It’s all your choice!
You choose 2 activities for the morning (called Instructionals) that run for 4 days. You then have the option of choosing 2 new ones or continuing with the same ones to keep improving. The rest of the day will be different for each person depending if you have chosen to take swimming, or language lessons .
Swimming lessons are for one hour every day. (Monday to Saturday)
For campers signed up to the language program, your group will meet once a day, either at 11h or 16h Monday to Friday. This way, you participate in all morning instructionals and have lots of free time!
For campers who do not take swimming or language, you will have the opportunity to continue improving your activity interests such as canoeing, sailing, tennis, archery, etc during the late morning and afternoon. Counsellors are on duty for each activity offered at camp!
Every afternoon, there will be different activity options for you to choose with your friends. Have an idea, suggest it to a counsellor and we will do our best to make it happen! There will also be cabin group activities planned by you and your counsellor.
We think it’s important for you to try everything at least once! Learning something new is a challenge, and it pays to keep trying. If you really don’t like your chosen activity, we will see what other options are available.
We do not guarantee that you will always be with your friends, because it depends what you want to do all day long. You’ll meet new people, all ages, from all places, and learn alongside them!
8 -10 campers live in a cabin with others of the same age. There is also a counsellor living in the cabin with you.
All cabins have bunk-beds, so you get to choose whether you get the top or bottom bunk! Each bed has a large drawer to store all your clothes and any items you bring to camp. Cabins all have electricity.
Washrooms (with low-flush toilets, wash stand, and showers with hot water) are very close to your cabin. Bring your flashlight for your nightly visit to the toilet!
The food at Wilvaken is great! We have three meals a day in our Main Lodge, plus a yummy afternoon and evening snack. All meals are cooked in our kitchen, and we are sure you will love them!
Cabin groups have an assigned table in the Lodge. You will sit with the other campers in your cabin, as well as your counsellor. Each member of your cabin group takes a turn acting as a “hopper” for a meal. The hopper clears the cabin’s table. One person is also assigned to set the table and make sure the jugs of milk and juice or water are replenished.
We plan our menu with our campers in mind. We want to make sure that you love the food at Camp!!
If you are a vegetarian or have other dietary restrictions, we will make sure you have everything you need. Make sure your parents tell us about your needs on your camper Health Form. In some cases, we may ask that you bring some substitute meals to camp with you. Our kitchen staff and cooks are happy to prepare them for you!
Yes! Your friend may be in the same cabin as you. You can put down up to 2 friend requests when you register for camp. We try to do our best to guarantee at least one of them is in a cabin with you. You will have loads of time to get together for activities during the day.
Remember! Wilvaken is a bilingual camp and therefore we plan to mix the cabin groups with French and English campers.
Wilvaken is a bilingual environment and for many campers it is a good opportunity to improve or learn the second or a third language. We have alternate English and French days where we encourage you to speak the language of the day. If you’re not comfortable speaking a second language, now’s the perfect time to try it out! We’re all here to make mistakes and learn something new.
We have had many campers over the years who learned their second language by coming to camp. Speak up! We’re here to help each other out. The more languages you know, the better.
If you cannot speak French at all, we encourage you to sign up for our language program. The lessons are all about playing games, and having conversations or developing vocabulary in a second language.
Wilvaken has a basic vocabulary list for you to learn. You can download this list on our Documents page.
Yes! We organize all cabin groups to go on at least one camping overnight per two week session. There are times when the weather is not on our side, so you may just do an afternoon outing or evening meal outing. The overnights may be on our island (which is everyone’s favourite!), across the lake on the main land, or on our side of the lake off in the woods.
What a great experience to sleep under a tarp and cook over a campfire. You know you’re bound to come back full of stories.
Of course your family and friends can send you mail. We love getting letters! Give them our address:
Your name
c/o Wilvaken
241 chemin Willis
Magog, QC J1X 3W2 Canada
We also encourage you to write home. You’ll have time during rest hour each day to write letters to your family and friends. The mail goes out daily.
Your family can also send you e-mail at camp. Have them e-mail by using our Bunk1 e-mail service (Info on Documents page) and we’ll make sure to deliver their message to you! These get delivered at lunch along with the regular mail.
Campers do not have access to the internet at camp, so you won’t be able to send e-mails directly. We do have the Bunk1 reply forms that your parents can sign up for through that service. These reply forms will be sent out once a day as well.
The phone is also not available except for emergencies. Your parents may call to speak to the directors at anytime should they be concerned.
For all new families, we contact parents to give them an update of how you’re doing during the first 4-5 days of camp.
Cell phones and electronics are not part of the camp life and must be left at home. It’s community living, away from home, in a natural, outdoor setting. Take a break from your phone – and reconnect with the world around you!
Should you bring these items with you, they will be collected and returned at the end of the session.
It’s normal to be a bit nervous before and during the first few days of camp. Our suggestion to you is to practice staying at your friend’s place or going somewhere without your parents if you think you may get nervous about sleeping away from home. Talk about it with your parents before coming to camp. Think how proud you will all be when you live the camp experience. Don’t forget, your parents want you to have fun!
If at anytime you feel sad or uncomfortable, then remember that the counsellors are there to help you get through these challenges. We know that a big hug, and a marshmallow by the campfire can go a long way.
We will be updating our list of hired staff every summer through the winter months. Our staff are all caring individuals who enjoy the outdoors and are capable of teaching the activities they have been hired for. We have over 50% staff return , of which a number have done our CIT (Counsellor-in-Training) program the previous summer. Often new staff have been at camp as campers in the past and are returning to give back some of the goodness that was given to them as campers.
Our staff team are always so excited to share a camp experience with you!