SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30: The arboretum grounds will be closed to the public beginning at 12 pm for a private event. The Wisner House Gallery and exhibit are closed. Discovery Weekends is cancelled. 

Fields of Wonder

Fields of Wonder: A Celebration of Nature and the Arts

This summer marks the 7th year that BOLD Arts and RRA have teamed up to offer another exciting week of performing arts camp! This camp week, for campers ages 5 to 11 years old, is led by NYC teaching artists and utilizes the beautiful grounds of Reeves-Reed Arboretum.

 

BOLD Arts is a leading creative dance and arts program based in the tri-state area (bold-arts.com). Co-founder of BOLD Arts, Jenn Eisenberg, leads classes and camps in multiple locations throughout New York and New Jersey. One of the best parts about partnering with Reeves-Reed Arboretum is that the children get to be outside as much as possible. They even get to go on a hike led by an Arboretum Educator for their “recess” time after lunch. The Arboretum is the perfect setting for this collaboration between nature and art!

 

During their one week of camp, children are immersed in a thought-provoking theme used to inspire their show. Together with the instructors, they build a performance using scenery, costumes, and dances all created by the group to tell a story. Campers are challenged to explore multiple art forms and ways of expressing themselves.

Every day, the campers build dance routines, memorize songs, produce a storyline, create art projects that will be used for set-design and props, and play games to practice theater skills. This week, they even hand-made tie-dye t-shirts to be worn in their final show!

The camp week culminates with an energized performance by the campers for parents and Arboretum staff. Every year they pick a different theme for their show, and this year’s theme was “Under the Sea”. The performers personified sea creatures and brought underwater scenes to life.

All of their hard work shone through at Friday’s lively performance! Their smiles were proof that the memories they made at camp this week will last them a lifetime. We’re so grateful to have this partnership with BOLD Arts and are excited to work with them for years to come!