Camera meets Camp Fair

I had a great time chatting with folks during Saturday’s Raising Arizona Kids 2011 Camp Fair — and snapped these photos to give you a feel of the day.

Most feature camps with a music, dance, art or theater focus — but sometimes camps with fascinating props caught my eye…

This charming critter, named Whopper, was a favorite with kids and grown-ups alike

The fine folks from VYT--whose upcoming productions feature a little boy named Alexander and a little girl named Annie

Apparently I got so flustered thinking about Bon Jovi, the namesake for a lizard I meant to capture in this photo, that I managed to miss the gecko altogether

Phoenix Theatre presents the mature-themed Avenue Q this month, but has plenty of summer camp fare for children and teens

Scottsdale Academy's booth offered dot painting for the many children who attended Camp Fair with their parents

Arizona Jewish Theatre Company offers Curtain Call camps for youth, and will soon hold auditions for The Rockin' Tale of Snow White

I got a lovely invitation to enjoy a bit of painting at the Carrie Curran Arts Studios, which offer a Young Vincents program for kids

Greasepaint Youtheatre was giving away tickets to their upcoming production of The Jungle Book

Keep museums like the Arizona Science Center in mind when planning summertime activities for youth

A mother and son moment at the Kirk's Studio booth

Camp Zoo brought fun props like animal skulls for their Camp Fair booth

Voices, a music and arts studio, brought along videos featuring student performances

Prescott Pines wins my personal Best Costume nod for this year's Camp Fair

If you missed the Raising Arizona Kids 2011 Camp Fair, just click here for links to participating camps — plus an adorable animal photo from one of our better photographers who actually manages to get the things she’s photographing in her camera frame.

Luckily, my son Christopher assures me that when I make my post-midlife move to taking big girl photos, he’ll help me find all the right gear and classes. Maybe there’s a camp for that…

— Lynn

Note: Click here to read a companion post about the Raising Arizona Kids 2011 Camp Fair

Coming up: Mommy musings on choosing an arts camp

Camps get creative!

Saturday I enjoyed my first visit to the relatively new Shea campus for 5th through 12th graders at the Tesseract School, a private school founded in 1988 — which also has a Doubletree campus for preschool through 4th grade students.

I was there checking out the many camps with fun exhibits, cool contests and nifty giveaways — and in an act of extraordinary self control, I somehow managed to walk right past the booths serving ice cream and Mojo yogurt.

I chatted with folks from all sorts of camps, but focused my attention on camps specializing in the arts — dance, music, theater and/or visual arts. You can click here for a companion post featuring photos designed to give you a feel for the day.

I was pleased to discover that several general camps who exhibited at the 2011 RAK Camp Fair include visual and performing arts fare in their many offerings.

In the All Saints’ “Summer 2011” brochure, for example, I found classes like “Vans Gogh,” “Write On!,” “Young Musicians,” and “Fractured Fairy Tales.”

While many camps were represented by their director or program staff, some brought along parent volunteers or kids who’ve attended their camps in the past.

Longtime Greasepaint Youtheatre volunteer Lorraine Kirkorsky was there with one of four sons who’ve enjoyed theater at Greasepaint (including the oldest, now in medical school).

Lots of camps used unique means to attract attention — from Wild West get-ups to reptiles. Also spinning contest wheels, furry little animals, videos of performing campers and more. I’ll share photos of some of those on Sunday as well.

At nearly every booth I explored, I found a story with an arts twist — reinforcing my theory that art touches (and transforms) every aspect of life.

The woman working the Pointe Hilton Resorts booth described how various family members have come, in different ways, to making art of one sort or another — promising to alert me next time her grown daughter with a flair for chalk art exhibits during First Fridays in Phoenix.

When I got home from the 2011 RAK Camp Fair, my 17-year-old daughter Lizabeth eagerly showed me a letter that had come while I was away. It was from an East Coast college offering her a generous financial aid package. (She’ll start college this fall but has yet to choose a school.)

I haven’t any doubt that it’s her many years of education in the arts and humanities — including her study of music and theater at Arizona School for the Arts and many summers filled with music, dance and theater camps — that has readied her to not simply stumble from the nest, but to soar.

— Lynn

Note: If your summer camp exhibited at this year’s Raising Arizona Kids Camp Fair, feel free to send photos of your booth for possible use in future posts.

Coming up: A director’s tale, Get a Q!, More drama in Wisconsin, Josh Kornbluth meets Andy Warhol, Favorite Oscar moments

Spring theater camp alert!

Broadway program at Scottsdale Studios

The little darlings will soon have extra time on their hands as teachers celebrate that age old tradition called “spring break.” So I say, why should parents have all the drama?

Plenty of Valley theater companies offer spring break camps and workshops full of all things acting, song and dance. Here’s a rundown of several options…

Chandler Center for the Performing Arts. Spring Glee Camp. Ages 8 & up. March 21-25. 9am-noon. $150.

Childsplay in Tempe. Spring Break Workshop. Musical Theatre: Jungle Book. Ages 8-14. March 14-18. 9am-4pm. $275.

Creative Stages Youth Theatre. Spring Break Camp. Ages 8-18. March 14-18. 9am-3pm. $150.

Scottsdale Glee. Musical Theatre Glee Camp. Ages 6-15. March 14-18. 9am-noon. $180.

Scottsdale Studios. Glee Camp. Ages 5-18. March 15-17 9am-4pm and March 18 4-8pm. $400.

Broadway Cabaret performance at Scottsdale Studios

Theatre Works Youth Works in Peoria. Spring Break Workshop. Ages 7-18. March 14-18. 9am-3pm. $199.

Valley Youth Theatre in Phoenix. Spring Camp. Musical Theatre. Ages 7-15. March 8-12 and March 15-19. 9am-3pm. $275.

Call or visit the websites for these groups to learn more about specific offerings, and remember that they also offer summer options.

Ask about whether specific items of interest (such as T-shirts, lunches, before/after care, audio/video recordings, audition training, etc.) are available, and whether they are included or offered at extra cost. Also ask about sibling discounts.

Scottsdale Studios offers a Spring Glee Camp

Additional summer programs with a theater twist are offered by Camp Broadway (a program of ASU Gammage), Curtain Call (the youth theater company of Arizona Jewish Theatre Company), Imagine That! (a program of Paradise Valley United Methodist Church), Phoenix Theatre and others.

To learn more about diverse summer camp options for Valley children and teens, attend the free Raising Arizona Kids Magazine Camp Fair this weekend — which features information on camps with themes ranging from sports to science.

Do your research now — and help your child make camp decisions on the sooner rather than the later side.  

Unless, of course, you need more drama in your life…

— Lynn

Note: If your local arts program (dance, music, theater, visual arts) offers a summer camp, feel free to send photos to rakstagemom@gmail.com for possible use in upcoming posts.

Coming up: From music major to English major, Broadway time travel, Diverse dance offerings

Photos courtesy of Scottsdale Studios