Idyllwild Arts Summer Program, which began in 1950, returns June 16 for its annual eight-week session. The very successful summer of courses in the arts attracts 1,700 students aged 5 to adult. Offered are over 100 hands-on workshops in creative writing, dance, music, theater, visual arts and Native American arts.
One of the little known staples of the Summer Program is the hugely popular Family Camp.
Family Camp
Family Camp offers families a one-week immersion in the arts — eating, sleeping and creating art together as a family unit.
Summer Program Director Steve Fraider created the program in 1992. He said he was inspired by UCLA’s and Stanford’s popular summer family camps that focused more on sports and competitive events.
“Why not have the same kind of family camp but one centered on the arts and not have it be competitive?” thought Fraider 21 years ago. Recalling how popular both the UCLA and Stanford summer programs were, Fraider said, “I stole the best of both programs.”
Limited to 25 to 30 families, the Family Camp program was successful from its inception. “This program attracts a different type of family from the sporty types,” Fraider said. “Because of the kind of families who come, who are interested in and supportive of the arts, the atmosphere at camp is magical. What unites them is the love of the arts.”
The unifying concept of Family Camp is to house participating families and their summer course instructors together in campus dorms, have them take their meals together at the campus dining hall and bond, not just within one’s own family unit, but with teachers and the other participating families as well.
“It’s 125 people living, eating, playing and taking courses together so that everyone gets to know each other. You do your classes and activities together,” Fraider said.
Flexibility is the key, allowing families to find their way through course offerings, both as a family unit and as individuals. “There are some classes geared to younger children, like making a stuffed bear, that require using a sewing machine,” Faider said. “That’s the kind of course younger children would take with a parent, because of the sewing machine. Other classes, like stone carving classes for older kids, also need a parent because of the equipment used.”
The program is set up so that families can take classes as individuals. But he noted, “Almost every family takes some classes together.
“Family Camp is a boarding and bonding experience first,” said Fraider, that families come back year after year to experience. “It’s not typical of the rest of our summer program,” he noted. Besides families in tune with the arts, a special type of faculty member is needed who wants to integrate and share the creative and living experiences with participating families,” Fraider explained.
“We do have some of the most interesting people come to Family Camp — educators, architects, artists, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs,” he continued. “The atmosphere is so warm and contagious. For the right kind of family that values the arts, it is an experience like no other — very safe, noncompetitive with the highest level of instruction in the arts.”
The final weekend of Family Camp features a family talent and art show and a children’s musical. “It’s a wondrous experience,” enthused Fraider, who himself came to the program as a summer camper in 1965. Twenty years later, Fraider joined Bill Lowman and Bruce McMenamin in founding the Idyllwild Arts Academy and rejuvenating the summer program.
This year, Family Camp is from Saturday, June 22 through Friday, June 28. Fees, room, board, course fees and materials are based on how many are in the family and how many dorm rooms they occupy.
Summer Program Courses
Heather Companiott, director of the Summer Program’s adult arts center and the Native American Program and Festival noted an important change designed for full-time Idyllwild residents. Companiott said full-time residents would receive, this year for the first time, 10 percent discounts on all courses offered.
The theme of this year’s Native American Arts Festival is “Continuum.” The week runs from Sunday, June 30, through Saturday, July 6, and invites participants to view current social and creative actions as contemporary manifestations of ancient rituals and traditions, a continuum rather than old versus new.
The weeklong festival includes hands-on workshops, performances, lecture series, art exhibits and informal discussions with visiting artists, tribal elders and scholars. One lecture element of the festival examines contemporary fashion takes on traditional Native American clothing. From Monday, July 1 through Friday, July 5, there will be a “pop-up” boutique with some of these designs available for sale. Native American food tasting is available every day of the festival.
Companiott called attention to one class in particular of interest to Idyllwild’s quilting population — the acrylic ink quilting adventure. Offered from Sunday, June 30, through Tuesday, July 3, the three-day class explores fabric surface design using acrylic inks. Ultimately the fabrics that have been designed are incorporated, using free motion quilting.
For more information about the Summer Program events and courses, visit www.idyllwidarts.org.
