The Estevan Art Gallery and Museum (EAGM) has seen a good response for the summer camps it is offering this year.
Four weeks of summer programming started with the Art and Activity Camp from July 9-12. Arts and crafts met running and playing throughout the four days. The bulk of the activities were held outside, and some of the activities were messy.
The Art and Advertising Camp, which is offered through a partnership with Estevan Mercury Publications, will run from July 16-19. Participants will learn about the workings of the newspaper and advertising.
Children will also design an ad that will be published in the Mercury in August, and young people will tour the newspaper’s office.
“They will have time every day to focus on their ads,” said Broster-Paradis.
Participants will also look at print and comics in the fictional world, including comics and fairy tales.
The last two camps for this year are new. Forts, Flags and Fortresses will happen from July 23-26, and will feature activities focused on building, breaking and exploring.
“We’re making some really big flags, so I have four official-sized flags,” said Broster-Paradis. “So the kids will get to design those throughout the week and make them, and then we actually have the city coming down, as we’re going to make a little ceremony of it with parents, and we’re going to have the flags hoisted up on our flagpoles for the rest of the summer.”
The i-Magic-nation camp will run from July 30 to Aug. 2, and will allow children to make potions and wands, tame magical creatures and fly broomsticks in a celebration of fantasy.
This year marked the first time the EAGM has had camps for full days rather than half-days, and Broster-Paradis said it has been a positive move, thanks to a balance of physical activity and artistic time in each camp. It helps keep energy high throughout the day.
“We weren’t sure at first how it would go over, if parents would prefer the half day because it’s a shorter time span,” said Broster-Paradis.
During the camps offered for spring break in April, parents were lamenting the half-day schedule, because they couldn’t take half a day off from work.
“Having this full day is really helpful for parents,” said Broster-Paradis.
Now that they’re a full-day camp, the EAGM can provide better services to parents who have to work eight hours per day.
Most of the camps are full, and the final camp was so popular that it had to be expanded to 30 participants.
“It got so much attention right away, and it filled up so fast,” said Broster-Paradis.
