Contest: Camp Stories

“This one time at band camp, I …” said Alyson Hannigan’s character in 1999’s infamously raunchy film American Pie. And while the second half of the sentence is shockingly memorable, we at The Indy are only interested in the first bit — and not just at band camps. Our annual Summer Camp issue hits the stands on April 10, and we thought it would be fun to include camp memories from Santa Barbarans.

Here are the rules (please read carefully): Submit a 300-word piece about one of your summer camp experiences: a memorable moment, a funny occurrence, a whimsical experience, a life lesson learned. Include your full name and contact information and attach a digital photo of you at said camp (if possible). Stories must be appropriate for all ages — i.e., no American Pie-like high jinks.

The deadline is Monday, March 31, 2014. Send submissions (subject line: Camp Stories Contest) via email to campstories@independent.com