CAMP BEGINS MONDAY
HANDBOOK IS DOWNLOADABLE FROM CAMPFAX
(IF YOU MISSED US THIS YEAR, PLEASE EMAIL US ABOUT JOINING OUR MAILING LIST FOR FUTURE CAMPS!)
YouthWrite River Valley Experience Daycamp 2019
Ages 8-11: July 1 - 5, 2019 at the Bennett Centre, Edmonton
For ages 12-14, please see our Peak I Experience 2019
or
For ages 15-19, please see our Peak II Experience 2019
Never been to the Bennett Centre? Visit this page for the address and a link to Google Maps.
Cost:
$550 for day camp
(Price includes: tuition, supplies, meals, snacks, accommodation, and entertainment.)
Prepare your application documents - Info Sheet
Our Fabulous Instructors
Marty Chan
Marty Chan writes books for kids and plays for adults. He’s best known for his Marty Chan Mystery series, which has won the City of Edmonton Book Prize and the Diamond Willow Award. His newest book, Kung Fu Master, will come out this fall. He works and lives in Edmonton with his wife Michelle and their cat, Buddy.
The Game is Afoot - Bring your magnifying glasses and detective caps to this fun-filled and fast-paced session where you’ll learn to unravel the mystery behind writing mysteries. With a mix of writing games and improv demonstrations, author Marty Chan reveals the secrets behind crafting a page-turner story.
Angela Flatekval is simply always singing
and dancing and telling story after story. She has come toYouthWrite via a vast and varied creative life: as a dancer of dances, a
singer of songs and a player of parts. Developing and re-inventing a creative
voice is a lifelong process. It is an honour and an incredible joy to be a part
of your journey.
Singin’ the Blues - Blues music lives inside nearly every other genre of music! There are clear rules to the structure of the song, just as there are clear rules to a sonnet or a haiku, and while expressing difficulties is what is meant by “singin’ the blues”, the story could be filled with any feeling. Truly, whether you’ve got the blues, the reds, or are feeling in the pink, the basic structure of the blues can lead anyone into writing in song.
Blue Pencil Cafe - Submit a short piece of writing (a poem, two to three pages of a story or novel) and sign up at camp to work one-on-one with Rebecca for constructive feedback and helpful writing tips!
Paula Roberts has been an active part of Edmonton’s
music scene for over 40 years. With a passion for dance and body movement as
well as singing, and a solid background in dance based on 10 years of ballet
study, Paula has continued to explore tap dancing, salsa, body percussion, and
even African drumming. Paula has been to Woodstock, played in rock bands, attended Phil Mattson’s
vocal jazz workshop, was a conducting apprentice for a year with Michel
Gervais, founder of Edmonton’s Pro Coro, and has served on the
board of the Alberta Choral Federation. For 20 years she offered two highly
successful week-long music residency programs to elementary schools around
Alberta, and currently conducts three adult choirs: EKOSingers, Edmonton Vocal
Minority, and the Riverbend United Church choir.
City Beat! - Let’s hit the stomp boxes and beat out a chorus of rhythms using nothing but body parts! You’ll be amazed at the sounds you can conjure up using only what is within easy reach of your hands and feet! Put these together with fellow YouthWriters' talents, and we’re sure to get a groove on.
“Auntie” Elsa Robinson
started
working as a self-taught artist in 2004. In 2013, she returned to the
University of Alberta to complete the Bachelor of Arts with a major in
Art and Design. Since 2006, her acrylic paintings, mixed media collage
and sculptures have been featured in numerous exhibitions. Her work
addresses themes of identity, family, history and spirituality. Elsa is a
recipient of the City of Edmonton Cultural Diversity in the Arts Award,
the Fil Fraser Award for Outstanding Work in Visual Arts National Black
Coalition of Canada. This year, she will complete her MFA in Visual
Arts at Vermont College of Fine Art. Elsa is a highly experienced
teacher who has
worked successfully with students aged from 3 to 83 years old and from a
number of cultures.
Colour & Cut and Paste + Paint my Words
You have a piece of writing
Brimming with sharp words and ideas that
STRIKE the readers as they pass by
Focus on those words
Create a mixed media collage and/or mask to let your words SCREAM even louder!
The Amazing River Valley Supers:
Marla Albiston, River Valley Experience Coordinator has been involved with the YouthWrite organization for approximately 14 years…she can’t remember the exact number, because she’s been having so much fun! She began as a supervisor for the 12-14-year-old and 15-19-year-old camps, transitioned to being the coordinator of JustWrite (a weekend writing workshop for adults!) for three years, and last year transitioned again to become the coordinator of the inaugural YouthWrite River Valley Experience for young people aged 8-11 years old! She's thrilled to be returning to the role this summer. Marla completed her Bachelor of Education degree at the University of Alberta (where she was first introduced to the lovely, Gail Sidonie Sobat), and over the last decade she has had the wonderful opportunity to apply her love of education with her passion for dance, working frequently with the Dance departments at Victoria School of the Arts, Vimy Ridge Academy, Queen Elizabeth High School, and currently, Eastglen High School. In addition, she works as a freelance dance teacher and choreographer, dances with the Contemporary company, ViVA, and trains in aerial circus with Firefly Theatre and Circus. Most importantly, she’s beyond excited for all of the writing, learning, creating, sharing, and playing that will be taking place at YouthWrite this July!
Mackenzie Trofimuk has
been involved with YouthWrite her whole life and is thrilled to be joining theYouthWrite River Valley Experience super team. She has attended YouthWrite
officially since the age of twelve and unofficially once when she was seven
accompanying her instructor father. She graduated from Victoria School of the
Arts in June of 2018 where she embraced her passion for dance and theatre as
well as pursued a full IB diploma. She also belonged to Shelley’s Dance Company
for 5 years and pursued intensive dance training 5-7 days a week. She is
now taking time off from school (working at a candy store) before she decides
what path to embark on for university. She loves all things art and is so
excited to dance and write and laugh and play with you this summer.
YouthWrite Coordinator:
Gail Sidonie Sobat is a multi-award-winning teacher and author, with eleven books for children, teens and adults, and a number of educational and academic articles. She is the YouthWrite creator/ coordinator, an international presenter, an instructor in the professional writing program at MacEwan University and in the Faculty of Education at U of A, is The Writers' Union of Canada Regional Representative for Alberta, NWT and Nunavut, and was writer in residence with the Metro Edmonton Federation of Libraries (2015). Gail is a 2016-2017 Global News Woman of Vision. She has moved thirty-two times in her life from Badlands to Siksika Nation Reserve to hideous suburbs to Istanbul to the Sunshine Coast to her writer’s garret in a century-old temperamental house. She adores all of her Supers equally, and loves YouthWrite madly!