BY CHRIS SCHULZ
The Arts in the Park camp manages to pack a lot of creativity and fun into just one week. The Morgantown Board of Parks and Recreation (BOPARC) program, taking place this week at the Wiles Hill Community Building, is a chance for kids to engage more deeply with the arts.
Now in its 24th year, children ranging from ages 5-12 have the opportunity to learn about and engage in visual arts, dance and music.
“There’s so many different varieties of art. There’s music, there’s drums, there’s paintings, there’s sculpture. It’s awesome,” said 11-year-old Brynn Lewis.
A typical day at Arts in the Park rotates kids through five distinct arts classes in the morning, then takes them to the pool in the afternoon for supervised swimming. This year, kids will spend the week playing steel drums, as well as creating totems that embody their interpretation of the camp’s theme: “When I grow up.”
Kids will also perform in an informal showcase at the end of the week, presenting dance and music pieces that they conceive.
“Movement and music and art all go together, they’re all connected. Movement and music are innate in every child … we are letting them explore and create,” said music instructor Heidi Dunkle.
In previous years, the program has offered creative writing and drama components. Campers also had the opportunity to engage with public arts works, such as helping to paint murals.
“Everyone is supportive of each other and the environment is just overall positive,” said 11-year-old Emily Nguyen.
Arts in the Park has proven to be a popular program. What was once a small camp for 25 kids has expanded to have 65 campers.
“A lot of them are repeaters, they come every year,” said visual art instructor Sandy Cress, whose own son attended the program some 20 years ago.
When Arts in the Park began in 1995, “there wasn’t a lot of programming at BOPARC besides sports programming,” program director and founder Debora Palmer said.
“I was teaching in the classroom but I was seeing the constraints of a classroom: A lot of kids, not very much space, not enough budget. I wanted to create an opportunity for kids to become part of something bigger than themselves. That was the inspiration for it,” she said.
The program’s short length, just one week, is a reflection of the staff’s thoughtfulness and dedication to ensuring a quality experience for the kids.
“These are seasoned teachers, active in their profession. This is not somebody who’s just here for a job, these are people who really believe in what they do,” says Palmer.
Although Arts in the Park is full this year, interested families can also check out BOPARC’s Summer Arts Day Camp series, which still has spots available for some of its offerings.
Registration for 2020’s Arts in the Park will open early next March.
