Camp Jabberwocky welcomed its first group of summer campers to Vineyard Haven Tuesday morning, in a joyous dockside reunion that annually signals the full arrival of summer on the Island.
Volunteer Camp Jabberwocky counselors and executive director Hilary Dreyer cheered from the dock as they greeted the returning campers, who lined the ferry rail as the Woods Hole boat approached the slip.
“Hey, Ellie! Hi, Cheryl!” shouted the counselors, who were decked in Mardi Gras beads and sequined top hats — plus, in one case, a tutu — to go with their colorful Camp Jabberwocky T-shirts.
The cheers grew louder and music played from a speaker as campers in wheelchairs began rolling down the passenger ramp to the dock, where they exchanged long and sometimes tearful hugs with their waiting counselors.
More campers, walking and in chairs, poured off the boat and into the counselors’ arms, and the whole group began singing along to Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline.
Passengers waiting for the return trip to Woods Hole watched in bemusement, many of them unaware that they were witnessing the return of a uniquely beloved Island institution.
Founded more than 70 years ago as the Martha’s Vineyard Cerebral Palsy Camp, Camp Jabberwocky offers campers with various disabilities all of the summer Island activities, from water sports to ice cream socials, that other vacationers enjoy.
Staffed mostly by volunteers, the camp also is supported by several other Island nonprofits, Ms. Dreyer said.
Misty Meadows Equestrian Learning Center in West Tisbury provides experiences with horses, and kayaking is made possible by the Trustees of Reservations, she said.
The FARM Institute has hosted ice-cream-making parties, and Sail MV has a small fleet of accessible dinghies for camp sailing, she added.
Camp Jabberwocky’s red school bus and black vans, all decorated with colorful Alice in Wonderland characters adapted from John Tenniel’s original illustrations, are familiar sights across the Vineyard from June through August and even have their own parking area at Joseph A. Sylvia State Beach.
At the Independence Day parade in Edgartown, Camp Jabberwocky gets a rapturous response each year as costumed campers and counselors ride, march and roll along the route.
A 1999 documentary and a subsequent MTV series, both titled How’s Your News?, brought positive national attention to a group of Jabberwocky campers who went on the road to interview politicians, celebrities and everyday Americans.
Many campers have become familiar Island faces over decades of Jabberwocky summers, while others are arriving for the first time.
Eleven-year-old Jackie, from Wrentham, is one of this year’s newcomers. While older campers hugged and caught up with old friends at the dock on Tuesday, he stood near his new counselor and sang quietly along with the music as his mother, Tammy DeAngelis, watched nearby.
“He loves music,” said Ms. DeAngelis, who told the Gazette her son has Down syndrome.
He’ll be among friends at Jabberwocky: The camp practically pulses with music, from daily pop sing-alongs to the weekly drum circle on State Beach.
And at midday Tuesday, Jackie walked in his first Camp Jabberwocky parade, from the Steamship Authority terminal to the camp on Greenwood avenue, singing along to Alicia Keys’ This Girl is On Fire.
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