Erin – I’ve attended Artstrek twice. This will be my third year. Theatre is what I want to do with my life and Artstrek has given me support and a great foundation. It’s something I look forward to every year.

My first year at Artstrek was 2011, You Can’t Take It With You, back when we were still using the ‘Gladiator Pit,’ a big ring of concrete with multiple levels. Those days were full of litres of juicy juice and no construction between the buildings. On one of the days, I think it was after free time and right before Super Activity, there were a lot of us out there about ten minutes before we had to be so one of our Supers decided we were going to sing. It was a song about a dove and flying to love. It sounds cheesy and I guess it was but at Artstrek cheesy isn’t exactly a bad thing because everyone participates. So we sat and we sang and then we sang the song in rounds. This went on for the entire ten minutes before Super Activity (maybe a little more). Picture a hundred and fifty-ish kids sitting and singing, directed by three or four Supers standing in the middle of the Pit. I managed to whip out my camera and video some of it.
Every once in a while I find that tape and I remember exactly why I love Artstrek so much – not because of the classes or the activities or even the juicy juice (none of which are things to be missed), but because Artstrek is so much more than a camp. Artstrek creates a family.