About this event
The Essentials
- Dates: Monday, June 22 through Friday, June 26, 2026. A Family Night closes the week on Friday at 5 p.m.
- Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
- Place: Three Saints Park, 112 Miller Road, Bethany, CT 06524.
- Ages: Children 5 to 15. Children of all faiths are welcome.
- Cost: $50 per child for the full week.
- Register by: June 10. Sign up through the parish's online form, or call the church.
This is a week of day camp run by St. George Orthodox Church of Trumbull, a parish of the Albanian Archdiocese of the Orthodox Church in America. The 2026 theme is "The Heavenly Hosts." Drop the kids at 9, pick them up at 4, and on Friday the whole family comes back at 5 for the closing night. To register, fill out the parish's online form before June 10, or call the church directly at (203) 893-1721 and ask for Fr. Patrick Burns.
Getting There
Three Saints Park sits on Miller Road in Bethany, a quiet town northwest of New Haven. It is a 25-acre property in the hills, so plan to drive — there is no bus or train that reaches the gate. From the Merritt Parkway, the park is about 10 to 15 minutes north; from Route 8, roughly five minutes once you reach Seymour. Woodbridge and Seymour are the neighboring towns, and Route 67 is the closest highway artery. If you are coming from the Bridgeport or Fairfield side, build in time for the back roads once you leave the highway.
Parking is on site. The lot is unpaved and holds about 100 cars, which is plenty for a drop-off-and-go camp. The first morning will be slower than the rest — give yourself an extra ten minutes on Monday for check-in and the walk from the lot. If two parents are carpooling neighbors' kids, the lot makes it easy to coordinate a single morning run and a single pickup.
What to Expect
This is a faith-and-friendship week, not a sit-still classroom. The parish describes the days as a mix of fun, faith, friendship, swimming, games, Bible study, religious education, worship, and song. The grounds give the program room to spread out: a pond, two pavilions, open fields, and courts for basketball and volleyball. With 25 acres to work with, the day rarely keeps children in one place for long.
A typical day moves between active and quiet. Children rotate through games and outdoor play, then settle into Bible study and religious education tied to the year's theme, "The Heavenly Hosts." There is worship and singing built into the rhythm, and swimming is part of the week. The 9-to-4 schedule means a full day with lunch and breaks, not a quick morning session — children come home tired in the good way, having spent the day outside.
The week mixes ages 5 to 15, which means younger campers learn alongside older ones and the older kids grow into a bit of responsibility. Children of all faiths are welcome, so a child does not need an Orthodox background to fit in. Teenagers age 16 and up who want to help can serve as volunteers — the parish asks them to contact the priest for an application. For the 5-to-15 group, the week is theirs.
What to Bring
Pack your child for a long outdoor day. Bring:
- A swimsuit and towel, since swimming is part of the program.
- Sunscreen and a hat — the grounds are open and the lot is unpaved.
- A refillable water bottle and a packed lunch with snacks, unless the parish says otherwise when you register.
- Sneakers or closed-toe shoes for fields and courts, plus a change of clothes.
- A light rain layer in case a June afternoon turns.
Label everything with your child's name. Leave valuables and screens at home — this is a games-and-grass week. When you register, ask the parish whether lunch is provided or whether you pack it; a 9-to-4 day needs a real midday meal, not just snacks. For the youngest campers, a small backpack they can carry themselves makes the day easier on everyone.
Connecticut's Albanian Community and Why This Week Matters
St. George traces its roots to the Albanian immigrants who came to the Bridgeport region around the turn of the 20th century. The first Orthodox services in the area were organized in Bridgeport on Palm Sunday, April 12, 1925. The parish later settled in Trumbull, and its Queen Teuta Ladies Society — founded in 1931 — marks 95 years of service in 2026. A century on, the parish still gathers its children for a summer week in the hills of Bethany.
That continuity is the point of counting. The U.S. Census records about 224,000 Albanian Americans, while community organizations estimate the real number is closer to a million. The gap is people the official tally misses — a third-generation kid at a church day camp, a grandmother who never filled out the long form, a family that came through Bridgeport four generations back. The Census stays essential; the National Albanian Registry is the parallel count that runs beside it.
NAR is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Registering takes about two minutes, and it isn't an ID or a citizenship claim — it's a way to say we are here, and this many of us. You don't have to speak Albanian or be Orthodox to count. Half-Albanian, Kosovar, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Çam, second- or third-generation — all of it counts.
Family Night and the Close of the Week
The week ends with Family Night on Friday at 5 p.m. — a chance for parents, siblings, and grandparents to see what the children built over five days. Come back to the same Bethany grounds, find a spot at the pavilion, and let the kids show you the songs and the friendships from their week. It is the natural bookend to a camp that runs on faith, play, and belonging.
