Carnegie Hall celebrated two weeks of arts and fun during the month of July as the 30th annual Kids’ College program took place July 10-21, hosting campers from 12 counties in WV and 10 other states, including Colorado, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. One student came all the way from Wuhan, China.
Students enjoyed selecting up to five separate classes per day, and participated in many different arts, such as needle felting, watercolors, jewelry making, giant art, astronomy, archaeology, and drama. At the end of each week’s program, families and friends were invited to an Arts Showcase, where performing arts students had the opportunity to demonstrate their hard work on stage, and the visual arts projects were displayed in a curated exhibition. Demonstrations were presented for music, movement, drumming, drama, tie dye and ki aikido, and weekly awards were presented for the finalist of the pinecar derby races.
At the afternoon showcase each week, Carnegie Hall presented the second annual round of Kids’ College Spirit Awards (KCSA), offered in honor of Andrew Carnegie, who, during his lifetime, demonstrated generosity of spirit and community investment on a grand scale, and who was known for his recognition of the impact that education and the arts can make during a person’s life.
The KCSA was created to recognize those students that went above and beyond, that participated joyfully in their classwork and demonstrated kindness, helpfulness, and generosity. The program instructors, staff, and volunteers were asked to take special note of any student that stood out for these reasons, and there were more than thirty recommendations received each week, with many students receiving multiple nominations.
The winner of the KCSA for the week of July 14th was Sebastian Muhs, a rising sixth grade student from Muddy Creek Mountain, and the winner of the KCSA for the week of July 21st was Zach Bland, a rising 4th grade student from Lewisburg.
Planning is already underway for next year’s 31st Kids’ College Program to be held July 8-12 and 15-19, with registration opening in early May of 2024.
