Whistler has plenty of activities on offer for athletic kids - bike camps, swimming, soccer and ski camps are only the start. But what about the artistic kids who would rather be playing with paint and paper than, say, a ball or bike?
The options have been few and far between in this town of 10,000 year-round residents.
"Whistler is very sport and recreation focused, and if you're not an athlete and you're going to elementary school or high school, I think it's tough. So for a kid who isn't an athlete, who is interested in drawing or dancing or singing or whatever, it's much harder to actually pursue that interest and feel good about having that interest," said Doti Niedermayer, Executive Director of the Whistler Arts Council.
"I think that if you live in Vancouver or a larger urban centre, there's many more day camps, after school camps and arts umbrella-type organizations that exist solely for the purpose of developing young people's interest in the arts."
While WAC tries to promote local arts groups that are focused on the younger set, like the Whistler Children's Chorus, Soul Funktion and Expressions Art Studio, they've also been offering arts bursaries and awards to children in the Sea to Sky community for 23 years. The art awards recognize artistic achievement, while the bursaries are intended to encourage young people to continue to pursue their passion and interest in the arts by funding programs and courses. Many times, those programs and courses are found outside of Whistler, sometimes as far abroad as Ontario.
"Especially as kids get a little older and they start pursing theatre or dance or music, they start picking more serious schools or art camps that are at a higher level, and those are definitely in more urban centres," Niedermayer explained.
The winners of this year's award and bursary have already been selected, but they won't be announced publicly until they are presented at the schools in June.
Now, there are definitely a few businesses in town that are focused on catering to creative kids. In fact, there's a relatively new company in Whistler that's hoping to encourage young people to pursue their artistic passions. Layna Mawson opened her kids craft-oriented business, Orkidz Art Studio, in Function Junction in May 2009. There, she's been teaching local kids to sew, make sock monkeys and teddy bears, and just let their creative energies flow.
"This has been one of the most rewarding years of my life, working with these kids," Mawson said.
Last summer, when the business had only been open for a few months, things were pretty slow, as Mawson was still spreading the word. But now, things have really taken off. Last week's professional development day workshop was sold out a week in advance. Now, she's gearing up for a very busy summer, which will see her hosting full-day workshops Monday to Friday all summer long, running sessions with 10 to 12 kids per class.
"Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to be what we call our 'Art in the Park' days, where we'll get on Whistler Transit or go to Cheakamus, once it opens, and we'll be wandering out of the studio doing painting and outdoor crafts," Mawson explained.
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays will be studio days, featuring special themes and guest artists who will visit and share their different mediums, styles and techniques.
"For example, Jules in my studio, she does her art on leather, so showing the kids that you don't just have to use a pen and paper," Mawson said.
Parents can pick and choose the days their kids participate; day-long sessions are $48 each.
"In our community, the kids are just programmed to the hilt: go, go, go, go! And this environment here is very nurturing and laid back, but they walk away with something that they created themselves," Mawson said.
"In schools, unfortunately, they only get to touch on this stuff if they're lucky, half an hour a day - if they're lucky!"
Cary Campbell Lopes and her husband Paolo are the creative masterminds behind Paintertainment, a local company that crafts many of the incredibly costumed and body-painted characters that wander Whistler's streets during special events. Both accomplished artists and downright crafty souls in their own right, Cary also enjoys teaching her talent to others. She regularly hosts after school classes, holds evening sessions for adults and even arranges two-day summer camps at the couple's home in Black Tusk Village. While the days are, of course, filled with art-focused segments, Cary and Paolo also like to take advantage of their natural surroundings.
"It's an outdoor art camp," Cary explained. "Basically we go for walks down to the lake down below Black Tusk, we pick up things, we create art from nature, we do other crazy, silly things, like throw darts at paint-filled balloons and create art, starting with splatter art."
Past crafts have included wooden board games, functioning clocks, and painted beach bags and hats.
"We actually painted the lake on the brim of the hat, and then the mountain, sky and trees were all on the front of the hat," Lopes said.
Over her years in the community, Cary has noted a lack of options for kids who are more artistically-inclined than, say, eager to rip around the bike park.
"It's funny because I've run the art classes from both schools for probably five years now, and I have found it very difficult getting enough people to sign up for art... because there are so many sports," she said.
Sports always seem to conflict with the arts, with athletics almost always coming out on top. But as Cary points out, arts and crafts can help kids develop in a different way.
"It's such an important thing to be able to actually use the creative side of your brain and actually think outside the box sometimes," she explained.
It can also change the way that kids approach a problem or task.
"Most people are completely intimidated when they look at a painting or look at a subject, they say they have no idea how to start it," she said.
This year, she will again accept 18 to 20 children aged six and up into two sessions of her summer camp, held July 7 and 8, and Aug. 4 and 5. The cost to participate is $120.
"Every year so far, we've had four separate camps, so four two-day camps. At the moment, everything seems to be so much quieter now, so I want to commit two days first and see if I can fill them, and then if they do fill and it's going to be possible, then I'll run more dates."
