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(Miami-Dade County, FL) -- The Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department invites girls ages 11 to 16 to register for its "GEM" (Girls Empowerment and Mentoring) Summer Arts Camp, held at the Women's Park, 10251 Flagler St., Miami, June 18-August 17, 2012, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. The curriculum for this popular, innovative summer arts camp incorporates the Women's Park vision of preserving and promoting the contributions of women to the Miami-Dade community and the arts. Classes and workshops for the 2012 GEM Summer Arts Camp include: Dance (modern jazz, lyrical, ballroom, and Afro-Cuban); Theater (improvisation, public speaking and acting); Music (instrumental and chorus); Visual Arts (painting, arts and crafts, fashion design, and textile arts); Literary Arts; and Women's Studies. Participants will receive professional mentoring and learn leadership skills to help them achieve their personal best. Field trips to local museums, cultural events and arts festivals are included.
"The transition from being a young girl to becoming a young woman in today's world can be very challenging," said Vivian Greer-Digon, GEM coordinator and manager. "Miami-Dade Parks' GEM draws upon the Arts as a tool for developing creativity and self-expression, encouraging girls to realize their potential and take steps toward achieving their dreams."
During the nine-week summer program campers will receive guidance and access to resources, as well as social and emotional support from GEM partnering mentors, which include professional women representatives from the Miami-Dade County School Board; Miami-Dade College Inter-American Campus; Barry University; and the Museum of Contemporary Art.
The cost for the camp is $75/week, plus a one-time annual registration fee of $12 (includes early drop-off at 7:30 a.m. / late pick-up until 6:00 p.m.) Class space is limited. To register for this program, call (305) 480-1717.
The Miami-Dade Parks GEM program began in the summer of 2010 as a pilot program initiated by the Department's Raices Hispanic Cultural Arts Center at Miller Drive Park. The program is sponsored by The Children's Trust, a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County.
The 15-acre lakeside Women's Park (dedicated in 1992), the first such park in the nation, and its 6,000 square-foot Roxcy O'Neal Bolton History Gallery with memorial brick terraces (opened in 2000), began as the dream of pioneer feminist Roxcy Bolton, as a standing testimony to the contributions of Miami-Dade women toward improving the community's quality of life. The facility has rapidly distinguished itself as a cultural center dedicated to the presentation and preservation of the heritages of women of all cultures, offering space for public meetings, events, and exhibits. The park also contains walking paths, a spacious picnic pavilion, a children's playground, and a coral rock monument marking a buried time capsule containing mementos from three prominent Florida women: environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas, author Zora Neale Hurston, and anthropologist Lydia Cabrera.
About the Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department:
Nationally accredited, a three-time winner of the NRPA National Gold Medal Award and winner of the 2009 Florida Governor's Sterling Award for excellence in management and operations, Miami-Dade Parks is the third largest county park system in the United States, consisting of 260 parks and more than 12,825 acres of land. It is one of the most unique park and recreation systems in the world. Made up of more than just playgrounds and athletic fields, it also comprises out-of-school, sports-development, and summer-camp programs; programs for seniors and people with disabilities; educational nature centers and nature preserves; environmental restoration efforts; arts and culture programs and events; the renowned Zoo Miami and the Deering Estate at Cutler; the Crandon Tennis Center, home of the Sony Ericsson Open; golf courses; beaches; marinas; campgrounds; pools; and more. For information about Miami-Dade Parks call 3-1-1, or visit Miami-Dade Parks.
To request material in accessible format, information on access for persons with disabilities, or sign language interpreter services (7 days in advance), call 305-755-7848.
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