Athabasca’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and will run from Aug. 5–9 at the Nancy Appleby Theatre.
Organizer Andy deLorme and his daughter Katie Pelley are excited for the challenge.
Registration for the camp is Monday, Aug. 5, and the camp runs from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., but deLorme said working parents can drop their kids off at 8 a.m. and pick them up at 5 p.m.
deLorme said he and his daughter also have enough energy and enthusiasm to organize a second camp.
“This year we are having two camps,” he said, adding this is the second camp of the summer. “We are hosting another because there is enough demand.”
This is also the first summer week-long camps have been offered.
“I have experimented in the past with spring break camps and a long weekend in the fall camp, and they all worked out well; however, we have never done a week-long camp,” he said.
Participating kids will learn all things musical, and they will receive three musical instruments for free.
“We give them drum sticks, harmonicas and ukuleles, which are the basis for a lot of music,” he said. “The drum sticks are for the percussion, because we provide drums and they get to be a drummer in a band. We supply harmonicas to represent the wind instruments and also the musical scale. The ukulele represents the string instruments. What they learn on a ukulele they can apply directly onto a guitar.”
deLorme said the kids experience a lot of instruments and decide which one they would like to focus on.
“Then we supply guitars, basses, mandolins, banjos, ukuleles, fiddles, pianos, drums,” he said. “Song-writing, singing and putting together a band, doing a solo act and busking are all involved.”
deLorme started sending kids out busking three years ago.
“Busking is the fun aspect of it, he said.
The kids keep the money they raise.
The camp also touches on the sound booth and lights for kids who are more interested in the technical side of music.
“It is $225 for the week, and that includes all the free stuff plus the dinner we put on Friday night and the show.”
However, deLorme added, “It is $50 a day if they can’t make it all week. The family deal is $225 for the first kid and $175 for the second kid.”
deLorme accepts kids age six and up.
