Pride Camp 2025 is Coming!
Summer Camps at UUCoV:
June 30-July 4th 2025 (no camp on July 1 stat)
Camp for Youth:
Uniquely U: a radical inclusion camp
Camp for 5-10 years
Wonder Camp
Camps runs 9 am to 4 pm each day and is held on the beautiful Unitarian Universalist building and grounds on traditional WSAANEC territory.
Our camp divides into two groups: WONDER CAMP for youngers (5 to approx 10 years) and UNIQUELY U camp for young youth 10 to 16 years. Final grouping will be decided by camp directors depending on the # and age composition of who enrolls (and also by interest; we welcome your requests). We ask that all campers be of school age.
Cooking and eating lunch together will be a wonderful and special part of the camp experience. We also ask that you send a hearty snack with your child each day.
*** We will do our best to create lunches that everyone enjoys, and will also ask that campers be willing to try new foods. If your child/youth is particular in what they like to eat, please be prepared to send lunches from home as needed.
Each year our UU community participates in the Victoria Pride Parade, which happens this year on Sunday July 6. We warmly invite your family to join the fun! Please know that while UU parade leaders will be there to support, we cannot be officially responsible for your child at the parade– they must attend with a guardian who is ultimately responsible for their comfort and safety.
Camp fees are on a sliding scale basis of $100 – $200 for the week.
Our Philosophy
We are big believers in embodied learning– an approach which recognizes that knowledge isn’t just stored in the brain but is also formed through our interactions with the world and our bodies. Our programs and activities emphasize the role of physical movement, interaction with the environment, and sensory experiences in learning and fostering wonder.
We believe that a UU church community is an important space for intergenerational connections. This is a place where children and youth can feel seen, safe, and cared about as they grow. It is also a place where children & youth learn (by doing) that they are an essential part of community, and can help to create beauty, wonder and justice in the world.
Monthly Themes
Our activities change with the seasons. We incorporate monthly themes into our hands-on activities – themes like Trust, Inclusion, and Joy.
Pride Camp
For one week in early summer, the children and youth take over the UU buildings and grounds. We cook together, play games, make lots of art, explore nature, and get ready for our grand finale in the Victoria Pride Parade that same weekend. Along the way, we create art and have discussions that honour our authentic selves. Unitarian Universalism values individuality and solidarity, and there is plenty of both at this inclusive and joyful camp. The 2025 camp dates are June 30 to July 3 (not including the July 1 Stat holiday), and the Victoria Pride parade is July 6 (optional for families).
Wassailing
Ancestor's Shrine
Singing & Music
Messy Church
World Religions
Youth Leadership
Past Activities
Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor
11:00 am service – Six white Vancouver Unitarian members take a first step and agree to meet and study the controversial book, “Me and White Supremacy” over
Class and Money
Class and Money – Anna Isaacs with worship associate David Vest – What is it like to live “below” middle class? What is it like to
Sustainability and Unsustainability: Coming to Terms with Living on an Island
Sustainability and Unsustainability: Coming to Terms with Living on an Island – Dr. Richard Kool with worship associate Fran Pardee – Many of us living on
Holistic Bodies and the Physical Education Revolution
Holistic Bodies and the Physical Education Revolution – Paloma Callo with worship associate Samantha Magnus – Inspired by Paloma’s undergrad thesis work, this sermon explores
“Oneness” – A Sacred Tool for Reconciliation
Sharon Jinkerson-Brass with worship associate Lynne Bonner – The medicine wheel is a metaphoric tool used to describe the infinite cycle of space and time
Pride and Poetry
James Summer, City of Victoria Youth Poet Laureate, with worship associate Casey Stainsby – Poetry is an amazing way to communicate our experiences and connect with
Anti-racism Work as Spiritual Practice
Donovan Hayden with worship associate David Tietz – Summer 2020 has been described as a moment of racial reckoning. Black people, along with allies, took
Transitions
Arran Liddel with worship associate Victoria Barr – Come celebrate the individual and collective transitions that have taken place in our community over the last year.
What Holds You?
Rev. Debra Thorne with worship associate Emily Tietz – What do you name the invisible arms that hold you in the bright warmth of day and in
Commitment for Community Can’t Be Quarantined, Nor Infected
Commitment for Community Can’t Be Quarantined, Nor Infected – Rev. Csongor Benedek, introduced by Michelle Poirier Brown, with worship associate David Vest As a Unitarian
Practising Grief: Lessons for Everyday Life
Asha Philar with worship associate Fran Pardee – With so much hardship around us, it is more important than ever to cultivate the active practice
Sustaining Our Light
Rev. Meghann Robern, homilist for the Canadan Unitarian Council annual conference (10:00am) – Now more than ever we need to be grounded in connection, in hope,
Telling Our Stories
Join Arran Liddel and Casey Stainsby for stories and music about the journey of learning who we are as Unitarian Universalists. In this service, we
Hysterical Women
Rev. Anne Barker & Liz James with worship associate Lynne Bonner – Hysteria is a word with many meanings. Uncontrollable sobbing, raucous laughter, and unmanageable women.
Unfolding Life
Rev. Shana Lynngood with worship associate Fran Pardee – The season of Spring reminds us that becoming often looks like unfolding. We lean out into life