Looking for ways to fill those rapidly approaching summer days?
Burnaby families are in luck, because there is a host of arty options for kids on offer this summer.
I’ve done some digging and have come up with a bunch of art- and performing-related options for local families, but this list is by no means exhaustive. If you know of any other arts-related summer programs for kids in the city, please send me a note at [email protected]. You can also catch me on Twitter,
@juliemaclellan.
Without further ado, here are some of the highlights of what I’ve discovered so far:
Burnaby Public Library
Once again, the library returns with a bunch of options for kids and teens (and thanks to librarian Lise Krepsat McGill branch for making sure we knew about them). Of course, there’s the popular Summer Reading Club – this year’s theme is Build It, and there are crafts and “maker spaces” at all four library branches to get kids playing with Lego, dressing up as superheros, building marshmallow structures, making puppets and papercrafts and more. There are also board game days, movie matinees and movie evenings for families – plus, naturally, storytimes for kids from infant up to age eight. Check out www.bpl.bc.ca/events for the full roundup.
For teens, there’s Julia’s Studio, a series of workshops named in honour of Julia Nelson, former teen services librarian who passed away in 2013. This year, teens can create a Scribjab book, develop a storyboard, create a shadow stop-motion-animation film and learn to direct. See www.bpl.bc.ca/teens and follow the link under Programs.
There’s also Act Out!, a series of theatresports, drama games and monologue building – see www.bpl.bc.ca/events/act-out for the details. And, of course, there’s also the Teen Summer Reading Club, on the theme of Fandom. Check out these and more at www.bpl.bc.ca/events.
Burnaby Village Museum
Though not strictly “arty,” I’d be remiss not to include one of Burnaby’s favourite cultural destinations. Summer camps for 2015 include Outdoor Escapes (July 6 to 10, ages six to nine), Back to Nature (July 13 to 17, six to nine), Food Capers (July 20-24, six to nine), A Little Girl’s Life (July 27 to 31, ages five to seven), Dig It! Archeology Week (Aug. 4 to 17, ages eight to 12), Toy Adventure (Aug. 10 to 14, six to nine), Past Times for Girls (Aug. 17 to 21, eight to 12), Culture Quest (Aug. 24 to 28, eight to 12), Summer to Fall Celebrations (Aug. 31 to Sept. 4, eight to 12).
After-camp clubs are also available for parents who need extended care after the camps wind up.
Check out www.burnabyvillagemuseum.ca or the details.
Ice Cream Making
Are you saying ice cream isn’t an art form? Because I (and my nearly-three-year-old daughter) beg to differ. The Burnaby Village Museum gives kids and families a chance to try out good old-fashioned ice cream making, in the farmhouse kitchen, on Saturdays through the summer. Sessions run from 10 to 11:30 a.m. or 1 to 2:30 p.m., and it’s recommended for adults with kids aged two and up.
Pre-registration is recommended, but drop-ins will be welcome as space permits.
Check out www.burnabyvillagemuseum.ca.
Simon Fraser University
SFU offers a host of camps for kids on a range of themes – sports, recreation, education, aquatics, outdoors – and among them I found a couple of delightful options for the young performer in your house.
First off, there’s So You Think You Can Dance Camp, for eight- to 13-year-olds, running July 20 to 31 (Monday to Friday). There’s also Glee Camp, which offers up singing, dancing, choreography, musical theatre and more. Check out www.sfu.ca/camps for full details.
Staccato Music Studios
The North Burnaby music studio offers up a number of different options for summer, including a Rockstarz Camp for ages nine and up (pick any of four weeks in July), Dancing on the Keys group piano lessons for ages four to six, a Songwriting Basics class for teens, a Group Singing: Sing Out program for ages eight to 11, and private music lessons. See www.
staccatostudios.com. (Follow the link under Programs for Summer Session.)
4Cats Arts Studio
The studio has two locations in Burnaby: South Burnaby (www.4cats.com/southburnaby) and Capitol Hill (www.4cats.com/capitolhill). Both locations offer a host of summer camp options through July and
August on a wide range of themes – Into the Wild, Birdwatchers, Pixel Craft, Watercolour, Mermaids, Drawing and Manga, Bees Knees and more. Check the website of the location you’re interested in for the full range of dates, times and prices for these creative camp options.
Shadbolt Centre for the Arts
Naturally, this hub of all things arty in Burnaby has offerings for kids over the summer, with a full range of week-long camps for kids aged four and up, as well as teens.
To sample a bit of everything, try out the Summer Arts Jam, July 6 to 10 or Aug. 4 to 7, which gives kids a chance to try out drama, music and visual arts (separate sessions for six- to eight-year-olds and nine- to 12-year-olds).
Each week of July offers a range of individual programs, including Media Arts, Creative Dance, Young Tunes, Making Stories, Creating With Clay, Summer Dance Intro, Art Exploration, Pop Stars, Art Adventures and more. For teens, there’s a Summer Arts Studio, Teen Theatre Intensive, Summer Clay, Summer Dance, Summer Writing, Comic and Graphic Novel Making, Teen Photography and more. See www.shadboltcentre.com for all the details.
Artspace Children’s Art Centre
This North Burnaby arts studios offers summer camp options for various age groups (four and five, six and seven, eight to 10, and tween 10 to 13) that run the gamut of performing and visual arts, plus out and about activities in the afternoons.
Camps start the week of June 29 and run all summer long, with each week based on a different theme. See www.artspaceforchildren.com for all the details and to register.
Burnaby parks, recreation and culture
The City of Burnaby, as usual, offers such a wide range of programs for kids that I couldn’t possibly repeat them all here – there’s a huge range of both day and evening programs as well as full-day camp options. Offerings are available for everyone from preschoolers to teens.
For preschoolers, there’sClayPlay and Paint (starting July 7 and Aug. 4 at Bonsor), Summer Art Creations (starting July 11 and Aug. 10 at Edmonds), Drawing Through Reading (starting July 5 at Edmonds), Pint-Sized Theatre (starting Aug. 10 at Bonsor), Orff Music (starting July 20 at Shadbolt) and much more.
For kids, there’s Architectural and Environmental Design (starting July 5 at Edmonds), Drawing and Cartooning (starting July 10 at Edmonds), Nature’s Art Studio (starting July 27 at Charles Rummel Centre), Practical Origami (starting July 23 and Aug. 20 at Bonsor), Clay Explorations (starting July 7 and Aug. 4 at Bonsor), Letter Writing (starting July 20 at Shadbolt) and much, much more!
For teens, you can try out drawing and cartooning (starting July 10 at Edmonds), creative writing (starting July 27 at Edmonds), clay throwing (starting July 6 or July 13 at Shadbolt), theatre intensive (starting July 6 at Shadbolt), the spoken word (starting Aug. 10 at Bonsor) and much more.
The whole family can get in on some of the programs together – try out Young tunes 4 Families (starting Aug. 10 at Bonsor), Family Creative Drama (starting July 4 at Eileen Dailly), or Family Origami (starting July 23 and Aug. 20 at Bonsor).
And, for those looking for camps and camp-like experiences, there are also a range of week-long options that include performing arts, dance, visual arts, comic making, drawing, video game design, 3-D animation, music and video production and a whole lot more.
Safe to say you need to pick up a copy of the Summer Leisure Guide at a city facility, or check it out online at www.burnaby.ca (you can use a Flipbook version or download a PDF).
Burnaby Art Gallery
The gallery offers a range of week-long camps for kids, with a variety of themes for various ages (four and five, six to nine and nine to 12). Camps begin the week of July 6 and continue through to Aug. 10. Among the themes: Wacky World of Art, Sounds of Art, Outdoor ARTventures, Art of Abstract Painting, Drawing Basics, Modern Movements, Art Explores and more. There’s also a Teen Directed Studio for ages 13 to 16 in the week of Aug. 10.
Check out www.burnabyartgallery.ca or the gallery’s brochure to get all the details, or register online at www.burnaby.ca/webreg.
Well, if that’s not enough to get you started, I don’t know what is! And, as I mentioned at the outset, if you know of something else that deserves a mention, then drop me a line (email [email protected]) or catch me on Twitter, @juliemaclellan.
