Shabbos Nachamu is a truly special weekend, and if there’s one place that knows how to celebrate, it’s the bungalow colonies! This week, we turned to our bungalow colony ladies to get the inside scoop on how their communities celebrate. From mouthwatering menus to special guests and unforgettable entertainment, their answers definitely didn't disappoint!

Birchwood Estates:

Erev Shabbos: Some kind of kids entertainment/ slides with slush and ice cream (one family owns large commercial machines and brings them up for the summer).

Shabbos: Special kiddush.

Motzei Shabbos: One family always does fireworks. Then, because we are on the grounds of a yeshiva camp, together with the camp we have dancing with a one-piece band and a barbecue.

Highland Park:

For Shabbos Nachamu, we have a special toemeha on Friday; a special ladies kiddush; a Motzei Shabbos program including David Blatt the mentalist; a special kumzitz for the men with Melava Malka; and a Sunday Funday with rides, inflatables and ice cones.

Tara Acres:

Shabbos Nachamu is always special at Tara Acres. Every Shabbos, we do a small kiddush for the ladies with yummy homemade salads and desserts (the men have a kiddush in shul), but on Shabbos Nachamu, we take it up a notch! The kiddush is set up in a more official and elegant way, and we also usually will have something exciting planned for the kids over Motsei Shabbos/Sunday. A highlight every year for us is the performance put on by our girls; they plan a full choir that is performed at the Shabbos morning kiddush.

Clearview Mountain:

Every year after Shabbos Nachamu, Clearview Mountain hosts a special post-Shabbos concert. This year, we were thrilled to welcome Gelf and his band, who brought incredible energy and excitement to the evening.

To make the experience even more enjoyable, we invite a variety of food trucks and food vendors to our grounds, so families can grab a hot, delicious meal without having to leave and miss any of the concert.

One of the most heartwarming sights is watching the children stay up a little later than usual, singing and dancing alongside their parents, siblings, and friends. Those moments are truly priceless.

The concert is open to everyone, and we warmly welcome our neighbors from the surrounding bungalow colonies to join us. Seeing people from so many different backgrounds come together to sing, dance, and celebrate as one community is something truly special. It's a beautiful expression of achdus—the unity that makes our summers at Clearview Mountain so meaningful.

Twin Bridge Estates:

Shabbos Nachamu always brings extra guests and we love having our colony full. The specifics of events have always varied but this year the men had a Friday toeh meha with Joey Newcomb. Everyone enjoyed a beautiful outdoor kiddush on Shabbos. Motzei shabbos was an entertaining show by Shlomo Levinger with slushies pizza and sushi!

Armon Estates:

We also had a kiddish on Shabbos.

Friendship Cottages:

We have a beautiful, more low-key Shabbos Nachamu. Years ago we did the grand celebrations, but over time we realized that what truly makes the Shabbos special isn't the extravagance—it's creating meaningful memories for the kids and spending quality time together. The excess simply isn't necessary, and it's not what people remember. Our shul got a beautiful facelift courtesy of our new “head counselor. “ He also arranged for a partnership with ChatGPT and a sign shop that made everything look so exciting!

On Shabbos, the women enjoyed a beautiful kiddush arranged by Malky—our incredibly organized and talented coordinator—with everyone contributing something. The men had a kiddush in shul featuring Shaindel's delicious cholent, Faygele's amazing cured salmon, kugels, and plenty of other delicious treats.

Motzaei Shabbos began with a beautiful musical Havdalah, followed by a fun evening of pizza, fries, nachos, and cotton candy and popcorn machines, all enthusiastically run by the Colony kids. The ice cream truck was a huge hit, and the evening concluded with a fantastic performance by Dr. Shnitzel. The kids absolutely loved it, the adults thoroughly enjoyed it, and the entire atmosphere was filled with such genuine achdus. It was a simple, heartfelt Shabbos that reminded us that togetherness is what makes an occasion truly memorable.