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During the weekend of November 14-16, Ionian Village held its first camp reunion in over three years at Saint Mark Greek Orthodox Church in Boca Raton, Florida. For those three days, Boca Raton started to feel a little more like our beloved Glyfa Beach. There were morning and evening services, cabin devotionals, bus rides to exciting venues and shopping groups, delicious food, electric dances, and some fun in the sun at the beach.
The weekend started shortly after the blessing of the waters at the Embassy Suites on Friday with an evening out at Boomers, a local arcade and fun park in Boca Raton. There the dozens of campers who flew in and the 16 staff members in attendance got the chance to reconnect with friends (old and new) from the last three summers at Ionian Village. The opening night was filled with unlimited fun at the go kart track, mini golf course, laser tag arena, bumper boats, batting cages, and arcade. After all our tickets were redeemed for prizes, it was back to the hotel for devotionals where the kids (who were divided into their requested cabins) were able to have their first discussions on the reunion theme “Centering our Compass on Christ.”
The following morning we had Orthros and breakfast in the hotel before heading up to Delray Beach for a day out on the town. For most of the kids having come from areas of the country that had an Arctic Blast all week long, this day out in the sun was the perfect way to thaw out from the frigid temperatures at home. We had shopping time up and down famous Atlantic Avenue before enjoying a delicious boxed lunch picnic at the beach. The aqua South Florida waters were the ideal backdrop for swimming, sunbathing, volleyball, and even an impromptu Zumba class on the sand! Once we had our fill of sand and sun, we headed back to clean up for Vespers and the Dinner Dance at Saint Mark. At the church the campers and staff had a chance to venerate the relics of the Cross of Christ and St. Nektarios. Once the service was over we headed over to the Fellowship Hall where we enjoyed some of the tastes of Greece and then danced the night away like we were back at camp! After one more night of devotionals back at the hotel, it was lights out and getting ready for our last morning together at the Divine Liturgy.
On Sunday we all headed to Saint Mark for the morning. It was such a blessing to worship together again as an IV Family! Not only was it wonderful for the kids to get to see an exemplary parish in action, it was also a great opportunity to showcase the proud tradition of Ionian Village to all of the faithful of Saint Mark. After our dismissal from the sanctuary we headed out to the courtyard breezeway for a burrito-bowl buffet for lunch. One final breakout discussion with the cabins and the wrap up message from our clergy and reunion staff was all that remained, and then the kids boarded the buses to head to the airports to fly back home.
In what was a short weekend, we left Florida feeling grateful for the chance to reunite as a program, as friends, and as a family. All weekend long, we spoke about the importance of centering our focus and the course of our lives on Christ. Ionian Village has excelled at doing that for over five decades, and we were able to celebrate it in Boca one final time before shifting gears toward planning for the 2026 summer season. We are incredibly grateful for our Reunion chairpersons Alex Pirsos and Lygia Karagiozis for all of their hard work planning this event over the past 6 months. We also want to express our gratitude to Fr. Mark Leondis and his Family for all of their support, and the entire parish of Saint Mark for being such gracious hosts.
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