Campers Show-Off Their Creativity in Patriotic Parade

Patriotic campers, some sporting U.S.A.-themed hats much taller than themselves, marched for their parents Friday, July 9 in an old-fashioned Fourth of July-themed parade at the Arlington Center for the Arts.

Then, they performed circus acts, spinning plates, balancing feathers and juggling scarves, to name a few.

It was all the end result of the week-long, "Stars and Stripes" themed vacation arts program at the center, which has kids cultivate their creativity, according to the camp's education director, Adria Arch.

"We're really just trying to have them have a creative experience," she said. "We try out a lot of different kinds of activities over the course of the week, and it's all about doing, not learning how to draw or another end result."

The campers, about 40 in all, ages 5 to 11, take two visual arts, one circus arts and one drama class per day. Camper Robert Labarge, who will be a second grader at Pierce Elementary School this fall, said he liked the camp's open-ended teaching style.

"The camp teaches us about the feeling of art," said Labarge, who juggled scarves for his act Friday, "and then we get to express that feeling in different ways, through action and circus art and drawing."

"You get to do all kinds of different stuff," he added. "It's really cool, really fun."

Camper Peter Angotti, a rising third grader at Peirce Elementary, agreed with his fellow scarf-juggler.

"They let you start your own projects, which is great," said Angotti, wearing a tall Uncle Sam-themed top hat. "One day I started making animals out of pipe cleaners, and then everyone started doing it."

The Arlington Center for the Arts is a nonprofit that offers more than 250 arts programs on a yearly basis, many of which are free to the community. It is located on Foster Street next to the Lesley Ellis School.

The week-long vacation arts programs, all with a different theme, continue throughout the summer. More information on sign-ups is available here.