Wow! What a summer at the ZACC! The last 11 weeks of summer camps have flown by. For the first time, we’ve been able to stretch out in our new building and bring it closer to its pre-pandemic vision. This year, we were able to offer more art-making opportunities to even more kids by running multiple camps a day at a capacity we haven’t seen since 2019. We brought camps like Slapstick Comedy back from the past (pie-in-the-face-day included!). We also brought some new ideas to the ZACC camp roster – like our Back To School Camp, made possible with the help of an anonymous donor, provided free childcare and back to school resources to parents in the final stretch of the summer. And ZACC Summer Camps haven’t been the only thing keeping us busy. As we’re saying goodbye to summer, we’re also continuing into the fall with touring acts, local music, theatre, and stand-up comedy running four to five nights a week in our venue, The Show Room.
Looking forward, the ZACC’s Adult Education programs are about to kick back into action with a series of classes taught by Jason C. Poole, a paleontological illustrator with work published around the world. In addition to Jason's classes on plein air sketching and drawing dinosaurs, he’s hosting our monthly Drink & Draw at Western Cider on Wednesday, September 14 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM. Drink & Draw is a totally free community art event open to all ages and skill levels, and with Jason at the helm this month’s theme is of course, DINOSAURS!
And there’s more! This September, the ZACC Print Shop is also kicking off two new class series on screen printing and relief printing for all skill levels. Our Young Artists After-school Program (YAAP) and After-school Music Project (AMP) are making sure there’s still plenty for our younger community members to take part in with after-school rock camps, awesome visual arts camps, and a few recurring rounds of Dungeons & Dragons 101. We’re also expanding our new offerings for homeschooled students with our Homeschool Art Camp, a series of opportunities for homeschooled kids to spend weekday mornings making art under guided instruction at the ZACC.
As we welcome some cooler weather we’re also saying hello to the ZACC’s newest employee – Zoe! Zoe is from Wisconsin, spent the last month in the country of Jordan, and will be repping the front desk as our Customer Service Specialist. Come say hi to Zoe when you come to register for your next class, buy your next ticket to a show in The Show Room, or swing by to paint some pottery. With so many awesome things still to come this year, we’ll see you soon!
Can’t wait to bust out my wool socks,
Joe Kirk
ZACC Education & Volunteer Coordinator
