AGBU Camp Nubar, Delancey, New York

Thousands of young Armenians from all over the world have spent their summers at AGBU Camp Nubar. Over the years, Camp Nubar has certainly undergone many physical changes. However, its primary mission has always remained constant: to provide youth with opportunities to experience an active, outdoor life full of friends and fun, within a safe environment shaped by Armenian traditions and culture.

The summer of 1963 welcomed Camp Nubar’s first season at its original location in Grahamsville, New York with Mr. Nelson Kazandjian Wilde serving as Director. With only a single boys’ cabin and two girls’ cabins, the site quickly became inadequate as Camp’s popularity spread throughout the Armenian community. Charged with the impressive task of finding a new, permanent home, Mr. Zaven Halejian led the search which brought us to the glorious setting that campers and counselors enjoy today. Thanks to the steadfast believers in the importance of Camp Nubar and the experience it provides to young Armenians, Mr. Halejian as the first Chairman of the Camp Committee, along with Mr. Don Donelian, Mr. Jack Antreasian, Ms. Arax Exerjian and Mr. Edward Mardigian as Chairman of the AGBU Central Committee of America, worked tirelessly to lay the initial groundwork for running a successful camp for generations to come.

In 1968, under the stewardship of Lifetime President, the late Alex Manoogian, AGBU purchased a larger site in Andes, New York. The new location, situated on 365 acres of breathtaking mountainous terrain in the heart of the Catskill Mountains, became the permanent home for Camp Nubar. Purchased from the owners of Camp Brydon Lake, it offered five boys’ cabins, five girls’ cabins, an infirmary building, a spring-fed lake and a huge barn that housed both the dining hall and a large multi-purpose activity room.

In a permanent home off of Fall Clove Road, Camp Nubar traditions took root. The Blue Devils beat the Golden Tide in the first Camp Nubar Color War in 1972. In the same year, St. Nerses Chapel was built by a group of dedicated CITs and blessed by His Beatitude Archbishop Torkom Manoogian of Blessed Memory. Campfires, canoe trips, counselor hunts, candlelight ceremonies, bunk nights and more became part of the fabric of the Camp Nubar Experience for generations of children.