VERO BEACH — The end of school is near, but parents and grandparents who have not yet planned for the long, hot weeks of summer need not fear, as unique camping opportunities abound both on and off the barrier island.
Many Vero camps are not just designed to keep kids busy, but also to teach young people new skills, to imbue them with an appreciation for art, nature, drama or dance, to boost their confidence and even their physical fitness.
To that end, the Spring Fiesta at Riverside Children’s Theatre started off with a morning of typical end-of-year fine arts recital, but culminated in an afternoon of rollicking fun, magic and musical theater. Nearly 550 people attended the free event, which was designed to give the community a taste of everything Riverside Children’s Theatre has to offer – from acting and dance classes and student productions to summer camps and professional, traveling troupes of actors and musicians.
After a student recital came a free-wheeling comedy, Gordon Gumshoe Detective lit up the stage and enlisted kids to help the lead character solve the caper of the missing fairytale objects.
In-between the professional theatre troops brought in from around the state, Riverside Children’s Theatre’s own actors gave the audience a taste of the show they’ve taken on tour to local elementary schools this year. The performance of “The Noodle Doodle Box” gave students an idea of the types of roles and scripts they might one day take on if they, too, become a student of dramatics at Riverside Children’s Theatre.
Riverside Children’s Theatre Board Member Nancy Ross volunteered the entire day, working wherever needed, including the concession stand serving up hot dogs for the kids and parents, said the day was a success in that it gave theatre staff and volunteers a chance to mingle and tell families about the theatre’s many programs in a fun, casual setting.
“It was great because we got lots of questions,” she said, about summer camps and classes, from parents of future Riverside Children’s Theatre stars.
Anyone interested is encouraged to pick up a camp brochure. Summer camps start June 4 for kids 4 and older and the next major show at Riverside Children’s Theatre are Winnie the Pooh Kids June 8 to 18 and Disney’s Little Mermaid, Jr. June 17 and 18. For more information, go to www.riversidetheatre.com and click on the Riverside Children’s Theatre or call (772) 231-6990.
Four summer camps are hosted on the island, on the campuses of some of Vero’s most well-respected organizations – Riverside Theatre, The Vero Beach Museum of Art, St. Edward’s School and the Environmental Learning Center.
In mainland Vero, hundreds of children each year learn to become circus performers in the City of Vero Beach’s Aerial Antics summer camp sessions.
Christie’s Family Fitness and the Jungle Club offer camps to keep kids active and McKee Gardens’ camps get them outdoors exploring flora and fauna.
Summer is a chance for the whole community to get a taste of what St. Edward’s School has to offer through its External Studies program. Camp experiences run all summer and range from water camps and swimming lessons to academic, technology and sports camps.
“Children want to have fun during the summer months but they also want to experience things that are new and challenging. Whether it is our acclaimed water camp, our brain-food camps like Excel, the Mystery of Magic- camp, or one of our many sports camps, they are all things that children want to do,” said Beth Hurwitz, external studies and summer camp coordinator.
St. Edward’s has developed sessions to meet the needs of local families.
One program is the Jump Start Kindergarten, which runs the week of July 30 and is designed to get 5-year-olds ready to begin the school year. Preschoolers might also enjoy the Mommy and Me music program which meets once per week all summer.
Sessions run June 4 through Aug. 17 and cost between $100 for a half-day water camp to $450 for drivers education for high school students or $495 for the two-week Magic Camp for ages 6 to 12. Sports camps cost $100 to $125 for a week of training and competition.
For more information go to www.steds. org, call 492-2106 or 492-2113.
Riverside Children’s Theatre has some new programs this year, including the Second Stage Workshop of Just So Stories, which is a step up from the Beginning Stages camp. It offers a more performance-based camp for children who have been involved with theatre programs before.
The two-week Riverside Dance Festival intensive dance camp gives young dancers the opportunity to train in both modern and ballet and to work alongside professional dancers, who perform with students at the end of the camp.
“I think what makes our camps unique is our faculty,” said dance program staffer Adam Schnell. “We all strive to make sure that every single child who walks through our doors during the summer takes something away from the experience.
The Vero Beach Museum of Art’s weekly summer camp program begins June 11 and continues through the week of Aug. 3. More than 60 classes offer adventures for 4 to 16 year olds taught by professional artists and art educators.
Previous art instruction is not required for enrollment. Painting, drawing, photography, mixed media, ceramics, and more are included in the art-themed camps.
“Summer is an active time for kids – whatever your plan, remember that the arts develop creativity, critical thinking, communication and cooperation,” said J. Marshall Adams, the museum’s director of education.
On the north barrier island, the 64- acre waterfront campus of the Environmental Learning Center, campers get to branch out and dig deeper into the native plants and the critters that can be found in their backyards.
Through nature treks, games, scavenger hunts and lessons in the touch tank, campers get up close to the many different ecosystems found on the ELC grounds and surrounding Indian River Lagoon.
Older campers get to kayak, canoe and explore the area. Some camps include field trips to the beach or to points of interest like the McLarty Treasure Museum and the Barrier Island Sanctuary.
The camps are so popular that many elementary school-level camps are already full. Sessions run June 6 through Aug. 1 and run three, four and five days.
Camps cost between $55 for a half-day camp for preschoolers to $395 for a five-day sleepover camp for high school students. For more information, go to www.discoverelc.org to download the full summer camp brochure, or call (772) 589-5050.
For decades, it was known as McKee Jungle Gardens. Now it’s McKee Botanical Gardens, but its summer camps are the closest thing to a real jungle adventure in Vero Beach.
During camp sessions, students learn from the horticulture experts who manage the gardens at McKee and to get up-close-and- personal with Florida wildlife.
McKee offers two one-week sessions, July 23-27, and July 30 to Aug. 3 for children ages 5 to 9. Camp runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. The cost of each week is $200 and includes snacks, lunch each day provided by Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, craft materials and a T-shirt.
For more information, go to www.mckeegarden.org or call (772) 794-0601.
The Vero Beach Recreation Department has become famous for its Aerial Antics camp, which culminates in the Aerial Antics Circus each August, but the city also offers sports, aquatics and cheerleading camps at Leisure Square and tennis camps at Riverside Racquet Complex.
Fees range from $80 to $105 per week. Camps are open to ages 6 to 13. For more information, go to www.covb.org and click on City Departments and then on Recreation, or call 772-567-2144.
