Director of Kutler Center and Summer School Programs Jim Patterson partnered with Coast-to-Coast Camp Fairs to host the Summer Camp Fair at the Upper School on March 15. Many local summer programs, including Canyon Creek Summer Camp, Prime Time Sports Camp, Summer Acting Camp, Got Game Summer Camp and more participated in the fair. The organization holds events to connect families with summer opportunities all around the nation. The fair was held on the Munger Fire Road, allowing students and parents to browse the different summer programs that were offered.
Patterson said he set up this program to help inform families about the summer programs at the school.
“There are a lot of people out there who want their kids to experience the great programming that we have here at some point, and the summer program allows us to give a much wider audience a sense of what our wonderful programs are,” Patterson said. “So I wanted to help parents understand what opportunities we had here.”
Co-founder of Coast-to-Coast Abby Barber said it is rewarding watching families and children go around the fair.
“[It’s] always fun to see families who get here early eager to learn about the event,” Barber said. “We’ve already had a great lineup of families waiting even before 12 o’clock when the event started, and a lot of kids are excited to learn about different programs. That is the best part for us. We always hope that families will give feedback on the way out and say that it was a great experience [since] they learned a lot from it.”
Tanika Ray, a parent of an elementary student who attended the fair, said she got to learn about various camps, especially the camp her daughter will attend.
“I love that [the fair is] very comprehensive and easy to understand,” Ray said. “We connected with the summer camp [my daughter is] already signed up to go to. We got even more information. So my favorite [moment was] to connect with them and the counselors there that she’s going to already experience in July.”
Co-founder of Coast-to-Coast Eric Naftulin said watching families discover the perfect camp for their children is the most fulfilling.
“[My favorite moment is] seeing all these families finally find the right [camp] for them, you can see it in their faces,” Naftulin said. “They’re going booth to booth, meeting all kinds of different camp representatives, but sometimes that’s the whole purpose. When they hit on one that’s obviously the right fit for the child, it’s very rewarding to see that from an organizer standpoint.”
