Looking for a summer camp? Here are a few options — and an expo — in Pensacola to help

School will soon be out for summer, but parents, unlike their kids, won't be getting a full two months off from their jobs.

For many, that means finding something for their kids to do in the summer while they are at work.

Luckily, there are a plethora of local summer camp options to consider from "Princess Dance" camps to karate camps.

This year, the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce will be hosting an inaugural Summer Camp Expo.

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"It is really just kind of a opportunity to have a one-stop shop for parents who are trying to plan their summer, instead of just having to spend a lot of time on the internet or just going to different locations to sign up," said Todd Thompson, the chamber's president and CEO. "We thought this would be an easy way for parents to come to one place and get their kid signed up for the summer."

The expo will be held April 9 just outside of the chamber's main office building at 418 W. Garden St. It will feature booths from many summer camp providers and camp counselors for interested parents to speak to. The expo is free for the public. There is a $150 fee for vendors wanting to set up a booth.

In the meantime, here are five popular summer camp options in the Pensacola area listed below:

Summer camp at the Northeast YMCA

The local YMCA holds weekly summer camp sessions for kids all summer long, according to the Y's program director, David Kersey.

"We have what we call a multifaceted approach to summer camp. So, there is going to be outdoor field games, archery, kickball tennis, things like that," Kersey said. "There is going to be indoor games, gym games, volleyball, basketball and things of that nature pretty much of a daily basis."

Camps feature science, math, technology, arts and crafts activities on a daily basis, and campers will have access to the Vickrey Center's virtual reality game room and computer lab.

"The things that we are most proud is that we are doing a literacy program this summer," Kersey said. "Kids will take a lot of time to read in a one-on-one or one-on-two setting with volunteers, and we support literacy through that way."

Visit the YMCA's website at ymcanwfl.org for dates and pricing options.

OVERTURE | Summer Opera Camp

The Pensacola Opera has been providing the opportunity for children to learn the basics of stage craft, acting and singing for over 10 years with its summer camp, said Cody Martin, the director of education for Pensacola Opera.

"The format of the camp is that the kids show up on Monday, and they audition for roles," Martin said.

Throughout the following week, campers put on "a more or less" full production of an adapted performance and take the stage to show off their newly learned skills on the camp's last Friday.

"Throughout the week, they learn their roles. They learn their lines. They learn their song. They help kind of decide what costumes they are going to wear," Martin said.

Campers between the ages of 8 and 13 are welcome to sign up.

Visit the Pensacola Opera's website at pensacolaopera.com for dates and pricing options.

Pins and Pals Bowling Camp

Who doesn't like bowling?

Cordova Lanes will be offering a summer camp this year teaching kids how to become greats of the sport.

Cordova Lanes office manager Terri Wilaby said bowling instructors will teach campers the ins-and-outs of bowling, right down to how to identify different bowling pins by their technical names

"They teach scorekeeping. They teach how to do the approach. They show the delivery of the ball," Wilaby said. "They can do right-handed, left-handed or two-handed, which is the new up-and-coming thing.”

Campers will also get a chance to tour the back of the alley to explore how the machines that collect and reset the bowling pins operate.

"And it wraps up on Friday with a nice little pizza party and a completion certificate," Wilaby said.

Visit the Cordova Lanes' website at cordovalanes.com for dates and pricing options.

Summer Camps at UWF

This year, the University of West Florida will be offering 60 individual camps covering approximately 35 different themes, said Valerie Taylor, associate director for UWF Continuing Education.

"We offer weeklong academic enrichment summer camps. Every week is a different theme," Taylor said. "A lot of them are theme based, but we also have musical theater as well as art camps.

"So, we have themes from Lego robotics for first and second graders to engineering and automation camps for 11th and 12th grade high schoolers, as well as theme camps where we do a cross curriculum," she continued. "We do American Girl doll themes and Harry Potter themes and just all kinds of stuff like that."

UWF even has camps taught by college professors that are themed after specific departments.

"We have an archaeology and anthropology camp taught through that department," Taylor said. "The Department of Engineering does two middle and high school camps for engineering as well."

One of the most popular choices for parents is UWF's Lego Robotics camp.

Another popular choice is the UWF Marine Science camp.

"We also have a marine science program that we do out at Gulf Breeze Elementary School, and that is also a very in-demand camp," Taylor said. "We teach marine science, and we host it at Gulf Breeze Elementary because every day they take a field trip out to Shoreline Park and the water. The campers can go swimming, as well as get a first-hand look."

Visit UWF's website at uwf.edu for dates and pricing options.

Innerlight Surf Camp

If you grow up by the Gulf of Mexico, you might as well take advantage and learn how to surf.

Shannon Gardner, operations manager for Innerlight Surf Shop, said weekly sessions of the surf camp start as early as May 31 and are open to campers ages 7 and up.

"We don't have an age limit per se. One year, we had man who he was 78 and the camp was on his bucket list, and he signed up," Gardner said, laughing. "But I'd say the average is 11 or 12 year olds.”

At the camp, campers will learn how to surf, surfing etiquette and water safety.

Visit Innerlight Surf Shop's website at innerlightsurf.com for schedules and pricing options.

Colin Warren-Hicks can be reached at colinwarrenhicks@pnj.com or 850-435-8680.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Chamber hosting free Summer Camp Expo April 9