Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


North Star Reach will host its Inaugural Music Festival later this month – dubbed “MOOSE-IC Fest”.

North Star Reach is Michigan’s only barrier-free, fully-accessible medical camp serving children with significant health challenges and their families, completely free of cost. It allows children to experience the magic of camp, while offering parents and caregivers a needed break. North Star Reach is a member of the SeriousFun Children’s Network, founded by Paul Newman.

The camp is located on 105-acres in Putnam Township, past Hell, at 1200 University Camp Drive. It’s situated on a peninsula surrounded by water on three sides - Patterson Lake, Woodburn Lake and Sayles Lake. The camp mascot is a moose, with hoofprints engraved in the ground and on walls throughout the property that always point north at camp.

WHMI’s Jessica Mathews recently was treated to a private tour of the camp – described as “a no-cost, medically-sound camp where thousands of children who would otherwise be too sick to go to camp can enjoy the experience of a lifetime”.

Director of Philanthropy Cassy Sleeper told WHMI everything was built “slab on grade” to accommodate kids in wheelchairs, with medical equipment, or leg braces etc. Sleeper pointed out kids with health challenges always have to go in different doors than their classmates or other kids but not at camp as there are no stairs. That way, she says kids can go indoors alongside all of their friends and “feel a sense of normalcy”.

Everything is fully-accessible and barrier-free at the medically-supported camp. Sleeper stressed It’s all about having fun - allowing kids to forget about doctors and hospitals and do everything that a healthy child would be able to do at a traditional summer camp. She noted their staff, volunteers, counselors, volunteers, and medical team make up their “campily” or camp family – which ensures kids can do all of the activities safely.

On-site is a state-of-the-art health center, The Observatory, which is staffed 24/7 by medical professionals. It provides chemotherapy, dialysis, and more; allowing campers to receive the individualized care they need - all without ever leaving camp.

Activities are aplenty. Some include canoeing, archery, a fully accessible treehouse and amphitheater, zero-entry swimming pools, a “NorthStarbucks” concession area, a multi-purpose room for various activities and games, basketball court, archery range, and a waterfront with docks for fishing. Sleeper said fishing is a camper favorite and they have a tradition called “kiss and release”, where kids kish their fish and throw it back into the water.

Sleeper said the activities help kids learn to conquer changes their life - whether shooting a bow-n-arrow or doing a cannonball into a pool for the first time. She said those things are the lasting effects of camp that stay with campers well after they leave, giving them confidence when they go back out into the world.

A camp favorite for everyone that’s a tradition on the last night of all camps is “hands-free spaghetti” – which Sleeper said is exactly how it sounds - everybody eats spaghetti with no hands, and the kids always get very excited.

Meanwhile, North Star Reach's Inaugural Music Festival is said to bring all of the “Mooseness” on Saturday, August 23rd from noon to 10pm. The event will feature live music, food trucks, friends, and plenty of “camp magic”, including campfires and s’mores under the stars. There will be beer and wine, with spirits and craft cocktails provided by a local distillery.

Chief Executive Officer J.J. Lewis said the upcoming festival offers first-time visitors, the public, and longtime supporters and a chance to come experience the camp firsthand and support its mission. He said children with health challenges have not had the opportunity to enjoy the joy, magic, and transformation of camp that so many other kids have experienced - and now they can too.

For the festival, Lewis said think “Pine Knob, only at camp”. He said they have some amazing talent and it’s a great way for the community come out and enjoy great food and music while supporting a worthwhile cause – helping to provide even more experiences for children with serious health challenges.

Volunteers are being sought for a variety of roles, and tickets are on sale to the public.

Tickets are $30 for general admission and $50 for VIP. There’s a special discount being offered. Enter the code “WHMI” at check-out online to receive $5 off. All ticket sales, sponsorships, and donations will be matched up to $600,000 by The Ted and Jane Von Voigtlander Foundation, with Ally Charity Chip providing a bonus match.

Information about North Star Reach and the festival is available in the top link.

The camp tour interview, edited for brevity, is available in the bottom link. It can also be accessed in the “podcast” section of our website, under the top “programming” tab.

More photos are available on the WHMI News Facebook page.