Meaford locals will have something to celebrate this summer as the Municipality embraces a renewed focus on well-being through the arts.
Thanks in part to a $4,800 donation from the Meaford Culture Foundation, kids will be able to participate in three in-person art camps provided by The Imagination Studio and Karen Dueck. The Imagination Studio will run two En Plein Air (oil painting) camp sessions July 6-8 and August 10-12, where kids will explore and learn to paint natural landscapes.
Each three-day session will include guided instruction, mindful leadership, and intuitive play time, all while inspiring a young painting community and friendships that will last a lifetime. The brand new Creative Craft Camp will also run from July 19-23, run by local artist Karen Dueck. This week-long camp will be filled with activities and art projects repurposing unused and discarded objects from around the house – a perfect experience for an emerging environmentally conscious artist.
With parents struggling to manage their kids’ screen time and extended absences from friends, the need for arts and creative youth programming is especially pressing now.
“Families and kids have been struggling all year with the many challenges of virtual learning, and limited opportunities to socialize. That’s why the Meaford Culture Foundation is thrilled to announce today’s donation to help make these in-person summer art camps more affordable for Meaford families,” said Angela Forder, Community Outreach Director for the Foundation.
“We know that the arts are a wonderful way to channel our kids’ creative energy, and camps like this are very much needed right now to support their mental health and well-being,” said Emma Smith-McLelland, Recreation Services Coordinator for the Municipality of Meaford.
Summer Camp registration opens April 13 at 9 a.m. Camp details and COVID-19 protocols and guidelines can be found at meaford.ca/summercamps.
The Meaford Culture Foundation is a registered not-for-profit (2006) with a mandate to enable Meaford’s youth and students to realize their potential, sponsor unique arts and culture experiences and performances, and to fund capital improvements for Meaford Hall Arts & Cultural Centre, our heritage theatre and art gallery located in the centre of town. To donate to the MCF in support of this and other community initiatives, visit www.meafordculture.ca.
Photo:
Emma Smith from the Municipality of Meaford (bottom right) accepts a $4,800 donation from the Meaford Culture Foundation to help make summer arts camps more affordable for local families. Clockwise from bottom left, MCF directors: Angela Forder, Rod MacAlpine, Robert Uhrig, Bill Monahan, Victoria Yeh, and Ted Brown.
