HVC Alumni

By our estimates, upward of 20,000 people have attended HVC since the Tiffanys brought their first group here in 1948. We are a varied group, some in our 80’s, some just out of kindergarten. We live all over the world. We came to HVC for many reasons ranging from a devotion to the arts to an abiding sense of the importance of an inclusive community. And we brought a range of experiences from our time in Freedom, Maine back to the “real world.” One thing is for sure, these moments at HVC have stuck with us and helped make us who we are.

Make HVC Possible for a Diverse 21st Century Population

Recently, Peter and Meg have broadened scholarship opportunities here. HVC’s Level Ground Fund (click here to donate) nourishes a diverse camper population by including those children who would not ordinarily attend summer camp:

  • Children of color from east coast cities.
  • Students in Waldo County, Maine (our home area.)
  • “New Mainers,” those whose families are recent arrivals in the U.S., Portland specifically.

HVC History

Alum Reunions! You CAN Go Home Again...

We know many people continue to hold HVC in their hearts, and so it’s time once again to create another instant community, share memories and celebrate a time that remains essential to so many of us. Hope to see you at HVC! ~ Peter and Meg

welcome sign

2019 Reunion Attendees

2019 reunion attendees

2014 Reunion Attendees

alumni reunion

2027 Reunion - Learn More and Enroll

  • September 23-26, 2027
  • Register anytime after June 2026. Early registration discount through Dec. 2026; pricing below.
  • Catch up on HVC these days at Alum Facebook

What Will We be Doing?

Enjoy the outdoors... Float in Ledge Pond, go for a canoe ride or zip down the waterslide… Visit the log cabin or other favorite places...

HVC Nights... Friday's will feature an old-fashioned contra dance... And think about something to share at Saturday's Pine Grove.

Other activities reminiscent of your time at camp might include: trail hikes, tie-dye, biking, music and art, a game of Ultimate and more...

View slides and videos, share photos and leaf through old yearbooks.

Come early... You might choose to enjoy the Common Ground Fair, being held nearby that weekend. See below for details.

Most importantly, the reunion provides a time to “hang out,” renew old friendships and create new ones across the many years of HVC’s time as a home-away-from-home.

pine grove lake

Reunion Food & Housing

HVC will serve ample healthy meals (Friday dinner through Sunday lunch) including a vegetarian alternative. If you or family members have food allergies or a gluten-free diet, you are encouraged to purchase and bring to camp your chosen alternative food items.

You will be staying in camper cabins; camp will provide basic bedding. There will be a few people per cabin. When you register, you can make requests to share a cabin with other alums. Groups of families, couples and singles will be housed separately.

Who’s Coming?

Hidden Valley Alumni from any year who are 21 or older. Expect to see people from the 1970's and 1980’s when Jay Stager directed the camp as well as staff and campers from Peter and Meg Kassen’s early years along with many recent alumni staff.

Children are welcome! Basic arts and outdoor programs will be available for young people. Children 7 and under must be supervised by a parent.

Here's a partial list of attendees:   Stay tuned!

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Registration and Payment

• $290.00 per adult ($240.00 before 12/31/26)
• $210.00 per child ($170.00 before 12/31/26)
• $925.00 maximum per family
• $100.00 per person – Day rate for Mainers on Saturday. Come for breakfast at 8 AM and stay ‘till the Pine Grove fire has dimmed.
• $80.00 per person - Arrive one day early (Sept. 23rd; see below)
• Children under 2 attend free.

Deposit: $100 per person

Pay in full by May 1st

Cancellation Policy: Deposit refundable prior to May 1st, 2026. 50% of fees refundable prior to May 1st, 2026. After May 1st, no refunds provided.

Come 1 Day Early - Enjoy the Common Ground Fair

Arrive on Thursday, September 23rd and join friends for an unstructured evening and day on Friday. We’ll serve basic meals Thursday night and during the day Friday.

Spend the day Friday at the nearby Common Ground Country Fair, home to amazing organic food (read a NY Times review) and “a grand celebration for spinners and weavers; woodworkers and jewelry-makers; drovers of oxen, horses and mules; and sheep herders and their dogs. Not to mention solar and wind power gurus, seed savers and worm-keepers, poets and fiddlers.”

Learn more at the Fair's Website.

Extra cost for early arrival is $80.00 per person; you’ll receive a one-day ticket to Common Ground on us.

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Alumni Reunion Details

  • September 23-26, 2027
  • Open to all HVC Alumni 21 years or older, their partners and children
  • Pricing and Registration – See below
    enrollment form

2023 Reunion

Send Your Camper to HVC

• Continue the tradition!
Let's talk about the coming summer.
• Alums receive a tuition discount.

"Appreciate all that you have done for the boys and for keeping the spirit of HVC so authentic and unique." - Alumni/Parent

Purchase HVC Swag & Make a Difference

Orbit to Planet Meg and pick up a T-Shirt, sweatshirt or hat with one of many cool historical artistic designs by alumni staff artists Leda Mast, Gabe Miller, April Durrett, Elise Willingham, Rachel Mayes, Curt Stager and others.

Oh how lovely T-shirt

Video of the '19 Alumni Reunion

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Reflections - Amazing 2014 & 2019 Reunions

"I have to say the biggest thing I noticed was that while I was at the reunion I felt no stress, pressure, etc. Everything was so comfortable, relaxed, fun, exciting."

"Being at camp this past weekend really helped me focus and evaluate the work that I do with children. And your loving words at Pine Grove about LOVE and the impact we make (though we might not ever know it) reenergized me. It took the fog right off the lenses through which I perceive the work I do, even when it is in a challenging environment. I am bringing a whole lot of Hidden Valley back with me into Boston Public Schools this week."

"The reunion was a revelation to me... Walking in on a younger version of myself was really neat."

“Thank you” seems inadequate. The reunion is an act of love and kindness on your part that humbles and inspires me. Through it, you have allowed people dear to but distant from each other to renew old friendships and to revive them. You have enabled people who never knew one another to befriend and truly come to love one another... I think love really is always around us, but I never felt it so palpably as I do at camp."

"The knowledge that generations of children continue to love Hidden Valley and be loved there is a source of comfort and celebration for me, and I think for all of us."

 

jay campers

See More

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Reflections on HVC

"My time at HVC continues to inspire my ability to relate to individuals from around the globe."
- HVC Alum

"At times in my memory I still climb the hill overlooking the camp and stare out at the beauty of the land."
- HVC Alum

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