air conditioning (you'll be quite cold during the night), windows without blinds, showers where hot water sometimes doesn't work, a gym mat as a mattress, all built from old wood, with bees and cobwebs everywhere. Forget about getting sick; they have a wellness center that simply offers you ibuprofen for anything that happens to you unless it's so severe that it requires a hospital visit. And it seems there are specific hours when you can't get sick because I went at 11 at night for a pill, and they told me we are close come back tomorrow. If you're sending your kid here because you think it's a safe place away from cell phones or even drugs, know that it's not the case. Most children over 13 had their mobile phones because the camp does not effectively confiscate them; they simply rely on the willingness of the children to leave their phones at the beginning of camp. And I've seen cases of 16/17-year-old kids smoking marijuana. WHY KIDS GO HERE? Because they made good friends and they have a role in a play. Although the children are separated by gender and only have one rest hour of social interaction with each other, they are treated properly because they are the ones paying for the camp. And because it's only for 3 weeks, they decide to come back the following year to see their friends. But I can assure you that any other camp in the United States is better than this one, at least led by directors who are not fake or heartless with their workers. I've spoken to people who attended other camps, and French Woods seemed like a nightmare to them. FOR COUNSELORS: Working hours: 8 am - 9:45 pm non-duty days. There were 3 or even 4 days a week when you had to do overnight duty in your own cabin or in an outdoor area of the camp. So yes, you were working all day, and no, you didn't receive any extra pay for these duties. The purpose of these duties was to monitor that no child roamed the camp at night to prevent relationships between them. Plus, you couldn't leave the camp to relax, have a drink at a bar, none of that. Sometimes, you felt like you were in a prison, claustrophobic. And curfew time at 1 am, if you are not in your bunk at that time, you can get fired. Considering that you were really doing a lot of unpaid overtime, our salary was approximately $2.20 per hour when the minimum wage in New York is $15 per hour. Speaking of days off, you only had 2 days off per session (every 3 weeks). We didn't even have a day off per week, which was suffocating. They treat us as if we were superhero fortune-tellers. By this, I mean that we must monitor the children at all times, and if something happens to a child under our supervision (for example, they're playing and break a leg), it's the counselor's responsibility. There have been cases where a male and female counselor committed the same mistake (leaving their duty or drinking/smoking), and they fired the boys but not the girls. If you are fired, you have 20 minutes to pack your bags, can't say goodbye to any friend or camper, they leave you at the Monticello bus station, having to leave the country within 72 hours, so you have to purchase a ticket back to your country costing an incredible amount of money. This is French Woods reality. Owners only care about money and pleasing the parents."

"Definitely the worst place to stay for kids! My daughter was a camper last session and she was doing horseback. She told me that one lady who is running this activity slap her 2 counsellors infront of other kids! It is unbelievable how they treat staff members. After this situation she was really scared and she didn’t want to do horseback anymore. Her behavior sets a bad example for other children and incite violance!"

"This is an awesome place for artistic children from all over the world! My son has been attending this camp for many years, first as the camper and as the camp counselor now. He gained so many new skills and friends. It is a very pricey camp but they offer scholarships and discounts. If your child likes performing arts or music then he or she will be very happy there. It is an amazing place!"

"My teenaged son, an instrumentalist, attended FW in 2021, 2022 and we're excited to be making plans for him to return in 2023. FW is truly a transformational experience. My son's musicianship and skill level with his instruments always takes a massive leap every summer after FW. My kid arrives at camp a little uncertain, a little apprehensive, a little anxious ... and at the end, we pick up a confident performer who has grown through the experience of orchestra, small group ensembles, solos, a symphonic band, and even the frenzy of the pit for some of the theatrical shows. The summer of 2021 marked the return to sleep-away camps after Covid, and we were so very grateful and understanding for all the strict protocols and safety measures that FW put in place. Unfortunately, this meant outside visitors couldn't attend performances and shows in 2021, but we were grateful that they streamed them over Zoom so we could watch from home. The summer of 2022 allowed for some careful loosening of restrictions, so this was our first time, as parents, actually visiting the camp, eating the amazing food in the dining hall, checking out the cabins, and finally getting to see the performances live. I appreciate how hard the staff worked to make camp safe. The camp is beautiful, the dining hall and the facilities are great. So many opportunities for music all day, and then whatever else my son feels like doing -- cooling off at the waterfront, learning some card tricks from "Magic Larry," working out at the 'Mo, learning some new recipes in the test kitchen, or just relaxing with friends and making something weird and tie-dyed in the craft lodge. My kid talks about camp, the friends, the funny things that happened, and especially the people (Ron is a legend! Brian is the king!) non-stop for the whole year, anticipating when he can finally return. We are eternally grateful for the FW experience!"