Camp John Waters

File Camp John Waters under the creator economy's strangest and most wholesome product: the fan sleepaway camp. It is run by John Waters, cult-icon filmmaker (Hairspray, Pink Flamingos). The format is a weekend-length sleepaway in Connecticut, and the draw is less the archery than the chance to spend real time inside a community that normally only exists in a comment section.

The Pope of Trash hosts an adults-only takeover of Club Getaway's Berkshires camp each September, judging costume contests, hosting movie marathons, and mingling with campers between zip lines and Bloody Mary bingo. Running since 2017, it mixes standard sleepaway programming with burlesque, Hairspray karaoke, and photo ops with Waters himself. Past editions have drawn guests like Johnny Knoxville.

The experience

Practical picture: the format is weekend sleepaway (3 nights) at Club Getaway. Because it runs as a short sleepaway rather than a full week, it works as a first adult camp: long enough to drop your guard, short enough to risk on a hunch. Campers are adults only, so expect the particular energy of grown-ups given permission to play without an audience of children.

Cost

Published pricing: roughly $500-1,000+ USD depending on cabin tier. That is squarely in the mainstream band for adult camp: most all-inclusive weekend sleepaways in North America charge somewhere between $400 and $1,000. Confirm what the price actually covers. Camps in this dataset differ on whether lodging, meals, and transport are bundled, and that swings the true cost more than the ticket price does.

Where and when

The venue is in Kent, Connecticut. On timing, the operator's own line is the one to trust: September 11-14, 2026 (announced as the final edition).