Camp Barrett was, as usual, a summer must for Valley Stream kids

In a village chock-full of summer entertainment events and activities, Camp Barrett stands apart. Generations of Valley Stream families revolve their kids’ summer fun around its seven-week-long outdoor program. This year’s program, as in past years, was a sell-out.

To be eligible, children and teens must reside within the incorporated village or the Valley Stream Central High School District. Among the droves who apply in any given year, some are regrettably waitlisted on account of limited space. But those hundreds of youngsters approved for a spot eagerly take to Barrett Park to soak in a boatload of fun from its in-house events and off-campus field trips.

Jimmy Fitzano, village recreation director, says several factors have lent the program its wide appeal and hometown cachet for nearly 40 years. First, there are the practical benefits to families.

“It cuts on the travel time that a parent might have to take their child to a camp outside of Valley Stream, especially if they working,” said Fitzano and the quality and variety of programs with an affordable price tag puts it on par with any other major summer camp program.

The winning formula of this summer camp fixture

“We try to do as much as we can to entice residents to stay and enjoy recreational activities within the village,” noted Fitzano. “The more we do here and the better we do it, the more reason residents have to stay.”

Never entirely satisfied with the status quo, the staff led by Camp Director Nicole Winter and under the supervision of Fitzano are engaged in a constant effort to improve the recreational experience from the previous year. They also tweak what didn’t work and build on what has.

“One of the biggest improvements we made about two years ago was we moved the registration process fully online so that parents don’t have to wait for a certain day to come down and register their child in person,” said Fitzano. The online camp organizing software, Campminder, allows parents to upload all the necessary paperwork via the online registration tool.

This year, the camp set up a 20-by-60-foot tent, roughly the size of a small basketball court. It is larger than in previous summers, offering more elbow room to bring in more campers. Kids were also able to play in the park’s newly refurbished playground.

But amidst trying to max out all the fun and ease the hassle for parents, there are also renewed efforts to keep campers and neighbors safe and the commotion complaints to a minimum.

Fitzano and staffers communicated, for example, strict ground rules around how and where parents must park, pick up, and drop off their kids.

As outlined in detail in the online handbook, starting at 8:45 a.m., cars can line up on Cochran Place and drop off campers without parking.

This is all done in the interest of minimizing traffic disruption and making sure kids are ferried in and out of camp smoothly and safely.

“We are we are in charge of precious cargo, and we never sacrifice safety for anything else,” said Fitzano. “Barrett Park is in the middle of a residential area and it can be a challenge because we do not want to disturb these residents’ quality of life.”

He continued: “Camp Barrett allows the parents to let their kids enjoy summer, have fun, get some recreational exercise, and they can go to work peacefully, knowing that the kids are well taken care of and cared for. That’s what we want.”