If you’ve been wondering what to do with your artistically inclined kids for the first two weeks out of school then the new Effingham Council for the Arts may have the answer for you — summer arts camp.

The camp is open to children ages 7 to 14 and is being run in two, one-week sessions, May 24-28 and June 1-5, and will feature classes in several different forms of visual arts as well as instruction in piano and guitar, creative writing, and the production and performing of a musical play. Each class will be limited to 20 places and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Arts Council Chairwoman and camp director Marsha Lott is excited about the many creative opportunities the children will be given.
“I’m delighted that we have so many of our talented Effingham County teachers and professional artists working with the summer camp this year and hope to add more as the program grows,” she said.

Lott also said that they are in the process of talking to various businesses around town in the hopes that they will be able to provide some scholarships to area children that have a financial hardship.

She said this will be structured as a more intense immersion in the arts so the kids can have the time to “really get into it and learn how much they can do.” Lott said that her past experiences with the Georgia Southern ArtFest and with the AP Art program in Texas really inspired her to work to get something like this for Effingham County. She commented that the Effingham camp would be on a similar level with what Savannah College of Art and Design is doing and yet cost only half as much.

The Summer Arts Camp will be held this year at Ebenezer Middle School and will run Monday through Friday the first week and Tuesday through Saturday the second because of the holiday on Monday. The two weeks will be topped off with a performance of the musical play on the evening of June 5.

The Summer Arts Camp is made available by the newly reformed Effingham County Council for the Arts, a non-profit organization devoted to promoting the arts and art education in Effingham County. The group recently held a photography competition that was popular and very successful and is planning an acoustic music festival, capped off with a performance by the Effingham Community Orchestra.

The Council also will have two art tents at Olde Effingham Days Festival in Springfield in April and will show off members’ art works and provide hands-on arts activities during the day for the public.

For more information, e-mail the Effingham Arts Council at effartscouncil@yahoo.com or call (912) 228-2028.