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Popular Congressional Camp still closed due to power outage

The storm on June 19 took out a transformer that provides power to Congressional Camp’s building in Lake Barcroft (via Congressional Camp/Instagram)

A popular summer camp in Lake Barcroft remains closed days after a storm took out its electricity last Thursday (June 19).

Though Dominion Energy has restored power to nearly all of the 70,000-plus affected residents and businesses, a handful of customers are still dealing with outages — including Congressional Camp, which shared on Friday (June 20) that the storm had taken out a transformer for its 40-acre campus at 3229 Sleepy Hollow Road.

Without power, the program’s day camp is unable to safely operate, leaders said in an initial video explaining the closure. The lack of air-conditioning is particularly an issue with extreme heat scorching the D.C. area this week.

“We know this might be really inconvenient for you and your family, but your child’s safety always comes first for us,” Congressional Camp said, thanking participants for their understanding during an “unprecedented event.”

Dominion Energy has been working to assess the damage and make repairs, but Congressional Camp confirmed late yesterday that its closure would continue today (Monday). In a message posted to Instagram this morning, the team stressed that it’s working with Dominion to get power restored “as quickly as possible”:

Dear Camp Families,

We are just as frustrated and heartbroken as you are that camp is not open today. It’s incredibly difficult for all of us, we know how much this place means to your campers, and we feel that weight deeply.

Please know that we are working around the clock with Dominion Power to get everything restored as quickly as possible. While this situation is completely out of our control, we are doing everything we can to make it a speedy fix.

As always, safety comes first. We’ll keep you updated with any new information as soon as we have it. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and support, we miss our campers more than words can say.

❤️ The Congo Camp Team

Congressional Camp didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. It’s unclear if the program plans to offer refunds to affected families or to make up the missed days.

The current day camp session started on June 16 and was set to end on June 27, with a scheduled day off last Thursday for Juneteenth. Another three sessions are planned on the main campus this summer, along with an “encore week” in mid-August and a trip to Lake Anna on Aug. 18-22.

Congressional Camp also operates a satellite campus at Sleepy Hollow Elementary School, where sessions are scheduled throughout July.

Founded in 1940, Congressional Camp offers day camps for kids aged 4 to 14, with activities ranging from math and literacy academies to Pokemon camps, nerf battles and basketball clinics. On-site amenities include a 40-foot climbing wall, a zipline, a gymnasium and an aquatic center, though there are also travel camps that take participants to other locations in the D.C. area.

Though it’s located in Fairfax County, readers of FFXnow’s sister site, ARLnow, voted for Congressional Camp last year as one of the top summer camps in Arlington.

About the Author

  • Angela Woolsey is the site editor for FFXnow. A graduate of George Mason University, she worked as a general assignment reporter for the Fairfax County Times before joining Local News Now as the Tysons Reporter editor in 2020.