Visiting Cousins Bursaries are back for 2026!

The Kings Landing Foundation (KLF) is a registered Canadian charity founded in 2014. It operates separately from Kings Landing and is run entirely by volunteers.  

The Mission is to inspire, support and enrich the vision of Kings Landing, preserving the material and social history of New Brunswick for generations to come. 

We achieve our mission by raising funds for special projects such as the Visiting Cousins bursary program and Slipp House, a restored 175 year old home on site at Kings Landing, that offers educational programs and experiences showing young people what life was like in 19th century New Brunswick. 

After almost five years on hiatus, Kings Landing welcomed children back to its beloved Visiting Cousins (VC) and Family Kin summer camps last year. 

Visiting Cousins is a summer camp program organized and run by Kings Landing, for children aged 9 to 12. A week at these camps allows children to don 19th century costumes and become part of the village. They attend a one- room schoolhouse, help with household chores, create crafts, tend to farm animals and learn from shop keepers. After a busy day, they return to Slipp House for supper, games, songs and theatre. 

The 2026 VC program operates on the following weeks: July 6-10, July 20-24, August 3-7, & August 17-21. 

The VC summer camps are very popular. The Kings Landing Foundation is pleased to provide bursaries so that seven children can participate in this fun and educational life experience.

The VC Bursary program supports children who could not be a Visiting Cousin without financial assistance. In 2026, students qualifying for VC bursaries are children from New Brunswick’s Anglophone School District West (ASDW) who are: 

• between the ages of 9 and 12  

• from families with financial need 

• recommended by their teachers. 

Teachers in ASDW can assist the VC Bursary program by: 

• recommending a student for a VC Bursary and  

• completing the VC Bursary Teacher Recommendation Form for each recommended student (maximum two students per teacher). These forms should be submitted using the link received by email from Kings Landing and should be submitted by May 21, 2026.  

Please Note* When recommending a student, consideration should be given to the fact that the child will need to be comfortable being away from home for a week and be willing to experience the food, work and play typical of a child in the 1800s.

The completed Visiting Cousins Bursary Teacher Recommendation Forms will be reviewed by the KLF Inc. Education Committee. Teachers will be advised by June 13, 2025 if their recommended student (or students) has been awarded a bursary.  

Teachers are then asked to collaborate with the parents/guardians of each qualifying student to complete a VC Registration Form, which will be provided to the teacher by Kings Landing. The completed form is to be sent by the teacher directly to Kings Landing by June 20, 2026. 

In appreciation for their participation in the VC Bursary program, Kings Landing will offer each teacher who recommends a student for a VC Bursary, a one-day pass to Kings Landing for use in the 2026 season.

It is essential that parents/guardians will be aware and supportive of their child’s teacher recommending the student for a VC Bursary. If the child is chosen as a bursary recipient, the parent/guardian must assist the teacher in completing a Visiting Cousins registration form which the teacher will send off to Kings Landing on the family’s behalf. Acceptance of a bursary implies that the parent will make a commitment to KLF Inc. that his or her child will be at Kings Landing Historical Settlement at the agreed upon date and time of the Visiting Cousins camp, prepared to stay for the duration of the camp. If, for any reason, a child is unable to attend camp after they have accepted a VC Bursary, the parent must inform King Landing Historical Settlement, AT LEAST ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE of the camp that their son or daughter was to attend. This will make it possible to offer the Bursary to a child on the waiting list. 

Parents or guardians of Bursary recipients are responsible for bringing Bursary recipients to Kings Landing and picking them up from the VC camp.

When the Visiting Cousins Registration Forms are received by Kings Landing, staff there will process the application and contact the family directly to organize the rest of the camp participation details. 

There are seven VC Bursaries available. A list of bursary alternates will be generated from the original group of recommended students. If a bursary recipient is unable to attend camp, a student from the alternates list will be contacted by Kings Landing as soon as possible so that the vacancy can be filled. 

Each VC Bursary includes a camp kit full of supplies for the student to use while he or she is at Kings Landing. The kit will contain: 

• socks 

• sleeping bag and pillow/pillowcase 

• backpack 

• toiletry items (shampoo, soap, comb/brush, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste) 

• towel and facecloth 

• water bottle 

• journal, pencil, pencil sharpener, eraser 

Kits will be presented to the Bursary recipient upon arrival at camp.