Classes focusing on creativity planned at Center for Contemporary Arts

Carl Kieke
·3 min read

The Center for Contemporary Arts in Abilene is looking for children interested in stage performance or various forms of artistic creativity. The one-week classes begin next week.

The first event, “Theatre Camp: Taking Center Stage,” will be July 17-21 from 9 a.m. until noon each day at the center, 220 Cypress St.

This event isn’t just for actors. The students will learn a little about the entire gamut of putting on a production. They will design a performance piece, create costumes and props and select music and/or sound effects. On the final day of the camp, they will perform their work for an audience.

Hardin-Simmons University theater professor Victoria Spangler will lead summer camp at CCA.
Hardin-Simmons University theater professor Victoria Spangler will lead summer camp at CCA.

Dr. Victoria Spangler will lead the class. Cost is $125 per student ($100 for CCA members) and includes snacks each day.

If your children, grandchildren, etc. are younger, they won’t be left out. There is another camp the same dates in the afternoons, with a different form of art provided.

Collage Camp will be from 1-4 p.m. at the center, geared for children entering first through third grades. Makenzie Bierma-Wheeler will lead the participants through the ins and outs of making a collage. Along with creating their own work, they will learn about contemporary and local artists.

Cost is $125 ($100 for CCA members) and includes snacks.

Want more?

The following week, Hollie Brown will lead Recycle Camp, also for grades one through three. Students will experiment with creating art using recycled products. Papier mache, cardboard collage and relief sculpture will all be parts of the program.

Classes will be 9 a.m.-noon July 24-28, with the same cost as the classes listed previously.Hang on, we’re not finished. There is still another program, this one for students entering kindergarten this year.

My First Art Camp” will have two two-day sessions, July 31-Aug. 1 and Aug. 2-3. Casey Chavez will lead the students as they begin exploring the world of art.

Each session will be different, so children can attend either one or both. Cost is $70 per session ($45 for CCA members).

You can register for any of these events at center-arts.com. Look under the “Events” tab to find the class or classes you are interested in.

And if art turns out to be a “thing” for your youngster(s), you might consider becoming a CCA member. The opportunity will be right there at the website or by going by the center.

Upcoming events

  • “Virtual Adulting 101: Car Maintenance” for Girl Scouts entering 5th through 12th grades, 7 p.m. July 17. $10 per Scout. Deadline has passed; contact customercare@gsctx.com for availability.

  • Girl Scout Night, 6 p.m. July 21, Girl Scout service center, San Angelo. For Scouts entering kindergarten through fourth grades in Girl Scouts of Central Texas Council. No fee. Registration deadline has passed; contact customercare@gsctx.com for availability.

  • National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, 102 Cedar St., Abilene, offers art activities each Saturday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at no charge. 325-673-4586

Watch the internet

There are many events (a lot of them virtual) you can join. Keep up at gs-top.org or gsctx.org for Girl Scouts; and at texastrailsbsa.com for Cub Scouts/Scouts BSA.

Contact Carl Kieke at 325-673-3552 (voice only); or kiekec@suddenlink.net. Deadline is Monday for publication the following Monday.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Classes focusing on creativity planned at Center for Contemporary Arts