The Estevan Arts Council (EAC) kept a lot of kids aged six-12 totally occupied for three full days during the school winter break. Their Art Action Winter Camp was focused on exploring different art techniques and mediums.
“It was successful. We had almost 30 kids. The kids enjoy it. They like to come and learn new art and work with different mediums. And then they get to eat lunch, which is always good. And then the swimming, they always look forward to the swimming,” said Melanie Memory, the administrative secretary for the EAC.
Besides swimming, young participants got to enjoy some yoga led by the OM studio instructors. There also were some gymnastics, dance and game breaks that allowed them to use up some of their energy, accumulated during art classes.
Two instructors, Denyse Halladay and Alysson Haukeness, along with three volunteers, Jayla Memory, Kylie Phillipchuk and Chelsea Brady, turned these full days into an unforgettable experience.
Melanie Memory noted that most participants they have are aged six-nine with a higher number of girls. They get a few kids who are 12 years old as well, but usually, there is less interest coming from that age group.
Teenagers also get involved with winter camps as volunteers. Teachers often try to get them to help and include in activities.
Camp days followed the same plan filled with different activities. Mornings have started with art classes. Two art teachers had different approaches. Halladay was helping participants to make dream catchers with fluffy pompoms through the entire course of the camp. The activity took almost three days.
At her classes, kids also had a chance to practise some math while counting and adding wraps to make sure their pompoms would turn out really fluffy.
At the same time, Haukeness allowed kids to explore different mediums experimenting with Q-tips, acrylic paint, masking tape, cards, watercolour, crayons, and markers and offering them different types of art practices.
With a vast experience in organizing winter art camps, it didn’t take too much for the EAC to put this event together.
“We’ve done it for so many years, so everything is a kind of pre-planned,” said Memory. “We partner with the city. They take care of the meals. And then we also rent a room with the library and the Nicholson Centre, so they know it’s coming every year and they know we plan the camp, so we always have that standing reservation. And then we work, of course, with our pottery room and our art room.”
The EAC runs one camp a year, and every year they have a lot of kids coming back to enjoy art and fun over and over again.
