After a whirlwind series of arts events that came with April, we’ve entered into a nice, fairly calm start to the month of May.
I’m sure it won’t last, but it’s good to have a chance to catch up with things and to get ready for the next great series of events and other arts-related things that are coming to Summerland (everything from live music to educational programs are coming up fast).
Before we get to any of that, however, it’s worth mentioning a nice bit of exposure that a group of Summerland artists got recently on the local Shaw TV channel.
Every year for the last 18 years, local artists and residents of Summerland have taken the time to help decorate the streets of Summerland by painting banners that go up around the town.
The Summerland Second Girl Guides have had the honour of painting these banners for the last few years.
I remember hearing about the banners, and seeing them, when I first arrived in Summerland and thinking that it was great that local kids were participating in the community art project and helping everyone see what a creative and colourful community Summerland is.
It’s always great to see young artists volunteering their time and energy for projects like this because, along with everything else, it helps kids find their place as creative individuals. Seeing something you’ve created on display, in any capacity, really helps encourage that creative passion to keep growing.
Thanks to those who painted the banners. It’s going to be great when they finally hit the streets. For anyone who hasn’t had a chance to see the Shaw TV clip, you can find it online. I did a YouTube search for “Street Banners” and it was the first result.
Even though it’s only just the beginning of May, it’s already time to start thinking about summer programs for kids, since they tend to fill up quickly and it’d be a shame if you found out about one too late to do anything about.
The first one I’m going to mention—and I’ll try and talk about one or two every week until I’ve covered most of them—is Linnea Good’s summer music camp.
This week long camp is aimed at kids ages six to 12 and introduces them to the joys of making music.
The best part is that, at the end of the week, there’s a special performance at the Summerland Ornamental Garden’s 100th anniversary. Much like the impact that is felt from displaying the art of young people, being a part of a performance like this at a young age can really help kids develop a sense of the power that music can have.
Sure it can be a little nerve-wracking to get up in front of a crowd to perform (I’ve been performing in front of people since I was maybe six or seven and it still freaks me out), but once you get going and make it to the end, there’s no feeling quite like it. You can find out more information about the camp online at www.linneagood.com.
Douglas Paton is a Summerland writer and musician. If you know of a local arts and culture event, contact him at dgpaton80@gmail.com.