PAC camps offered Valley-wide

PALMER — Be it theater, art or band, the Palmer Arts Council is hoping its myriad summer programs will help your creative kid do what he or she loves to do this summer.

Scholarships are available for most — if not all — of them, and they’re held kind of all over, not just in Palmer. For more information or to register, visit palmerartscouncil.org.

THEATER

Camps for younger kids (middle school to 8 years old) run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Sherrod Elementary and cost $275 per person for each 11-day session.

• Session 1 — June 4-15

• Session 2 — June 18-29

• Session 3 — July 9-20

The council promises kids will perform fully-costumed plays and learn to memorize scripts, use their voices, move on stage, improvise, design and build sets, and run lights and sound.

The plays, and descriptions of them, are online. They include what the organization calls a “much wilder” version of “Little Red Riding Hood,” a play envisioning Mother Goose as a doctor called “Doc Doc Goose,” and one about a reluctant dragon.

Older kids this year can take advantage of a program aimed at high schoolers. The program runs eight weeks, includes two productions, and will help teens hone their acting and theater skills. For more information, contact Grant Olson at 745-5831, or info@thepalmerartscouncil.org.

FINE ARTS

The fine arts camp is divided into weeklong sessions costing $150 each. They’re held at Birchtree Charter School from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and open to kids ages 8 to 14.

• Session 1: May 29 – June 2

• Session 2: June 4-8

• Session 3: June 11-15

The council promises a broad range of arts to explore, including sculpture, drawing, painting and dying silk scarves and cotton panels.

The woman who does the teaching, Anna Folsom, teaches at Birchtree, which incorporates art into the daily curriculum. Student art will be put on public display in downtown Palmer.

MUSIC

Matt Swalling will direct the summer youth band, which is open to high school and select middle school students. The program runs from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Thursdays with sectional rehearsals on Wednesdays.

Rehearsals are at Colony High School from June 26 through July 26. Cost is $250 per person.

For younger kids, Charles Carte will direct the council’s summer middle school band. The band is open to all middle school students, including students finishing eighth grade.

The middle school band practices Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., at Teeland Middle School from June 5 to 29. Additional rehearsals and guest speakers might be scheduled. Cost is $150 per person.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.