By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sitka Fine Arts Camp started its 50th celebratory year on a high note by shattering sign-up records on Sunday, the day registration opened.
In the first 15 minutes after midnight some 158 had registered, and by 1 a.m. that number had grown to 272, breaking previous records.
Registration has continued apace since then, with half of all 750 spaces claimed by the end of New Year’s Day and more than two-thirds of the spots filled for all of the camps by the end of Tuesday, Jan. 3.
Signing up at midnight is the first thing on many campers’ and parents’ to-do lists in the new year, with campers sometimes competing to be the first. It’s been a tradition for more than a decade.
Three staff members stayed up as well for the opening, to monitor the website, make sure it was working, and be available for those 20 or so who called and emailed with questions.
Program Director Kenley Jackson said there was a lot of excitement among the staff members when the first ones started rolling in, and as they saw some new patterns.
“It’s the first year we really saw a huge registration for all age groups at midnight,” she said. “And we saw families that are already planning to come to Sitka for elementary camp from out of town that were eager to get registered.”
Elementary Camp kicks off the season, June 5-9, with 122 signed up so far for the 200 spots available. Most who sign up are local but the camp also sees some families come for the week from out of town.
Middle School camp, June 11-24, has 151 signed up; and High School camp, June 25-July 8, has 225 spaces filled, out of the 250 spots available per camp. The camps have both day students – usually Sitkans – and dorm students from Sitka and out of town.
“I think families were really waiting for registration to open and they’re really excited this year,” Jackson said. “People are really excited to come to camp again, and we’re seeing huge participation from across the state, of kids really wanting to come to Sitka to learn about the arts.”
Musical Theater camp runs July 10-30 for those entering grades nine through sophomore year in college. Twenty-seven had signed up through Tuesday for the 40 spaces available. This year’s show is “Rogers+Hammerstein’s Cinderella.”
The camp closed in 2020, the first year of COVID, reopened in 2021, and ran at near-capacity in 2022.
Fine Arts Camp Executive Director Roger Schmidt said it’s always a relief when the first sign-ups come in.
“The first thing in my mind is how rewarding it is to be part of building a program that young people are excited to take part of,” he said. “To me that’s incredible and I feel really proud of our team. I feel gratified and lucky, to build a program where young people – the first thing they want to do in the new year is sign up for our program.”
The arts were among the areas hit hard during the pandemic, with many students losing opportunities to participate in the arts and some hesitating to return in the past few years. Some schools and districts cut programs in the past two years.
“The arts have not rebounded at the level they were pre-COVID,” Schmidt said. “I think a lot of administrators have made choices around smaller numbers, that’s what I hear, and there are shifts in scheduling, which I think will make it very difficult for the arts to thrive in our state unless we make a strong commitment.”
Schmidt said camp is a small representation of how crucial it is to have arts programs available, to those for whom such programs are important.
“For me that would be an argument for school districts to think really hard about how they can rebuild their programs,” he said, “because the kids who are involved in the arts and the families who are involved in the arts or care about the arts – they feel so passionate about it. You’ve got people that are willing to go even further to try to have high-quality arts experiences for their kids.”
While the summer camps and art for young people are the main focus of the organization, Sitka Fine Arts Camp has a few events this month on its schedule: “Two Nights of Comedy,” Jan. 13 and 14 at Odess Theater; and Laura Cortese and the Dance Cards, Feb. 1, at the Performing Arts Center.
The website for signups is finartscamp.org
