But why bother with weenie roasts when you could learn baton twirling? Here are some of the region's most unusual summer camps.
by Phillip Rhodes
Every year around this time, the realization hits that I've finally completed the hideous metamorphosis into that most truly dreadful of creatures—the responsible adult. The feeling was growing on me back in March when I remembered that, no, I would not be celebrating spring break for this the third year of my post-graduate life. And now, with June half over, comes the crushing revelation that I will not be attending summer camp.
Hindsight is 20/20. And it's often seriously clouded with romance and pop culture constructions. My own summer camp experiences really weren't the all-American wonderful ideal. First at Camp Lutheridge, with a flick of the wrist I was quickly identified as the boy who would obviously be little help in capturing the opposite team's flag. Ostracized, I poured my heart and soul into various wood-burning creations in the comfortably air-conditioned arts & crafts cabin. Later, when the family finances had taken a downward turn, I was dispatched to Camp Smoky, a nearby Southern Baptist Camp. This week of fun in the sun culminated with a jeremiad designed to terrify a room full of 10- to 12-year-old boys into getting "saved"—an alien and frightening concept to a Lutheran. By then I'd figured out what being a limp-wristed boy really meant, so I rushed toward the altar, tears gushing, praying I wouldn't be doubly damned.
Yet despite all the tribulations, the mythical allure of summer camp was so strong that I actually returned to Camp Smoky the next year, safely insulated from the fire and brimstone and having cultivated a somersault dive and backstroke that guaranteed me first place in the swimming competitions.
Of course, despite the best efforts of the various counselors, staffers and preachers, I still wound up atheist, lethargic, and sexually suspect. But even now, typing away in a grey cubicle somewhere seven stories above downtown Knoxville, my mind wanders as I stare out the window the at the lush, beckoning hillsides lining the horizon. Whatever happened to those halcyon summer camp days?
Well, this is what happened. Tradition has given way to that hallmark of modernity—consumer choice. Like everything else in the world, summer camp is now a niche marketed commodity. The good old days where everyone got tossed in together, played sand-pit volleyball and ate hot dogs whether they liked it or not are long gone. Today's summer camps are highly specialized affairs where campers are unified by specific interests or characteristics. A quick query to a World Wide Web search engine netted results that range from the somewhat plausible—Valley View Ranch, a private equestrian camp for girls who love horses—to the slightly ridiculous—Ottawa's Au Grand Bois Vegetarian Camp—to the totally over-the-top—Greensboro Opera Company's Summer Opera Camp for middle schoolers. Middle schoolers!
And Knoxville is hardly immune to the trend. Right here, parents and children can find Amputees Coming Together Camp (July 8-11; 888-AMP-KNOW), Come Out and Clay Summer Camp (Weekly sessions, 692-0701), Summer Drama Camp (Sessions all summer; 523-4211), Confidence Camp (July 19-23; 583-4207), even Christian Basketball Camp (Sessions all summer; 986-9465).
"My kids always went to a traditional summer camp," says Judy Dooley, assistant coordinator of the University of Tennessee's Twirling Camp. "But now I don't really know any who do."
Twirling Camp (June 26-29; 974-7520) is about as far removed from the traditional ideal as they come. The experience is basically an intensive four-day training session for young majorettes of all expertise levels, offering instruction in new routines, lessons in choreography, and development of specialized skills like fire baton twirling. Campers—or as Dooley tellingly calls them, students—range in age from 6-year-olds to rising high school seniors; last year Twirling Camp attracted 125 young ladies from around the area.
A typical day at Twirling Camp begins at 9 a.m. with a group meeting and warm-up. From there, sub-groups break up and start learning new routines, pausing for lunch before beginning again. Free time starts at 5 p.m., followed by dinner and then still more practicing.
As if that weren't enough, there's even an elite Champion's Camp for the 20 or so dedicated twirlers who may go on to compete at a national level.
This is obviously serious stuff, not to mention hard work. But when asked if the fun has been disciplined right out of Twirling Camp, Dooley says absolutely not.
"Sure, we stick to our itinerary, but we've built fun into it," she says with genuine excitement. "We have games, competition, and a talent show. There's a lot of fun things involved with this."
"People are looking for other options," says KMA Director of Marketing and Public Relations Dan Myers of summer camp's niche turn. He believes that the KMA's Summer Art Programs (Sessions all summer; 525-6101) complement the traditional ideas of summer camp, simply providing a new and different way for young people to connect. Here, instead of archery, it's art.
Correlating with current exhibitions in many cases, the Summer Art Program's offerings include week-long day courses on drawing, sculpture, and painting as well as classes like Mixed Media Madness, a class where beginners discover that art can be created from just about anything, and Cartooning Studio, a class that helps students define and refine the nature of cartooning while developing their own strip.
New to this year's line-up is The Fine Art of Radio Performance. Held in conjunction with WUOT, the class gives students the opportunity to explore creative writing and then broadcast their results live on the air.
KMA has also expanded the age range of its offerings, including classes for 14- to 17-year-olds for the first time this year.
"Children are so open-minded and creative, if they have a chance to express themselves," says Rozz Martin, the museum's education assistant. "Most kids [who attend] have a natural talent; they're excited to come and it's a good experience for them. But for some, this is their first experience with art and it really opens their eyes."
While that certainly may be true, Myers is somewhat more blunt about the other agenda of a targeted approach. "Knoxville is still getting used to the idea of having a museum. Educational programs like our camps reach out into the community and bring kids to the museum," he says.
Even that venerable bastion of summer camp tradition, 4-H, is getting hip to the new narrow market trend. Offered through the Smoky Mountain Chapter of 4-H and UTs Agricultural Extension Service, Clothing and Fashion Camp (August 3-5; 215-2340) gives future fashionistas the opportunity to explore the many facets of our Supermodel culture.
"We know that youth love clothes," says representative Rosalind Woodard with a laugh. "We just want to make sure they're knowledgable about it."
For 7th to 12th grade girls—and boys ("We don't discriminate," Woodard comments)—the swank, three day/two night affair involves everything from designing and constructing clothes to modeling and make up. Approximately 60 budding Diana Vreelands and Karl Lagerfelds attended last year. When they're not working it on the runway, campers take field trips to local malls, enjoying structured shopping activities designed to help them spot trends, get the best value for their dollar, and take a look at the behind-the-scenes retail industry in stores like Dillard's. Community service is also an important element in Clothing and Fashion Camp; last year's campers cut and fashioned their own "coats for the cold," lending a homemade haute couture air to the worthy charity.
However, sometimes specialized camps do serve a very special purpose, bringing children who suffer from disease or disability together in a supportive environment.
"Lots of other camps deny asthmatics admission because of their medications. The camps don't have the medical personnel or medical expertise to take care of a child that requires a nebulizer," explains Jama Rose, a pediatric nurse practitioner and representative of Camp Weezebegon (June 14-18; 522-3194), a summer camp for asthmatic 8- to 12-year-olds.
Sponsored by the Ft. Sanders' Allergy & Asthma Affiliates, Camp Weezebegone, held one week every summer at Townsend's Camp Wesley Woods, helps asthmatic children enjoy all the fun of a traditional summer camp while providing the necessary healthcare infrastructure.
"There are plenty of outdoor activities to enjoy—swimming, canoeing, hiking, and crafts. The only difference is when our campers go on hikes, a nurse and a respiratory therapist go along with them," she says.
Learning to manage asthma is also an important part of the Camp Weezebegon experience.
"Some children have been told they can't do certain things because of their asthma, whether it's true or not," she adds. "We also have kids that have never spent a night away from home because their mothers are uncomfortable leaving them with people who can't handle asthma."
Ultimately, what these niche summer camps offer children, and most particularly adolescents, is the delightful illusion that there are others like you. At this rate, Camp Camp is just around the corner, a soothing, self-affirming week-long retreat where sensitive little boys can read horse books to their hearts' content while rough-n-tumble tomboys play softball and climb trees. Sign me up!
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