New to Brigadoon Village?

We are thrilled that you are considering us for your child’s summer camp experience!

We understand you may have plenty of questions, so we’ve compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions from our new families. Registration for our 2025 Summer Camp programs opens on February 3rd, 2025.

If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our Registrar, Megan McNeil, at camp@brigadoonvillage.org or at (902) 229-3060.

Common Questions

What is Brigadoon?

Brigadoon Village is the first camp of its kind in Atlantic Canada and offers up to 17 specialized summer camp programs for children and youth living with chronic illnesses or other life challenges. 

What we do

Our focus is giving extraordinary kids the chance to be ordinary.  

We bring together communities of campers who are facing challenging circumstances or perhaps feeling like the odd one out at home. We surround them with other people who understand what it feels like to be struggling with those same things so they can truly feel like they belong.  

While they’re with us, we focus not only on giving them a week full of incredible fun. We also focus on helping them to develop skills and characteristics that they’ll need to manage the challenges they face. Our hope is that if we do our jobs well enough during this one week with them, it will make their other 51 weeks of the year a bit easier.  

We focus on five camper development outcomes: confidence, compassion, independence, resilience, and connection. We know that focusing on these areas will help campers to be healthier and happier moving forward.

You can learn more about the impact of a week at Brigadoon here.

What camp programs do you offer?

Each of our camp sessions is six days long (Sunday – Friday) and geared towards supporting a specific chronic health condition or life challenge.  These are:

• • Camp BELIEVE – Parental Mental Illness 
  • Camp Brainiac – Neurosurgery Conditions 
  • Camp Braveheart – Heart Conditions 
  • Camp Carpe Diem – Epilepsy 
  • Camp Clots-of-Fun– Bleeding Disorders 
  • Canadian Cancer Society’s Camp Goodtimes – Living with or Beyond Cancer 
  • Camp Guts and Glory – IBD and Ostomies 
  • Arthritis Society Canada’s Camp JoinTogether – Juvenile Arthritis 
  • Camp Lots-a-Wata – Kidney Disease 
  • Camp Scoliosis – Scoliosis
  • Camp See-Ya – Blindness or Visual Impairments 
  • Camp Silly Yak – Celiac Disease 
  • Camp Solace – Family Bereavement 
  • Camp Trailblazers – Craniofacial Differences 
  • Camp Treasure Chest – Asthma, Anaphylaxis, Lung Conditions 
  • Camp Whatcha Say – Deaf or Hard of Hearing 
  • Summer Leadership Program – two-week program open to returning campers aged 15-18 

What activities do you have at camp?

We offer a wide range of activities, depending on your campers’ age, interests, and skill level. These can include:

• • Art 
  • Archery 
  • Climbing Wall (10+) 
  • Campfires 
  • Cooking 
  • Drama 
  • Fire Building 
  • Giant Swing (13+) 
  • High Ropes Course (16+) 
  • Hiking 
  • Music 
  • Nature Programs 
  • Paddling 
  • Shelter Building 
  • Swimming 

And so much more! 

What does a day at camp look like?

Click here to see a sample schedule! 

What is the medical support for my camper like?

Our fully-licensed medical team manages our on-site Medical Center at camp to dispense medications and provide treatment. Campers can visit our medical team for care (or comfort) anytime. 

Our entire staff team (kitchen staff, programming staff, counselling staff and more!) participate in an extensive staff training period to set them up to be able to support campers who are living with any condition we support. If you have more questions about your camper’s specific condition or circumstances, reach out to us at camp@brigadoonvillage.org  

What age groups do you accept?

Our camp programs are open to campers ages 7-18. The exception to this is for Camp BELIEVE and Camp Solace, which start a little older at age 9-18. 

How much does it cost to attend?

We understand the financial strain that raising a child with a health condition or life challenge can have on a family. That’s why, with the help of our donors and partners, we’re proud to offer a Pay What You Can fee structure for all campers residing in Atlantic Canada. To find out more, click here.

How do I apply?

Applications for our 2025 camp season will be open on February 3rd, 2025.

Click here for the link to our registration platform or click here for more info on our application process.   

Want to see what camp looks like?

Click here to see our virtual tour! 

Want more information?

Megan McNeil, Camp Registrar, is happy to answer any questions you may have via e-mail at camp@brigadoonvillage.org! Feel free to explore the other pages of our website, too!