Click here for a detailed itinerary for STC

  

TWO SESSIONS TO CHOOSE FROM

Ionian Village offers two fun filled sessions. Each session will have the same basic daily schedule and visit most of the same locations, so our campers may choose the session that best fits their summer plans and school schedule. *Note, there may be some variance in travel itinerary between the two sessions.

Program Full Registration: Camp Only Registration:
Summer Travel Camp

$3,990.00
(Includes Airfare)

$3,490.00
(Excludes Airfare)

Byzantine Venture

$3,990.00
(Includes Airfare)

$3,490.00
(Excludes Airfare)

IMPORTANT
New Age Requirements For Ionian Village
as of Summer 2007

Eligibility

Both STC and BV will be open for campers 8th through 12th grade. Children entering 8th grade in the fall of 2008, through those who will complete the 12th grade in the spring of 2008 are welcome to register for Ionian Village this year.

Why the Change?

We want to make Ionian Village available to more of our youth. Ionian Village is a national program, and schools around the country have a variety of start and finish dates. While many young people get out of school too late to sign up for session I, others need to be back in time for an early start date or for extracurricular activities, such as pre-season training for an athletic team or rehearsal for a performing group. Additionally, many families have voiced their preference to send all of their children to the same session. This new system will accommodate the schedules and needs of more campers.

How will the different age groups be supervised?

While campers from 8th to 12th grade will be enrolled in the same session, they will be assigned to cabins according to their age group. This means that they will always rotate through daily activities, participate in catechetical discussions, and make excursions with campers from their same age group. Worship services, meals, and some evening activities will be common. As always, Ionian Village will maintain a 7:1 camper to staff ratio and programming will be adjusted to assure that it is age-appropriate.

Ionian Village builds faith...

The Orthodox faith is at the heart of the Ionian Village program. Each day begins and ends at the chapel with morning and evening prayers. Furthermore, IV participants experience life and its priorities in an Orthodox country, as they travel to churches and monasteries, and mingle with the Orthodox Christians of Greece.

Participants spend each day either in camp or traveling. When not traveling, IV participants take part in activities on the campgrounds. Daily life at Ionian Village includes many traditional summer camp activities that emphasize fun, fellowship, and learning. Campers engage in daily sessions of Arts and Crafts, Aquatics, Athletics, Music and Greek Culture, and Orthodox Life. Time, also, is spent at the pool or beach everyday while at camp.

Every sunset brings a different evening activity or event. Whether IV participants are dancing pool-side, performing in the talent festival, singing by the bonfire on the beach, dancing to live Greek music at the Glendi, or gathering in the amphitheater for a quiet "Night with God" in preparation for the next day's Divine Liturgy, they are continuing to build upon the camaraderie they have established within the village community.

Typical Daily Camp Schedule:

8:00 am Morning prayer service and breakfast
9:00 am Activities and Sessions
11:00am Community swim at the beach or pool
1:00 pm Lunch followed by siesta
3:00 pm Activities and Sessions
5:30 pm Supervised free time for sports, crafts, or just relaxation
7:30 pm Evening prayer service and dinner
8:30 pm Evening activities

Excursions

During their stay at the Ionian Village, campers make excursions about every other day to religious and cultural sites of Greece. Destinations include:

  • Ancient Olympia
  • Zakynthos
  • Kefalonia
  • Kastro Klemoutsi
  • The Village of Kalavrita
  • Metsevoe
  • Meteora
  • Aegina
  • Athens
  • Syntagma
  • Monostirakis, Plaka, Mitropoli

Arts and Crafts

Our talented Arts and Crafts staff design various activities for participants to create items to take home, to learn creative skills and techniques, and to learn more about Greece and Orthodoxy through art. Participants may choose from a variety of projects including watercolor painting, bracelet and necklace design, "worry bead" creation, clay sculpture, icon painting, and much more.

Athletics

Engage in various games and sports like tennis, volleyball, basketball, ping-pong, softball, football, soccer, and swimming, to name a few.

IV Olympics

Celebrate Greece's appreciation for sports and competition by participating in IV Olympics. Each cabin unites together to compete against one another in relays and traditional Olympic games, as did the first participants of the Olympics in Greece in 776BC.

Music and Greek Culture

In the Music and Greek Culture session, participants learn about the traditions, customs, culture, history, food, music, dance, mythology, and language of Greece. Activities are complimented by being in Greece, where participants will experience the places they learn about as they visit modern cities and villages, and interact with the Greek people.

Aquatics

A summer in Greece entails bright, sunny days, blue skies, and crystal clear oceans. There are plenty of opportunities for swimming and time in the sun while at Ionian Village. Our aquatics program is run by experienced and certified lifeguards and water safety instructors that supervise time and activities on the beach and in the large, Olympic-size pool.

Orthodox Life

Orthodox Life is a dialogue between teens and young adults and their Church. In these discussions groups, led by priests and seminarians of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, campers gather by cabin not only to learn about Orthodox Christianity, but also for the opportunity to share their own experiences. Campers voice questions and concerns about their Church, their lives, and the world in a loving, trusting, and accepting environment.