Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 2, 1994 TAG: 9405030003
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WENDI GIBSON RICHERT STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
It also means it's time for another year of summer camp. And, if you have an interest - in anything - chances are there's a summer camp for you.
Camps range from weeks-long stays in the rustic outdoors to just a few hours a day at your local museum.
There are camps for musical types, athletic sorts, studious breeds and roughin'-it-outdoors kinds. There are camps for the overweight and the asthmatic, the physically and mentally handicapped. All offer activities designed to keep you busy learning something new and having fun while you do it. And you still can eat ice cream and play ball at most of them!
Adam Stultz of Roanoke has spent his summers at Camp Bethel in Fincastle for the past five years. ``They have a lot of things to do,'' he says, such as creek stomping, hiking, and playing water games and ball games. And, he makes new friends and renews old friendships every year.
Because Camp Bethel is an overnight camp where campers live in cabins and eat in the dining hall, kids get to sit around camp fires and go for hikes at night. Living there also means campers don't see their families for a week or so.
Spending that much time away from home may make some kids homesick, and Adam says he was nervous his first year. But, ``I went with a friend and that helped. You stay busy - you don't just stay in the cabin twiddling your thumbs.''
Camp Bethel is approved by the American Camping Association, which means that it meets strict camping standards. It is sponsored by the Church of the Brethren, but campers from any church denomination may attend. (Call 992-2940 for information.)
There are many other overnight church camps in our area, such as Camp Alta Mons, sponsored by the United Methodist Church, and Camp Fincastle and Camp Hat Creek, sponsored by the Presbyterian Church.
And, there are overnight camps around here that appeal to other interests, such as music camps (Roanoke Youth Symphony Summer Institute at Ferrum College and the Virginia Tech Middle School Music Camp), horse camps (Camp Carysbrook in Riner), 4-H camps that offer a lot of activities in sports and crafts (offered through Virginia Cooperative Extension Service) and sports camps which offer instruction in your favorite sports (call area colleges to see what camps they offer).
You don't spend the night at all summer camps. The YMCA and YWCA in Roanoke offer day camps that let kids participate in many activities such as field trips, arts and crafts and games.
Museums also are a good source of day camps. Nine-year-old Simone Rowland of Roanoke attended a day camp last summer at Mill Mountain Zoo. Her father works at the zoo, so it was only natural that Simone would spend part of her summer with the animals.
``I really liked it when we got to help feed the animals,'' she remembers. ``I got to feed the pigs and clean up their poop!'' - something regular zoo visitors don't get to do.
Simone also went on nature hikes, learned how animals call each other, and saw how litter hurts animals' habitats.
The Mill Mountain Zoo camp meets for a few hours on weekdays. (Call 343-3221 for information.) Other day camps are offered by museums in the Roanoke Valley with activities related to their exhibits. Check out the Science Museum of Western Virginia for hands-on science stuff, the Virginia Museum of Transportation for camps about land and air transportation, Mill Mountain Theatre for theater arts camps and the Art Museum of Western Virginia for art classes and activities.
Another art camp in the Valley is the Beaux Arts Camp. This day camp has been around for 11 years, says Mimi Butler, the camp's director. Kids who attend Beaux Arts work with the visual arts, theater, storytelling, creative writing and music.
Roanoke's Stacey Black, 9, has attended Beaux Arts since she was 3. The ``nice counselors,'' annual puppet shows and art activities keep her coming back. And, ``you don't really get tired because you get a 15-minute nap time'' - that's important when you're imagining, creating and playing from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Butler, the director, says the camp allows kids to create anything. Campers write their own camp cheers and plays, make art, print camp newspapers and watch their art portfolios grow as they do. At the end of camp, campers perform and exhibit their works for their families at a gala picnic. (Call 982-3630 for information.)
Some kids spend their summers learning more about sports. They often do this at the many sports camps in the area. Some are overnight, but many are day camps that meet from morning until midafternoon. Area colleges offer many of these and you can call them for more information.
Nick Beazley, 12, has been to Roanoke's CORD camp for two years. There, he learns the fundamentals of basketball and special skills such as ball handling and defense. He says some pretty good players go there, so the camp is challenging, too.
Before campers leave CORD for the year, coaches tell them how they did during the camp. ``They just don't leave you hanging,'' Nick says. ``They tell you how you did so if you need to improve, you can do better. (Call 344-6624 for information.)
Price makes a difference when it comes to choosing a camp. Overnight camps tend to cost more, because you are fed and lodged at these. Some camps are very expensive, climbing into the thousands of dollars. But many are affordable, starting around $25 and going up. To help cover the costs for some kids, many camps offer scholarships that help pay the tuition. Ask camps how you may apply for any scholarships they offer.
For a listing of some of the area's summer camps and their tuitions, see the April 5 Extra section of the Roanoke Times & World-News. Many local libraries have the issue.
by CNB