For the ninth consecutive year, Durham College’s School of Continuing Education will welcome an anticipated 300 youth, ages seven to 17 to its Oshawa campus for its Youth Summer Camps.

Designed to appeal to artistic youth the camps provide a wonderful outlet for creative, insightful, and musical kids with options such as School of Rock n’ Roll; Advanced School of Rock; Sewing; Photography; Photoshop; and Moviemaking.  

“There is something for everyone,” said Laurel Kimball, camp co-ordinator. “In addition to being a fun week, these camps offer youth the opportunity to learn new skills and build new friendships,” Kimball added.

The School of Rock n’ Roll provides youth the opportunity to create their very own music. Beginner rockers learn how to play guitar, bass, drums and keyboards while those with an existing musical background work to improve their skills under the guidance of talented counsellors. Campers learn what it’s like to be a musician and participate in a photo shoot to create their very own band and album cover. Campers look forward to the Festival of Rock at the end of the week where they perform in front of friends and family.

The demand for this camp has led to the introduction of the Advanced School of Rock camp for experienced musicians looking for the real band experience. Campers will fill their days writing music, playing new instruments, and see the culmination of their work in their final performance in the Festival of Rock.

Youth who like to use their hands to create physical art can find their fit with the Sewing camp, which allows campers to gain hands-on experience as they learn to use a sewing machine to assemble their own pillow, tote bag and other projects.

Photography camp is the perfect place for amateur photographers who want to improve their skills while capturing pictures in an inspiring environment. Campers are taught step-by-step how to operate a camera, compose photos, and even create special effects. At the end of the week, campers display their new art collection in a professional slide show.

Photographers can take their passion to the next level in the digital darkroom with the Photoshop camp. Campers begin their day on photo shoots designed to spark their imagination. Once in the photography lab, they learn the ins and outs of Photoshop through various tools and techniques to turn their photos into masterpieces!

Youth who enjoy cinema and film production will feel at home at the Moviemaking camp. They will learn how to write a script, incorporate sound and lighting, camera angle transitions, and using a DSLR camera, the soon-to-be Spielbergs can put their newly developed skills to use in the digital editing suite to create a short feature movie.

The weekly camps will run the weeks of July 9 through August 17. For more information or to register, please visit www.durhamcollege.ca/summer.