By Kathy Collins
Children in the SouthShore area have great choices for summer camps at the Firehouse Cultural Center in Ruskin. The Firehouse Cultural Center will be offering seven one week camps. You can choose to attend one or all seven.
Campers are required to bring a brown bag lunch. Snacks will be provided by the Firehouse Cultural Center for morning and afternoon breaks. Each week culminates with a performance or a “show-off” for family and friends.
Children can be dropped off at 8:30 a.m. and picked up at 3:30 p.m. Weekly camp rates are $125 for members and $140 for non-members. The more weeks you select, the greater the discount. You can register by calling 645-7651.
Week one will be held June 20-24 and will be Acting for Stage and Screen. Campers will learn acting techniques for theater and film.
During week two which runs June 27-July 1, campers will explore a range of acting and music in Musical Theater I.
Week three from July 5-8 will help campers develop a stage presence through theater games, improvisation, costume play and storytelling in Musical Theater II.
Drawing, Painting and Printmaking takes center stage during week four which runs from July 11-16. Campers will use their creativity as they explore a variety of drawing, painting and printmaking activities.
Campers will discover the delights of making paper mache and artwork and crafts from everyday objects during week five. Arts & Crafts: Paper Mache to Mixed Media will run July 18-22.
Week six which runs from July 25-29 will be Cartooning & Animation. Campers will bring favorite characters to life and even create a few of their own as they develop basic cartooning, animation and storytelling skills.
Finally, week seven is all about Robotics. This is the only session, which runs from August 1-5, that has a $50 material fee. Campers will work in small teams to create and program a robot as they learn simple digital programming.
Georgia Vahue, executive director of the Firehouse Cultural Center gave an example of one Apollo Beach parent’s tribute to the summer camp; “My daughter did not know anyone when she started the camp week. At the end of the first day, she was bubbling over with excitement. The instructors did an amazing job.” Visit www.firehouseculturalcenter.org or call 654-7651.
