For the third year, the Long Beach Youth Chorus will offer its Summer Arts Institute, an all-arts immersive camp for children in grades 2-12. The camp is designed to give children training and exposure to a wide variety of arts and expression, with emphasis on diverse cultural traditions. The Institute will be June 24-28 and culminates in the Long Beach Family Arts Festival on Saturday, June 29.
The exact programs offered will be decided in mid-May. Last year’s Institute included sessions on Vietnamese dance, Mariachi, percussion, string art, songwriting, monoprinting, and an introduction to Ainu music, in addition to choral singing. There was also a field trip to L.A. that including a clinic with a choral director at USC, Dr. Tram Sparks, and the Grammy Museum. In 2022, the Institute campers painted a rose mural at St. Matthew’s church, under the guidance of artist Cody Lusby, that can be prominently seen when driving east on 7th Street just past Temple Ave.
The Institute campers will then take part in the Family Arts Festival on June 29. That festival features performances by four organizations that work with children and youth in the arts. This year the performing groups will be the Jazz Angels, Jewel Box Children’s Theater Company, the Long Beach Children’s Theater Company and the Long Beach Youth Chorus. The festival also features food trucks, games and art activities for kids and the Long Beach Symphony’s Instrument Petting Zoo.
The Summer Arts Institute will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the grounds of St. Matthew’s Church at 672 Temple Ave. The Long Beach Family Arts Festival will be held on the grounds of Grace First Presbyterian Church, 3955 N. Studebaker Road. It will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is free to the public. For more information about the festival or the Summer Arts Institute, contact Executive Director Stan DeWitt at 562-972-3324 or stan@longbeachyouthchorus.org or visit the LBYC website at www.longbeachyouthchorus.org.
