Optimists Volunteers for Youth Reviews

OVY Camp is probably the most magical place I have ever been in my life. I have been to much larger, flashier, and well known summer camps in my lifetime and this one was by far the best. The saying do not judge a book by its cover ties in perfectly to this place. There is such a strong feeling of family and diversity at this camp. Unlike the other Summer Camps that I have been too you acctually spend most of the time outside with equal opportunities. At the other Camps we were stuck doing the same acctivities all day, every single day of the week. I was stuck with something I did not want and had to be there every single day. That is not the case with OVY. You are out doing something new everyday. And if you really like something you can always do it again. You also participate in many camp wide activaties such as a game of capture the flag in the forest on a huge piece of land. You make so many new friends at OVY and the food is great too. This is a place where if you want the best possible experience for you or your child, this is the ONLY place in the world to go.

My fiancee and I were set to get married here in October and were very excited but once the pandemic hit things really went south with the venue. We didn't get any communication at all from the venue until we reached out and were really never given any reasonable options. The first time we talked they told us we could either hope it all works out and that they would only give us a refund if there was a shelter-in-place order still on that day or we could move our date but we would have to not only eat the deposit we had already paid but pay for the deposit for the new date. As a result we continued hoping the pandemic would calm down and we would be good for October. Knowing we owed the rest of our deposit 3 months in advance we reached out to the venue a bit before that asking what our options were. Still they refused to really show any understanding or flexibility. We could either once again hope it all worked out (they wouldn't even give us a discount if we couldn't use the inside space - saying that was our choice...even if public health guidelines prohibited it), cancel and eat the deposit, or postpone and have to pay the new 2021 rates, which would cost us $2500 more. So essentially they gave us the option to hope it all worked out, with zero assurances or protection, or pay them more money because of a global pandemic we obviously had zero control over. I understand the unfortunate circumstances the pandemic has put them in as well but they are unfairly putting all of the burden on the clients. We had 5 other friends who were supposed to get married this year who were able to postpone without penalty. None of them can believe what OVY did to us. We decided to cancel and cut our losses because we felt we had really no other good options. We were either forced to roll the dice even further with the health of our guests, as well as with our money, or pay them even more money to postpone because of a global pandemic. Needless to say I wouldn't book this venue unless you are confident nothing will go wrong...which is hard to know these days.

On top of this they tried to sell the ridiculous options they gave us as being especially generous multiple times. At one point they bragged of how their cancellation policy was better in the 2021 contract...which did not help us. They also claim that the cancellation policy in the 2020 contract which cited "acts of god" as a reason for a full refund, did not apply to our situation. They also said they would "do us a favor" and let us book a new date a little more than 3 months before the wedding yet were going to charge us $2500 more for a date next year. Part of the reason we chose this venue was because we supported the cause but were very disappointed to see that the venue was trying to capitalize on a pandemic to make more money off of their clients when we had already paid them thousands. So considering the uncertainty that still exists I would definitely suggest finding a venue that is flexible and accommodating, I know we certainly will.

Even in 2020 we could still have a memorable and festive wedding. My wife and I got married on Oct 31 at OVY. We initially booked OVY as our wedding venue in Oct of 2019 and we were super excited about having the full weekend of coast exploring, lawn games, hiking, dancing, cabin time and shared meals in the great hall. Once the pandemic settled in we realized our plans needed to change and I can t express enough how transparent, communicative, honest, and helpful Matthew was during a confusing time. Matthew helped us re-envision our event to be in line with the current San Mateo County Public health guidance and restrictions. He worked with us to change our booking of the site to one magical day!

We were able to have an intimate and socially distanced outdoor ceremony in the redwood grove and picnic lunch in the bbq area, Also, we got great photos up by the oaks and down by the creek by @predophoto. OVY s masking policy was clear and effectively communicated, the bathrooms were clean and the site was beautiful. We are excited to return to OVY for a full weekend of celebrations once we're out of this pandemic.

Weddings at OVY - I've been planning weddings at OVY for a couple years now and each time I book a client who has chosen this venue, I get a little extra excited. I've come to know and love Matthew, the guy who runs the place, as well as the ins and outs of this one-of-a-kind, magical place. OVY is the perfect place for the DIY bride. It's also a great place for a full out production. OVY really lends itself to any couple and provides a beautiful backdrop for those forest/campy/redwoodsy/lodgey wedding vibes. Looking forward to many many more events at OVY!

This is my favorite camp and I can t wait to go back last time I went was so fun and the food was O my god love the kitchen staff

OVY Camp is a dream location to get married for the couple looking for an outdoorsy, DIY-style wedding. The venue provides a blank canvas to set everything up just to your preferences while providing a scenic, lush setting with all the necessary infrastructure to throw an amazing reception along with a full weekend of activities. Matthew, the venue lead, is incredible to work with by providing all of the help, support, and guidance needed without ever imposing or causing any stress. He was patient with all of our questions and tour requests, including the endless list of questions from our parents as well :).

We lucked out with sunny weather in a particularly wet spring, and we were able to make the most of it with the variety of spaces OVY camp provides including a vast lawn for games during the day, fire pits for day and night time bonfires, the cabins and Willow Glen for comfortable accommodations for almost all our guests, the beautiful grove for a picture-perfect ceremony, and the well-equipped Hall for the reception and to dance the night away. In all, OVY Camp exceeded our expectations, wow-ed our guests, and even had our parents impressed - it s such a magical place! We would absolutely recommend OVY to anyone dreaming of a camping, full-weekend of wedding fun.

My wife and I had our wedding at OVY over Labor Day weekend in 2019. Simply put, it was perfect. The venue is a kids summer camp, so it s a little rustic, and pretty removed, which was exactly what we were looking for. The only tough part was handling food and drinks, none of which are provided. But the venue more than makes up for this. It was great to have the place for multiple days, allowing us to have a big BBQ for friends and family the day before the wedding (turned taco party), and to have the on site cabins for more adventurous folks to stay in. We had plenty of people staying in the cabins and they had a great time.

Moreover, the venue is stunning. We had two ceremonies, one Indian and one western, and this venue was perfect for both. For the Indian ceremony, requiring more of a stage and requiring a place to have a small fire, we used the Amphitheater, which easily fit our ~150 guests (with room for more) and all the necessary parts of the ceremony. The Amphitheater was nicely shaded for the audience and not far from the main lodge area. For the western ceremony, we used the Redwood Grove in the late afternoon. The light filtering through the huge redwoods was absolutely perfect, there was, again, ample room for our guests, and there is an outlet and electrical system run out to the grove so our speakers and microphones were simple to run. We opted not to use the platform, instead standing in front of the small grove of three redwoods, and were very happy with it.

Finally, Matthew at OVY was wonderful to work with. He was a great resource as we were planning our events, and does a great job running the venue. It was a blast to meet and get to know him over the course of our wedding.

If you want something off the beaten path, and don t mind a little extra legwork, OVY is an outstanding wedding venue and we can t recommend it enough!

I went there for three years (this upcoming year being third) I've made so many friends I can't wait to see again