Pupils get chance at arts in summer

With nearly 11,000 public school students in grades three through eight in Columbia County, Columbia County Arts Inc. members know there's a talented lot of youngsters in the area.

"We feel we have a very talented base from our school children in Columbia County," said Beverly Smith, program chair of Columbia County Arts Inc.

The organization is offering a weeklong summer arts camp, believed to be the first of its kind in Columbia County, beginning June 7. The camp is open to rising third-graders through eighth-graders and will run daily from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Lewiston Elementary School.

The camp will introduce participants to all areas of art, including dance, voice, music, movement, set design and production.

"The students will be exposed to all of the areas, or if they have one particular discipline they have a talent in or want to focus on, we will work with that," Smith said. "It will be an opportunity for them to pursue what they enjoy most but at the same time expose them to all of the different arts."

The week will begin with one primary goal: to complete a production, including set design, costumes and performance. The camp will culminate with the production of Thirteen Colonies.

"From day one, the camp will focus on our final production," Smith said. "And we are focusing on the 13 colonies because we want them to learn something while at the same time having fun."

Five corporate sponsors - Jim Hudson Lexus, First Bank of Georgia, Allegra Print & Imaging, Jim Whitehead Tire Service and Ron Jones Academy of Ballet - are helping support the cost of the camp. Campers will pay between $175 and $200, depending on their membership to Columbia County Arts Inc. For more information on the camp, call 228-1666.

Columbia County Arts Inc. formed in 1999 by Stage III, Jones' Academy of Ballet and the Columbia County Choral Society to promote artistic activity in the county. Jones serves as the current president of the organization.

"I think that we see, in this growing and fledgling community in Columbia County, a growing desire from parents to have an arts camp," Smith said.