Art meets water

Recently I learned that Shemer Art Center and Museum in the Arcadia neighborhood of Phoenix is presenting an exhibit titled “Seeking the Source: Water in the Desert.” It’s a collection of photographs by Bryon Darby and it runs through July 27.

I spent part of Tuesday afternoon exploring Shemer Art Center and Museum with my son Christopher after he finished a morning of volunteer work at the Phoenix Zoo. We used to live in Arcadia, and always loved attending their outdoor art festivals.

My daughter Jennifer, the best visual artist in the bunch, used to attend camp and classes at Shemer — but during my visit this week it was the adult art students I saw in action. Shemer is a welcoming neighborhood gathering place for folks of all ages and art abilities. There’s a class next week (July 18-22) for 10 to 12 year olds.

Ed Lebow, public art program director for the Phoenix Office of Cultural Affairs, presents a free public lecture at Shemer Wed, July 13 from 7-9pm. His “Following the Water” is a history of water in Phoenix. It’s a topic I find especially fascinating in light of recent heat waves across our own country and news of severe drought in other parts of the world — including Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti and Somalia.

We take all sorts of things for granted in this country. Water is one of them. When I viewed the works in Darby’s exhibit on Tuesday, I learned a great deal about how water makes its way to us. Looking at Darby photographs in one of the south rooms at Shemer, I was struck by the beauty of the machines that make it possible.

There’s plenty to enjoy at Shemer Art Center and Museum, including several pieces of sculptures, areas to sit and linger over conversation, and architectual elements of the house itself — which was built in 1919 and the 1920s. It’s believed that part of the structure belonged to the first home in Arcadia, a neighborhood developed along with the Arcadia Water Company.

Art and water have long been intertwined, and Darby’s work is a thoughtful reminder that both are powerful and precious.

— Lynn

Coming up: Musings on Bastille Day, A final wave of the wand, I-Spy: Sculpture

Happy campers, merry wives

From the Kids Love Shakespeare! website: Ursula, Hero and Margaret of Much Ado About Nothing

Before campers from Childsplay’s “Twelfth Night” summer class began last Friday’s performance for family and friends, teachers Katie McFadzen and Debra K. Stevens had them share a bit about the what they’d learned during the week together.

“I learned not to laugh at my sister,” shared a girl whose twin sister took the same class. The audience laughed, and one of the teachers asked how she did it. The girl explained that she simply acted as if the action taking place during their scene was really happening to them.

A boy noted that theater games played early in the week helped to lessen the “tongue-twister” effect of using Shakespearean language, and another camper talked about the poetic nature of Shakespeare’s plays — saying it was easier to recall her lines when she remembered that most of them rhymed.

Another boy explained what he’d learned about character development — explaining that changing how he walked and talked during his scenes helped him to be the character instead of merely act like his character.

A young girl talked about learning about the characters’ names. There’s “Viola,” the name of a musical instrument. And “Orsinio,” who delivers the now-famous “If music be the food of love, play on” line. His name, explained the camper, means “bear.”

From the Kids Love Shakespeare! website: Script for student production of Twelfth Night

One of the campers was excited about being able to enter middle school and high school with more knowledge of Shakespeare than other students. And all of the students did an amazing job of telling the “Twelfth Night” story with outrageous humor that really brought the play to life.

It made me want to see more performances of Shakespeare’s works, so I was delighted to come home to an e-mail announcing that NCM Fathom, Globe Theatre and Arts Alliance Media are presenting a four-part series of classical Shakespeare works (captured during 2010) in movie theaters this summer and fall. 

Event organizers note that “each performance will include a historical perspective on the Globe, the reconstruction process, the work of the Globe today, and a behind-the-scenes look at each production with interviews from the actors and creative team involved.”

“Shakespeare’s Globe London Cinema Series” starts Mon, June 27, with “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” Come August and September, movie-goers can enjoy “Henry IV Part 1,” “Henry IV Part 2,” and “Henry VIII.”

Those of you eager to enjoy a bit of Shakespeare in cooler parts this summer have a couple of options. A family at the Childsplay “Twelfth Night” performance told me about the Shakespeare Santa Cruz festival, where you can blend your Shakespeare with a bit of time at the beach.

From the Kids Love Shakespeare! website: Lysander and Hermia of A Midsummer Night's Dream

I’m heading with Lizabeth later this summer to the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, Utah — where we enjoy the cool pines and small town ambiance. We’ll be attending six shows in three days, and taking in our favorite local sights, like the the Groovacious record shop, which always reminds me of our own Hoodlums Music & Movies here in Tempe.

I’m eager to enjoy a related art exhibit while we’re there. The Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery on the campus of Southern Utah University currently houses both the “Southern Utah Art Invitational Summer Exhibit and Sale” and “The Costume Designers’ Art: 50 Years at the Utah Shakespeare Festival.” Admission is free and summer gallery hours are Mon-Sat 10am-8pm.

I’ve long dreamed of a similar exhibit of Childsplay costumes. But for now, I’m plenty content to just see the smiles on happy campers’ faces as they work their Shakespeare magic donning shorts and T-shirts with homemade costume touches like veils and liturgical garb.

— Lynn

Note: Images in this post are from “Kids Love Shakespeare!” — a website offering scripts for student productions, ideas for Shakespeare-inspired art activities and more. Click here to learn more.

Coming up: NYC in Scottsdale?, Nifty photo opps

Pardon my Pandora

Required reading for students at Arizona School for the Arts in Phoenix

First, apologies to my two daughters — whose time spent with Edith Hamilton’s classic “Mythology” was a source of much wailing and gnashing of teeth during high school.

Ask them about the evils unleashed when Pandora opened her box and they’ll likely tell you it was those heartless teachers who made them memorize the names of all those Greek gods and goddesses.

Mention the word “Pandora” to my college-age son and you’ll get an entirely different response — a detailed description of the Internet radio service that offers “personalized stations” thanks to something called “The Music Genome Project.” And yes, there’s “an app” for that.

Just last August, their blog boasted of Pandora’s “10 billionth thumb.” The rest of us have some catching up to do. I prefer being thumbed over thumbing, so it’s unlikely I’ll spend much time with the service.

Still, I was eager to learn of Pandora’s philanthropic efforts — in which they “team up with GlobalGiving…to support students and classrooms that are using music to make a difference.”

For some, a mention of Pandora’s box unleashes thoughts of evils that feel more personal. So it seems with some of the playwrights featured in this year’s Pandora Festival, taking place May 20-22 at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

The Pandora Festival hits Scottsdale this weekend

The 5th Annual Pandora Festival features “staged readings of selected new plays for women playwrights.” It’s presented by the Arizona Women’s Theatre Company, which is entering its seventh season of producing contemporary plays by women playwrights.

The festival opens this Friday evening with the first of two full-length plays — “The Fire in Minerva” by Larissa Brewington of Arizona. The second full length play, “Remnants of a Dream” by New Mexico’s Ruth Cantrell, will be performed Saturday evening.

Three one-act plays are being performed Saturday afternoon — “After Life at the Cinema” by Hannah Lillith Assadi of Arizona, “Me” by Maia Akiva of California and “Out of Focus” by Carol K. Mack of Connecticut.

Sunday’s line-up features a selection of ten-minutes plays, including several by Arizona playwrights — “Despair of a Cheerleader” by Shayanna Jacobs, “A Shared View” by Mary Caroline Rogers and “The Secret” by Kristy Westphal.

Other works being presented Sunday include “Firewall” by Rita Kniess Barkey (Montana), “Close Enough” by Kellie Powell (New York), “Jesse Rode a Bicycle Today” by Sara Israel (California), “Jinxed” by K. Alexis Mavromatis (Rhode Island), “The Procedure” by Diane Grant (California) and “Nephrology” by Sara Ilyse Jacobsen (Maryland).

We all deal with our own Pandora’s box, and I’ll pardon your Pandora if you’ll pardon mine. Maybe one day we’ll join the gifted women using pens to transform Pandoras into performance art.

— Lynn

Note: Click here for festival details and ticketing information. Click here to learn about an “Introduction to Myth Making” summer camp for grades 9-12. It’s being offered the week of July 11 by the University of Arizona Poetry Center, which has a lovely assortment of programs for youth.

Coming up: All hail the dancing queen!

“The Borrowers”

A cup of sugar. A gelatin mold. A casserole dish. Neighbors used to borrow such things from one another all the time. What we borrow changes, but the act of borrowing never seems to go out of style.

I’m guilty of borrowing all sorts of books that never made their way back to original owners, but I’ve loaned plenty of them too. Some books, like Mary Norton’s “The Borrowers,” seem too precious to share.

“The Borrowers” made its way to the big screen in a 1997 movie by the same name. The PG-13 flick, dismissed by some because of its sometimes crude humor, was directed by Peter Hewitt and starred John Goodman.

British actor Hugh Laurie, now known to most Americans for his leading role in the television series “House,” appeared in the film as “Police Officer Steady.”

Fond as I am of Laurie, I suspect I’ll enjoy Childsplay’s live performance of “The Borrowers” a whole lot more than the film. The Childsplay production, which opens April 30 at Tempe Center for the Arts, is directed by Dwayne Hartford.

“The Borrowers” was adapted for the stage by British playwright Charles Way. It’s the tale of a tiny family living under the floorboards of another family’s home — and the adventures that ensue when someone living below makes her way to higher ground.

“I try to create work,” writes Way, “that does not preach, that examines the pressures under which we live through story and metaphor, that is fun, sometimes dangerous, but always I trust, humane and hopeful.” Sounds like much of the work I’ve seen Childsplay perform through the years.

Childsplay presents “The Borrowers” at 1pm and 4pm every Saturday and Sunday between April 30-May 22. An ASL interpreted performance takes place Sun, May 15, at 1pm.

You can jump online in the meantime to learn more about the show, the actors and the wealth of Childsplay offerings — from school tours to summer classes.

And you can get your tickets to what I suspect will be one of the Valley’s most creative shindigs of the season — the May 6 “Childsplay Celebrates Its Greatest Hits” gala designed to support the company’s many arts-in-education programs, which “serve one in five Arizona school children each year.”

Let your toddlers borrow the pots and pans. Let your preschoolers borrow the lipstick and high heels. Let your teens borrow the car.

But give your children the things that really matter. Imagination. Dreams. Adventure. Curiosity. They’re all waiting for you at Childsplay.

— Lynn

Note: Click here to learn how your children can experience a tour of “The Borrowers” set — and how your family can enjoy a workshop exploring the secrets of shadow theater with visual effects artist Andrés Alcalá (you’ll learn to create and use shadow puppets — and even take home your own shadow theater).

Coming up: Whatever works

Shakespeare for all ages

Kids of all ages enjoyed these performers from The Greenshow-Scottish Night during last summer's Utah Shakespeare Festival (Photo: Lynn Trimble)

While Lizabeth and I attended the Utah Shakespeare Festival last summer, we spent most evenings at something called “The Greenshow” — an outdoor performance of song, dance and comedy attended by festival guests and neighboring families whose children enjoy the lively entertainment and festive feel of the event.

Too often it’s assumed that the works of Shakespeare have little appeal to children — but Lizabeth, now 17, caught the Shakespeare bug several years ago thanks to a Childsplay summer camp with a Shakespeare theme. Valley children ages 8 to 12 will have a similar opportunity this summer as Childsplay Summer Academy 2011 presents “Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night” June 20-24 at their “Campus for Imagination and Wonder” in Tempe.

For teens (16 +) and adults, Verve Studios in Phoenix is offering a four-week intensive titled “Shakespeare Boot Camp” designed to “introduce actors to the language of the Bard in a practical, fun and entertaining way” while preparing them for auditions involving Shakespeare material. The class, which runs 9am-noon each Saturday in April, will be taught by Katherine Stewart, artistic director for Desert Rose Theatre.

Students accepted into the Scottsdale Conservatory Theatre, headed by Randy Messersmith (director of the SCC theatre arts department), enjoy five weeks of intense training in classical and contemporary theater — including Shakespeare. Conservatory auditions (by appointment only) take place Sat, April 2 — and classes (held four days a week) begin May 31. Lizabeth enjoyed training with Randy Messersmith, Maren Maclean, Boyd Branch and others during last summer’s conservatory.

She’s now nearing the final stages of making her choice of where to attend college or conservatory next year. She’s waiting to hear from one final school — but has been notified of her acceptance by all the rest. “There are students,” shared one of her teachers, “who would kill to be in her shoes.” (I’m wondering whether they’d be as excited to wear her purposely mismatched socks.)

Cast member from The Greenshow 2010 interacts with a young girl from Cedar City (Photo: Lynn Trimble)

Lizabeth has also taken classes through the Utah Shakespeare Festival — which has youth offerings this summer that include “Playmakers” (students 8-16), “Shakespeare for Junior Actors,” “Acting I” (students 16+), “Acting II” (students 17+) and “Tech Camp” (students 14-18).

Diverse offerings for educators include “Theatre Methods for the Classroom” (Elementary and Secondary options) “Acting for Directors,” “Tech Camp for Directors” and more.

I’ve no doubt that Lizabeth’s time studying, performing and witnessing Shakespeare’s works has fueled her love for both language and the craft of acting — and honed a sense of humor already sharpened by nature and life experience.

Other than a brief stint as one of the three witches in “Macbeth” during middle or high school (it’s all running together at this point), I’ve had little experience studying or performing the works of Shakespeare. But I’m an enthusiastic audience member who rarely misses an opportunity to see a live performance of Shakespeare’s plays.

This Thurday evening will likely find me at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts for the “Aquila Theatre” production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (they’ll present “Six Characters in Search of an Author” the following evening). Originally from London but now based on NYC, “Aquila Theatre” is described as “a classically trained modernly hip troupe.” Knowing that Lizabeth enjoyed a “Shakespeare and hip hop” class during the recent Arizona State Thespian Festival in Phoenix has me wondering if this is now all the rage.

I’ve also marked my calendar for a live broadcast of Verdi’s “Macbeth,” being shown in three Valley Harkins Theatres at 11:30am on June 13. I’m alerting you to this early because there are plenty of opera buffs in the Valley and these performances often sell out much more quickly than you might expect. Participating theaters are Arrowhead Fountains 18, Chandler Fashion 20 and Scottsdale 101 14. Shakespeare novices can get a good initial feel for Shakespeare’s wit and wisdom by seeing performances of “Macbeth” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Happily, we have our own Southwest Shakespeare Company right here in the Valley. They’re performing Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” through March 26, and open their final production of the current season — “Antony and Cleopatra” — on April 14. Those of you who get your tax returns out the door by then can attend unburdened by the cares plaguing more last-minute types. I say we all make that a goal — and get together in Mesa the evening of April 14 for a serious happy dance.

— Lynn

Note: Click here to learn more about “Shakespeare for Kids” from the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.

Coming up: Dance detours, Art books for kids, Valley theater companies hold spring fundraisers

Plays on Jewish identity

See Josh Kornbluth perform at the Herberger Theater Center through Sunday

Valley audiences have two chances this month to explore issues of Jewish identity through the medium of performance art — as two plays take to Phoenix stages.

First, “Andy Warhol: Good for the Jews?” presented by Actors Theatre through this Sunday at the Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix.

It’s a reflection by playwright and monologist Josh Kornbluth on a series of Andy Warhol prints that caused quite a stir when first exhibited in 1980.

The prints feature ten prominent Jews of the 20th century– including Franz Kafka, Gertrude Stein, Martin Buber, Albert Einstein, Louis Brandeis, George Gershwin, Golda Meir, Sarah Bernhardt, Sigmund Freud and the Marx brothers.

Kornbluth’s show is described as “an irreverent mix of autobiography, music, philosophy and improvisation.” It’s “a wide-ranging meditation on art and religion” that recounts, in non-liner fashion, how Kornbluth’s discovery of his own “Jewishness” was fueled by Warhol’s work.

Tickets for remaining performances are available for just $15, making this one of the best theater values in town. Perhaps Kornbluth’s musings will even inspire you to discover your own “artistness.”

See Michael Kary, Ben Tyler and Andrea Dovner perform with Arizona Jewish Theatre Company starting March 24 (Photo: Mark Gluckman)

Second, “My Name is Asher Lev” by the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company presented March 24-April 3 at the John Paul Theatre on the campus of Phoenix College.

“My name is “Asher Lev,” by Aaron Posner, is based on a novel of the same name authored by Chaim Potok. It’s the story of a young Hassidic painter in New York City who’s torn between his observant Jewish community and his need to create.”

Themes include beauty, truth, ambition and tradition. Plus “difficult choices” — between “art and faith” as well as “passion and family.”

Both works consider what it means to be Jewish and what it means to be an artist — but by vastly different means. Seeing both, I think, presents a rare opportunity to explore the diversity and depth of modern-day storytelling.

— Lynn

Note: When you visit the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company website, be sure and check out information on their summer theater camps for youth. With any luck at all, Kornbluth will decide to do a summer camp for grown-ups.

Coming up: That’s absurd!

Chandler tales

I’ve long suspected there was at least one cub reporter in my midst. Sure enough, my 17-year-old daughter Lizabeth is showing clear signs.

Before heading out to the Ostrich Festival in Chandler Sunday afternoon, Lizabeth asked if she could take my camera along. We gave the battery a quick charge and off she went — with a couple of goals in mind.

First, to meet a young actor from the Nickelodeon television show titled “iCarly” who was making a guest appearance at the event — a plan she wisely abandoned after seeing the line that appeared to be several blocks long.

Lizabeth did the mental math, and soon realized that waiting hours for a few seconds of time and a quickie autograph was a high investment/low yield enterprise.

Second, she wanted to get her fix of cute (and even not so cute) animals. Ostrich races. Pig races. And sea lions clever enough to avoid the racing gig altogether. Mission accomplished there — and more. Think goats, cattle, emus, sheep, water buffalo and yaks.

Lizabeth came home eager to share her photos (which I’ve assembled for the slide show below). Many evidence her offbeat sense of humor. The photos of signs and a recycling bin suggest she’s been either channeling or mocking me. Sometimes it’s hard to tell.

I was impressed by her keen reporting of the events — and her wit in recounting them. Knowing attention to detail is important to the journalism craft, I asked her what types of food were available at the festival. Her answer was simple and plenty accurate: “Fried.”

I was sorry I’d asked when Lizabeth offered further details. Hot dogs on a stick. Pizza on a stick. Fry bread. Funnel cakes. Snowcones. Catfish. Even ostrich burgers. “That,” she quipped, “must be what happens to the losers.”

Apparently the pig races were particularly amusing — largely because the pigs belonged to various groups with names like “Hollywood pigs,” “Rock & pop pigs,” “Country pigs,” and “Political pigs.”

Seems one of the “political pigs” (dubbed “John McPig”) had a hard time deciding which starting box to enter as his race drew near. I’m told he tried the boxes of each of his opponents before wandering off, only to be redirected by a race official to his designated stall.

But alas, there’s nothing artsy about an ostrich or pig race — so check out some of these cultural events coming soon to Chandler if they’re more your style:

Chandler-Gilbert Community College Performing Arts presents an original CGCC production titled “Get a Life” March 24-27 at the Arnette Scott Ward Performing Arts Center.

The Chandler Symphony Orchestra presents a concert coupled with a food drive (as part of the 2011 Orchestras Feeding America program sponsored by the League of American Orchestras) March 27 at the Chandler Center for the Arts.

The East Valley Jewish Community Center (in partnership with the City of Chandler and Chandler Unified School District) presents a film titled “An Article of Hope” April 5 at the Chandler Center for the Arts.

The Chandler Children’s Choir presents “Summer Camp 2011” June 13-17 (for ages 6-16) at Tri-City Baptist Church in Chandler.

Enjoy your time in Chandler — and be thankful your kids have yet to come up with the idea of parent races.

— Lynn

Note: Watch the daily online calendar of events at www.raisingarizonakids.com for ongoing news of upcoming events with a family-focus in the Valley and throughout the state.

Coming up: Thoughts of Japan

A labor of love

Last week, after driving my college-age son Christopher to an appointment, I told him I was off to run errands. Bank. Drugstore. Grocery store. All the fun stuff.

I certainly meant well, but simply couldn’t resist the lure of the Scottsdale Civic Center as I drove past. There’s a library, a museum of contemporary art, winding park paths, a museum store, a performing arts center and restaurants galore.

If you can read this, thank a teacher -- and a librarian

I still had the Wickenberg Public Library, recently closed due to budget cuts, on the brain. I wanted to visit my own local libary, and pause a while to reflect by the giant quill and inkwell sculptures near the entrance.

View from a balcony that overlooks the corresponding ink well for this giant golden quill

The whole area — part of Scottsdale’s “Old Town” — is full of places for peaceful reflection. Think park benches, colorful gardens and calming water features.

Old Town Scottsdale is a no-GPS-required zone that's perfect for pedestrians

This was a favorite haunt when Christopher was first learning to take pictures

Plenty of tables and benches make this a great place to enjoy picnic meals or relaxed conversation

While walking through the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts (within easy walking distance of the library), I heard the cheerful voices of children — and soon followed the sound to a small theater where students from a nearby elementary school were about to enjoy a film about dance.

It was just steps away from the large open space where both my daughters have performed with fellow Dance Theater West summer campers.

There’s also a small art exhibit space nearby, the “young@art” gallery, which currently features an exhibit titled “Imagining Dance” — with sculpture, paintings, video of dance performance and more.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts presents dance on stage and on exhibit

Imagining Dance exhibit at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

I picked up a brochure for the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts to discover diverse dance offerings coming soon — including the legendary Merce Cunningham Dance Company.

Naturally I hit the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts gift shop on the way out (there’s another gift shop just across the sidewalk at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art).

Know any dancers looking for a unique dance bag?

The best museum stores offer serious and humorous fare

It’s a fun place to find teacher gifts, unique items for children and all sorts of arts-related fare — and I love shopping where I can support local arts and culture.

But my fondest memories of Scottsdale Civic Center involve adventures with my young children — reading in the children’s section of the library, taking pictures together of flowers and public art, watching performances by artists we admire.

My son was apparently very eager to explore it even before his late August birth 21 years ago. I felt the first pangs of labor while having dinner with my husband at a joint that’s since been replaced with an Indian restaurant — and walked for some time around the grounds hoping to speed up the process.

This balcony once housed the restaurant where I felt my first labor pangs

While the walking may have helped, it wasn’t a quick fix. I didn’t head to the hospital until later that night after my water broke and the cramping grew hard to ignore.

I’d chosen a small stuffed animal — “Big Bird” of Sesame Street — for my focal point during labor (the thing that supposedly takes your mind off the pain if you stare at it hard enough).

With Jennifer, our second child, I used a giant clock. The moving hands were more distracting than the stillness of a stuffed animal.

With Lizabeth, our last, it was the row of tiny buttons on James’ shirt (by then I was too busy to think ahead in the childbirth department).

But it occurred to me as I passed the giant LOVE sculpture at the Scottsdale Civic Center, that I should have used a replica of this work (I hadn’t yet discovered them for sale at the SMOCA gift shop).

This iconic sculpture sits on a lawn at Scottsdale Civic Center

As my children continue their journey through adulthood, I suspect these detours to the places we’ve so often enjoyed together will happen more and more often.

Labors of love stay with us forever.

— Lynn

Note: The art teacher I met that day, from Zuni Hills Elementary School, recently got in touch with me — so I look forward to learning more about their art program.

Coming up: The fine art of friendship, Got graffiti?, Broadway tales, Copper rush, Three necessary things

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

A summer camp tale

Valley mom and dancer Kriti Agarwal has enjoyed summers in India, Dubai and America

Chandler mom Kriti Agarwal says she eagerly seeks local summer camps that will help her two young children “develop their social and mental skills.”

Agarwal recalls spending her childhood in India and her “formative years” in Dubai before coming to America to earn an undergraduate degree in business management and economics — and an M.B.A. with an emphasis in technology management.

“Growing up internationally in the Gulf,” she says, “I used to look forward to summer camps.”

Seems the appeal was threefold. Summer camp meant no more school for a while, gave Agarwal a chance to enjoy diverse activities and beat the heck out of “just droning to sleep in books!”

Her summer camp experiences included arts and crafts, sports and “personality development” (think public speaking, drama, elocution and dance).

The dance stuck with her big time. After training from the age of six in contemporary, folk and modern dance styles — and enjoying formal training in two traditional Indian dance styles (Kathak and Bharatnatyam) — Agarwal went on to start her own dance studio called “Kriti Dance.”

Enjoy Bollywood style dance during the Phoenix Suns half-time on Fri, March 18

Agarwal’s studio offers all sorts of dance classes for children, teens and adults — and her dancers have performed during several Phoenix Suns half-times.

Your next opportunity to enjoy a bit of Bollywood during a Suns half-time will be Fri, March 18. The game starts at 7pm at the US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix.

It just so happens that basketball was part of her many summer camp adventures — along with soccer, horseback riding and swimming.

You get the feeling while watching her dance (check her website for video) that she has the energy and flexibility to kick, dribble, back stroke and ride a horse all in one fell swoop.

While most of us are whining about Arizona summers, Agarwal recalls summers spent in the Gulf region — noting that “the only place hotter is the earth’s core, or perhaps sitting on erupting lava.”

Seems her many summer camp activities took place indoors, where fans and air conditioning were plentiful — thanks to the “scorching heat” she says the Gulf and Arizona have in common.

Still, it isn’t the heat that Agarwal most often recalls of her summer camp days. Instead, she reflects on the “positive impact” summer camps have had on her life.

The next adult/teen workshop at Kriti Dance begins March 6

Agarwal credits her own summer camp dance experiences with fueling a lifelong passion for dance — and hopes the summer programs offered by Kriti Dance will “instill confidence” in children and adults who’ll go on to explore plenty of new activities.

But what I admire most of all, truth be told, is her admission that ice cream was another summer camp lure.

It’s certainly at the top of my checklist.

— Lynn

Note: Click here to learn about Raising Arizona Kids’ 2011 Camp Fair

Coming up: More Valley dance delights

Photos courtesy of Kriti Dance