Culture & HERITAGE
ATHLETICS & ACTIVITIES
Lifelong Friendships
Camp Facts
St. Vartan Camp was born in 1979 with only one week of sessions and 32 campers in attendance.
Over the decades, the camp has been hosted at several locations, including the Canterbury School (New Milford, CT), Loomis Chaffee School (Windsor, CT), and the Marvelwood School (Kent, CT),.
One of the first Camp Directors was Rev. Paree Metjian, who served in that leadership role from 1980 to 1990,.
In 1996, the camp celebrated when Armen Nazaryan of Armenia won a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Olympics; the camp newspaper covered the story live.
Nancy Basmajian served as the Program Coordinator/Director for 12 consecutive years, from 1984 through 1996.
By 1986, just six years after opening, enrollment had jumped from 32 campers to 167 campers.
Over the years, the camp sports roster has included not just basketball and soccer, but unique camp favorites like “Slap Ball,” “Matball”, and “Dizzy Lizzy” competitions
The official camp songbook features an Armenian version of a classic nursery rhyme titled “The Ants Go Marching Meg by Meg”
Creative evening activities have always been a staple; the 2000 schedule included a “Texas Hoe Down” Carnival, complete with a rented bounce house
During our time at Marvelwood, the grounds were shared with boarding school students. One of those students was world renowned singer Lana Del Ray.















