A Grade 11 student at Coquitlam's Dr. Charles Best secondary is one of several young people taking part in the eighth annual Summer Visions Film Institute for Youth at SFU.
Kane Poirier is returning for the third time as a volunteer and he said, in a news release, "Summer Visions is the best. The atmosphere is fun and no one is afraid to take risks. I've made some great friends and learned how to tell a story using a camera. I recommend it to all kids, especially the shy ones."
The week-long digital video production program, open to kids aged eight to 13, is being run by Pacific Cinémathèque and Dream Big Productions at Templeton secondary school in Vancouver.
Organizer Jim Crescenzo, a teacher at Templeton, said participants write, direct, shoot, edit and act in their short films. "The camp is so much fun and worthwhile that 50% of our yearly enrollment is made up of returning students," he said in a news release.
Registration is now open for next month's sessions, which run Aug. 8 to 12, Aug. 15 to 19 and Aug. 22 to 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The cost is $295.
For more information, visit www.sfu.ca/camps/summercamps/partnershipcamps.html.
CALL FOR XMAS
It may be the middle of summer but organizers with Place des Arts are already prepping for the Coquitlam facility's popular Christmas Boutique.
Artists specializing in fine-art quality felted items (i.e., tea cozies), wooden boxes, glass ornaments, silver work, pottery, leather goods, handmade soap and other handcrafted items are needed to sell their wares at the show, which runs Nov. 7 to Dec. 16.
The drop-off dates for jurying of new artist works are Oct. 15 and 16., and successful candidates will be contacted by Oct. 20. For more information, call gift shop co-ordinator Lidia Kosznik at 604-664-1636 or email lkosznik@placedesarts.ca.
HIGH KICKS
About 30 students with the Port Moody School of Dance returned home this month after a successful trip to Las Vegas, where they competed in Thunderstruck.
The team qualified for the international contest after winning a spot in February at a regional event. At the finals, they clinched 19 top 10's, five first-place overalls and a second-place award in the Dance Down Grand Championships.
Spokesperson Jennifer Sontowski said the students raised funds for two years to attend Thunderstruck.
CRAWL AROUND
The 10th annual BC Cultural Crawl starts Monday and ArtsConnect will be taking part to promote the Tri-City arts scene to visitors during the month-long celebration.
This year's crawl in 70 municipalities around the province coincides with the 100th anniversary of Parks Canada and the city of Vancouver's 125th birthday.
For more information and to see daily listings in this and surrounding communities, visit bcculturalcrawl.com.
jwarren@tricitynews.com
