Kids are all too familiar with summer camps for sports, swimming and other recreation, but the arts — music, art and theatre — are what local children are exploring through a unique Bluefield College Fine Arts Camp, July 26-30.
Organized by the college’s Fine Arts Community School (FACS), the weeklong summer Fine Arts Camp for pre-schoolers to high schoolers is just one of several fine arts adventures scheduled by the college for kids in the community. Like all FACS offerings, the summer camps and classes are designed for the purpose of enabling children in the area to explore and study the arts with guidance from mentors who have appropriate training and experience.
“All kids love to create,” said Fine Arts Camp art instructor Sharon Altice, “but unfortunately in school you don’t always get the opportunity. It’s so academic, and you don’t get the time for things like this (Fine Arts Camp).”
During the morning sessions of the Fine Arts Camp, first through ninth grade students explored music. In the afternoons, the older children studied art and theatre.
“These kids have a lot of energy and enthusiasm for music,” said Fine Arts Camp music instructor Bryant Moxley, a BC assistant professor of music. “They keep you on your toes.”
The pre-schoolers spent their mornings participating in music and the afternoons learning and creating art.
“We’re learning about things in the sea,” said pre-school camper Samvat Yadav about his adventures in art class, “and we’re learning how to make fish.”
But, art was not the only fund for the pre-schoolers.
“I like art, because you can paint,” said Zayne Basham, a pre-school art and music camper, “but I like music the best, because we get to dance. It’s good exercise.”
For more information about Bluefield College’s Fine Arts Community School, including family discounts, payment plans and registration fees, contact the FACS office by phone at 800-872-0175 (x246) or 276-326-4246, or visit the Bluefield College web site at bluefield.edu/facs.