Press Releases
Silver Spring Arts Organizations Collaborate to Provide Arts Programming to Assist Families in Need of Safe Summer Camps
For Immediate Release: Thursday, June 4, 2020
Montgomery County’s Silver Spring Arts & Entertainment District arts organizations have joined forces to assist families who are looking for quality arts programming for their children this summer. The alliance provides options for many families who are struggling with balancing the importance of social distancing while ensuring their children continue to have healthy social interactions and opportunities to enjoy creative and expressive arts activities.
With the health and safety of campers and families as a top priority, the Silver Spring arts organizations plan to offer a combination of safe-at-home virtual and in-person programming. These arts organizations will offer licensed summer camps, creative programming or summer jobs to keep children and teens occupied and engaged this summer.
From pre-K to 18 years old, trained and trusted teaching artists will offer live and responsive programs to entertain and engross a child's imaginative thinking. Most programs serve elementary-aged children, but there are also programs for middle and high school aged youth.
Since early April, the Silver Spring arts organizations have met regularly to discuss how to assist families who need safe childcare that is flexible, local and that provides an environment for children to thrive.
For many of the arts organizations that meant paying thoughtful attention to the mental and social needs of the students to address the isolation of safer-at-home sheltering. Several of the arts organizations such as the RoundHouse Theater, Ghandi Brigade and Levine Music expanded their current on-line class offerings to include an additional block of free time for the students to have more social interaction with other kids.
The necessity of abruptly changing spring classes from in-person to virtual programs made possible a ‘test run’ for planning successful on-line summer programming. The programs have developed effective strategies to keep students engaged and connected in the virtual arts experience.
Many of the virtual camps in Silver Spring are structured to be pick-and-choose virtual camp offerings based on varied interests and summer schedules. From dragon’s lairs to superheroes, improv comedy to songwriting, musical theater to dance, and filmmaking to digital and visual arts; the programs are designed to provide children with a variety of engaging arts programs.
Create Arts Center, if it is determined safe to do so, will expand programming to two locations of a more traditional in-person visual arts camp with weekly sessions. The in-person programs will operate with stringent safety precautions, extra cleaning, recommended social distancing and increased staffing.
Ghandi Brigade is offering a 5-week summer paid apprenticeship program. Writers, actors, filmmakers, and graphic designers age 15 to 18 living in Montgomery County are eligible to apply to create and participate in community service projects (virtually) raising awareness about COVID-19 relief efforts.
“Many children have been away from their classmates, family members and friends for several months,” said Silver Spring Regional Services Center Director Reemberto Rodriguez. “The arts organizations in our Silver Spring Arts & Entertainment District are bringing to life summer offerings that fill an important need within our community. Live streaming virtual camp, in-person camp, for little kids through to teens. Several of the arts organizations are offering free or reduced programming to low income families or children particularly hit hard by COVID-19.”
To learn more about the summer camp or summer program offerings in Silver Spring , visit the Silver Spring Arts & Entertainment District website at https://www.silverspringdowntown.com/summer-camps-2020 .
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Media Contact: Judy Stiles 240-463-2442