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With the school year nearing its end, students will soon be home for summer. To encourage creativity and a sense of community, the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts is offering four new award-winning visual art, S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics), music and theater summer camps. 

Campers in grades three to six will receive immersive, hands-on instruction from Arts for Learning’s professional teaching artists—dancers, musicians, visual artists, theater ensembles, and more—whose expertise allows the Suffolk Center to bring the very best instruction to campers. 

Arts for Learning, is the Virginia affiliate of Young Audiences, www.Arts4LearningVA.org. Register early and save $50, early bird pricing ends Monday, May 15. 

This year’s summer camp theme is “Creating Connections,” which weaves throughout all four camps. The arts are known to promote creativity, innovation, civic pride, so we are bringing that inspiration to our younger citizens. 

Using canvases, critical thinking, song, laughter and friendship campers will explore: “What makes you proud to be a member of your community and how can you contribute to it?” Campers will showcase their work in a community art exhibition and in special performances for family and friends. 

The Suffolk Center has partnered with Arts for Learning since 2013. 

“Our teaching artists have loved mentoring students at the Suffolk Center’s summer camps for the past 10 years,” said Anna Heywood Green, chief operations officer for Arts for Learning. “Our artists are inspired by the campers as they watch their creativity and talents flourish throughout the week—they can’t wait to see what campers will come up with this year.” 

Visual art camp, June 19-23 — In this week-long camp, students will explore a variety of artistic mediums and examine their roles as members of their community and how their choices in art and life can shape their identities. Campers will make art that contributes positively to their community, design works inspired by their lives, and participate in a community exhibition by having their work displayed in downtown Suffolk throughout the month of July. 

S.T.E.A.M. camp, June 26-30 — Sparking creativity and bolstering a deep interest in science, technology, engineering, art, and math, children will engage in age-appropriate, hands-on building to address community needs. S.T.E.A.M. camp engages campers’ imagination and problem-solving skills to build, code, design, and shape a better world. They’ll also explore music technology and engineering activities. This unique camp will provide young learners with exposure to 21st century skills including collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. 

Music camp, July 31-Aug. 4 — Campers will explore their voices to create individual and group songs that reflect belonging and connectedness. Through games, movement, and other activities, students will learn and review music concepts and skills. Students will also explore music technology to experience creating and recording music. The music recorded during this camp will be used the following week for theater campers to build upon and then perform in the final production. 

Theater camp, Aug. 7-11 —  Campers will discover the joys and challenges of working as a cast to write, design, rehearse, and perform an original production live or for the camera. Every session introduces campers to different ways of creating and sharing theatrical stories, while they participate in skill-building workshops in acting, costuming and makeup, movement, and design. At the end of the week, campers will perform their production for friends and families in a final show.

Summer Camp registration is $300 for one-week. Register by May 15 and save $50. 

The Jimmy Spain Educational Fund, offered through the Suffolk Center, has partial and full scholarships available for qualified students interested in attending summer camp at the Suffolk Center. Summer camps include all materials and provided snacks. Campers bring lunch and a beverage every day. 

The Suffolk Center is also accepting volunteer applications from anyone who would like to serve as counselors during the camps. Camp volunteers must be age 15 by June 1, and must be able to commit to a week-long camp. 

Enroll online at bit.ly/3I7iElp or call Rick Byrd, creative director, at 757-923-0003, ext. 107, or email Rick.Byrd@suffolkcenter.org. 

The Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts is located in historic downtown Suffolk, 110 W. Finney Ave.