If you’ve ever had the chance to spend any time with Linnea Good, you’d learn almost immediately that she is passionate about not just music, but about teaching music to children. It’s something that she cares deeply about and loves to spend her time doing.
“It just takes up so much of my thinking,” she said, “And so much of my passion.”
You’d probably expect a music teacher to feel this way, and most do, but it’s hard to find one with as much willingness to share that love of music around the way Linnea does.
“Nothing has made me happier in my life than music,” she said. “Why would you not want to share that?”
It’s why Linnea started her Summerland Music Camp here three years after wanting to do something like this for a long time.
“I’ve been dying to do this for a long time,” she said. “But we were touring and away for a long time.”
Finally, when life settled down for Linnea, she started her Summerland Music Camp.
“It’s meant to be an inspiration event,” she said. Something to help kids find out exactly what it is they enjoy musically.
This thinking lead Linnea to not just focus on one type of music for her camp, but to open things up to a wide range of experiences, both musical and non-musical, to encourage that type of creative discovery. The Summerland Music Camp is a week-long exploration of music and creativity that runs from July 24-28 and takes place at the Summerland United Church. It’s open to kids ages six to 12 and is facilitated by both adult and youth leaders who help guide kids through the activities. The theme for this year will be “Canada. Heart of the year.”
This year, kids will have a chance to learn about how to play the ukulele, which is Linnea’s instrument of choice, singing, hip hop dancing and art projects.
The arts section was originally brought in to help break things up, said Linnea, but she found that most of the kids at her camp were so interested in the activities that they didn’t need the break from the music. The art sessions stayed and this year, as part of their week at camp, kids will be putting together a mosaic similar to the Canada 150 mosaic that now hangs in municipal hall, only it’s going to be made from fabric.
At the end of the week, the kids will be performing at the Summerland Rotary Sunday Market around 11 a.m.
The Sunday performance is also when Linnea kicks off her ukulele fundraising drive for her next trip to India. This will be her third visit to India and this time around Linnea hopes to bring ukuleles to school kids in the Punjab region of the country. A $45 donation will send a ukulele with Linnea to India to help her spread music around the world.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the Summerland Music Camp or anything else Linnea is involved in, visit www.linneagood.com. There are still a few spots left in the camp and it’s an opportunity that is not to be missed.