SUMMER ARTS CAMPS FOR KIDS: It’s not even spring yet, but some of us already are plotting ways to get rid of our teens for a few weeks this summer. Wyoming boasts the excellent Young Writers Camp near Story, for teens 15-18. The camp will be held June 17-24 this year. The Bauen Camp, for “young people from around the world to grow their art and life skills for the purpose of building stronger communities and a better world,” will conduct three week-long sessions near Parkman this summer. Start dates are July 16, Aug. 6, and Aug. 20. Young musicians (grades 6-12) can go to University of Wyoming Summer Music Camp June 11-17 in Laramie. Other music camps are in Powell and Evanston. Budding thespians and playwrights can attend the Wyoming Summer Theatre Academy June 19-Aug. 15 in Lander. The Wyoming Shakespeare Festival Company puts on the camp, and attendees will participate in performances of “As You Like It” around the state. Contact Diane Springford at wyoshakes@hotmail.com. PALS also conducts summer arts programs for kids in Lander. For info, call Amy Skinner at 307-332-0425. Goshen County Community Theater and Cheyenne Little Theatre Players hold summer performance camps. The CLTP camp begins June 6. Young dancers can take in the Snowy Range Dance Festival in Laramie July 19-30. There are many kids activities in the Jackson area, through The Arts Association and in the national parks. In surrounding states, Writers at Work held June 19-23 in Salt Lake City has sessions for teens. At Camp Shakespeare in Boulder, Colo., July 24-Aug. 12, kids ages 11-18 work with Colorado Shakespeare Festival professionals. Many of these camps offer scholarships. If it’s impossible to dislodge the kids from the couch, you might want to think about escaping to one of the many adult-oriented summer writing workshops in the West. More about those next week.

- posted by Michael Shay @ 10:22 AM