Parents used to send their kids off to camp for exercise, fresh air — and to give mommy and daddy two weeks of peace and quiet.
What they did once they got there was not up for debate: There would be canoes, crafts and s'mores, with a dash of homesickness thrown in.
Today's campers, however, can choose themed day or sleepover programs tailored to the most sophisticated urban hipster tastes. Some of Canada's most popular summer camps are just as likely to involve turntables and Web 2.0 discussions as bunk beds and friendship bracelets.
For those about to camp, we salute you
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Does your child want to rock out this summer? Do you want to encourage a love of drumming, but not in your house? Camp Artemusik, a program run by the McGill Conservatory in Montreal, offers a garage band camp for kids 12 and older. Ranging in price from $395 to $695 for one to three weeks, the day camps require kids to audition for spots in the band. They will get to make a video, participate in a photo session and produce a recording in a professional studio. Older kids can take part in the "tour" program and perform at other camps across Quebec. www.artemusik.com/camp
This scratching isn't caused by poison ivy
The Scratch Lab DJ Institute in Toronto opened in 2006 so beat-addicted adults could learn skills on the turntables. But when children started signing up, the idea for the school's summer DJ camp was born. The week-long program is $499 ($549 with lunch) for kids 10 and up, and all equipment is provided. The beginner 1 program focuses on equipment fundamentals, song structure and getting the party started, while beginner 2 instructs mini-DJs on the fine art of mixing, cutting and blending. www.scratchlab.ca
Where camp is an aesthetic term
Summer design camps at Toronto's Design Exchange allow boys and girls aged 7 to 15 to create comic books, architectural models and even runway collections. The camp is populated by kids whose parents either work on Bay Street or designed the buildings on Bay Street. Campers in the fashion design program sketch their own collections and produce a finished outfit to be modelled in a fashion show. Comic-book design campers produce their own colour comics and an action figure based on one of their characters. The week-long camp is $325, or $295 for DX members. www.dx.org
Camp You Got Served
The Toronto Street Dance Academy will host its first summer breakdance camp this year. Week-long sessions for kids 8 to 13, and 14 and older, start at $371, with discounts for siblings and campers who attend more than once this summer. Classes include breakdancing, hip-hop, stomp and liquid — which involves a lot of "body rolls" and apparently grew out of the rave scene. Funk styles like popping and locking are also taught. www.streetdanceacademy.com
Lights, Camera, Camp!
Budding auteurs who dream of Hollywood stardom should stop off at the Gulf Islands Film and Television School summer camps. Campers arrive on Galiano Island, B.C., by ferry and spend a week creating short films, which are screened on the final afternoon. Sessions for teens aged 13 to 18 and 11 to 14 cost $740, plus $295 for room and board. Scholarships are available. Campers are provided with screenwriting mentors, technical workshops and local residents willing to work as unpaid actors. www.giftsfilms.com
Camped in front of the computer
If you're hoping your kid will invent the next Facebook or YouTube, you might want to look into the University of Calgary's $565 summer web-design course. The two-week camp for computer enthusiasts in Grades 7 through 9 helps them build their own websites, manipulate and enhance digital images, incorporate graphics, video clips and animation, and create buttons to play sounds, movies, animations or hyperlinks. All they'll need when they get home is a little startup capital. www.ucalgarykids.ca
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