IT’S MORE THAN JUST A SUMMER CAMP

At Brigadoon, we do more than just summer camp. Our purpose is beyond simply providing fun and exciting experiences for our campers, but to transform the lives of the children who attend our programs. We show our campers that they are not alone, that they have limitless potential, and can achieve more than they ever thought possible.

While at Brigadoon, our campers learn more about their illness, share experiences, and create special friendships that only another child going through the same thing can understand. Not to mention they get to laugh, swim, cook, canoe, and have extraordinary fun.

By providing an environment where everyone faces similar challenges, campers do not feel different or alone because of their condition. For many, they are meeting others who are just like them for the first time. The opportunity to share and bond with another child who shares the same chronic illness is life changing for many.

WHAT IS BRIGADOON VILLAGE

Brigadoon Village (Brigadoon), is a year-round non-profit recreational facility located on Aylesford Lake in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, designed for children living with health conditions or other life challenges in Atlantic Canada. 

Brigadoon was established to fill a void in the care and life experience of Atlantic Canadian children ages 7-18 living with health conditions. It is structured as a traditional overnight camp, but through innovative and customized programming, experiential learning and exceptional fun, we strive to give these extraordinary children a chance to be ordinary and experience the joy of camp. 

When we opened our doors in 2011, Brigadoon welcomed 38 campers to our first program. Ten years later, 1000 campers joined us in 14 different programs, and Brigadoon has become the largest pediatric illness camp program in the country.

OUR CAMPERS ARE EXTRAORDINARY

The children who come to Brigadoon have developed tremendous resiliency due to the challenges they’ve experienced and overcome in their young lives - but at Brigadoon they just get to be kids. 

These extraordinary children and youth face arduous, confusing, and often painful realities. The challenges for children and youth living with a health condition are many and complex. Intensive operations, medical care, prolonged stays in hospital, many fears and restrictions on lifestyle and diet, all isolate a child within their peer group, family, community, and within themselves. Brigadoon has created an environment that brings these children together where they no longer feel alone and are surrounded by others who are just like them.

WE HAVE EXCEPTIONAL FACILITIES AND STAFF

Brigadoon is far more complex than being just a traditional “camp” facility. In anticipation of the unique needs these exceptional children live with everyday, Brigadoon was designed with
deliberate and careful planning to ensure all children could experience the joy of camp. This includes fully-accessible cabins where staff can live in with the campers, land graded to still be
natural, and adapted and accessible swimming and boat docks. 

An on-site medical centre provides access to medical care in a setting that is warm and welcoming. Our medical team consists primarily of nurses, however we also have physicians, mental health professionals, dietitians, child life specialists, and behavioral specialists on-site for the campers. 

Many of our campers have significant dietary restrictions, therefore our commercial kitchen, run by our Red Seal Chef, is able to customize and adapt meals for campers based on their dietary requirements.

THE NEED
Brigadoon recognizes the financial strain that a health condition has on families in our community. The unfortunate reality is that most families who have a child living with a health
condition cannot afford the cost to send their child to summer camp. 

It costs $1,300 a week for a child to attend a week-long summer camp program at Brigadoon. Our camp fee structure is based on a “pay what you can” model - we ask parents to contribute what they can afford. That’s where our community comes in. The average amount a family contributes is $300, therefore, we depend heavily on our community to help fund our programs. The funds raised through corporate, individual, foundation, and community support help ensure we never turn a child away for financial reasons. 

Donations to Brigadoon Village means that children, youth and their families living with a health condition or other life challenges get to experience the joy and
playfulness at a camp built and structured just for them.

Our Mission

Brigadoon Village passionately transforms the lives of Atlantic Canadian children and youth living with health conditions and other life challenges to help them reach their full potential through experiential learning, meaningful connections and exceptional fun.

Our Values
Campers First, Fun, Intentional, Innovation, Our People