Family Activities

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

This week invites us to think about, and celebrate, what gifts and passions we have– or have yet to discover! The week will offer up opportunities to challenge ourselves and to shine, each of us. If you love cooking, we’ll need you in the kitchen for the tasty meals we’ve got planned. If you like games– we need you! And, artists and dreamers, get your game on: through the week we’ll be getting the elements ready for our epic participation in the Victoria Pride Parade (Sunday July 6, optional and encouraged). We’ll be creating a giant puppet, movement and music, parade paraphanalia…

Each day brings new adventures—from nature walks to collaborative art projects—that spark imagination and connection. Come make new friends, express your unique self, and be part of something joyful and unforgettable!

Camp for 5-10 years

Wonder Camp

Join us for a week of wonder, nestled in the magical grounds of the Unitarian Campus where nature, creativity, and community come alive. Here, young artists and dreamers (ages 5–10) will explore art, nature, and storytelling in an inclusive space that celebrates everyone. Through hands-on art, cooking, stories, and puppet making, children will dream big, create boldly, and play freely under the summer sun.

General Camp Info:

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

Some of our recent activities have included Wassailing the ‘sleeping’ apple trees early in the year, then picking the apples in the fall to press. Both events are fun and connect us with the land, the seasons and one another.

Ancestor's Shrine

Our Ancestor’s shrine is unique, personal, and beautiful: a living art installation for the entire UU community to enjoy at Hallowe’en (Samhein) time.

Singing & Music

The children and youth practice songs to perform with the Chalice Choir, and experience the joy and connection that comes with singing together. Older, interested youth have opportunities to sing or perform in smaller groups in a supported, mentored space.

Messy Church

Each month, families are invited to Messy Church, an informal, fun evening of dinner and a changing activity. We’ve had Scandinavian hygge-lig evenings, Canadian Trivia, games nights, and more. Our aim is for the adults to relax and enjoy themselves as much as the younger folk.

World Religions

In the 2025 season, the young youth are taking a deep dive into World Religions, focusing on various faiths. The youth, mentored by two facilitators, get to conduct “insight interviews” with people from different faiths, take field trips to different places of worship, and share meaningful reflection and discussion.

Youth Leadership

For youth 13+, there are opportunities to connect with other UU youth at the regional and national level, take on leadership opportunities, and enjoy a uniquely inclusive, non-judgmental, loving youth space.

Past Activities

Solstice — Gifts of the Dark

https://victoriaunitarian.ca/wp-content/uploads/20141221-Service.mp3 10:30 a.m. — Reverend Shana Lynngood – As we mark the shortest day of the year we lift up the gifts of the dark. Often

December 21, 2014

Mid-Winter Pageant: A Mid-winter Tale

10:30 a.m. — Reverend Shana Lynngood, Faye Mogensen, Amalia Schelhorn – The children and youth celebrate the power of reaching out across faith groups. As part

December 14, 2014

Empowerment and the Art of Storytelling

https://victoriaunitarian.ca/wp-content/uploads/20141207-Service.mp3 Reverend Jane Bramadat – The ways in which storytelling can help or hinder our lives; how it can affect the way we feel about ourselves,

December 7, 2014

“True Self”?

https://victoriaunitarian.ca/wp-content/uploads/20141130-Service.mp3 Reverend Melora Lynngood – The challenge of bringing our authentic selves into community: What does it mean to be your ‘true self’? To what extent

December 1, 2014

What Do We Owe Each Other?

https://victoriaunitarian.ca/wp-content/uploads/20141123-Service.mp3 Reverend Shana Lynngood – We explore the vulnerability created by income inequality. As the poor get poorer and more people slip below the poverty threshold,

November 24, 2014

Outreach Alphabet Soup

Social Responsibility Coalition – We share and celebrate the many wonderful ways our church community reaches out to the wider community – locally, nationally and internationally.

November 17, 2014

Crashing into Mortality

https://victoriaunitarian.ca/wp-content/uploads/20141109-service.mp3 Reverend Melora Lynngood – As part of this month’s theme, we consider the ultimate vulnerability: our own mortality. We are all going to die. What

November 9, 2014

Removing Our Armour

https://victoriaunitarian.ca/wp-content/uploads/20141102-service.mp3 Reverend Shana Lynngood – As we begin our exploration of this month’s theme of vulnerability, we look at the personal dimension. We often guard ourselves

November 2, 2014

Pathways to the Spirit

https://victoriaunitarian.ca/wp-content/uploads/20141026-service.mp3 Reverend Dr. Barbara ten Hove (with Reverend Melora Lynngood and Friends) — Join us for the Sunday morning culmination of the Unitarian Universalist B.C. Fall

October 27, 2014

Reflections of a Unitarian Activist

https://victoriaunitarian.ca/wp-content/uploads/20141019-service.mp3 Reverend Frances Deverell — Unitarians have always desired a public voice and presence in the modern era. Where have we come from? What role has

October 20, 2014

Past services

A Pessimist Considers the Possibilities of Gratitude

Reverend Melora Lynngood — There is nothing less effective (or more irritating) than someone telling you to ‘be grateful,’ especially when you’re in a rotten

October 13, 2014