THRIVE Arts+Tech Summer Camps for Grades 4-12. Enrollment Deadline May 1st, 2017.
Opa-locka – The Opa-locka Community Development Corporation (OLCDC) introduces the THRIVE INNOVATION DISTRICT with a vision that focuses on opportunities for community growth manifested through the arts + tech + health and wellness + innovation + creativity in downtown Opa-locka.
The first initiative of the THRIVE INNOVATION DISTRICT is the Arts+Tech Summer Camps 2017. The camps will offer students in Grades 4-12 an opportunity to explore interests and talents in the areas of Creative Writing, Music and Dance, Gaming, Web Design, Mobile Apps and 3-D Printing.
These 6-week camps will take place from June 19, 2017 to July 28, 2017 at the THRIVE INNOVATION DISTRICT in Opa-locka. All programs are free, offer free breakfast and lunch to participants, and will run between 8:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (exact times vary per camp).
Creative Writing Camps will be facilitated by PageSlayers, a 2016 Knight Arts Challenge Winner, featuring writers of color in the areas of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and short story writing. A Music and Dance Camp will be run by industry leaders, and will give students a firsthand experience in music production, recording, and movement.
Tech-based camps will be conducted by the Florida Education Fund and feature lessons on coding, app building, digital imaging and hands-on design.
These summer camps will be the first of their kind in the City of Opa-locka and a signature event for the new THRIVE INNOVATION DISTRICT, whose motto is “Together, We Thrive.”
Plans for the expansive THRIVE INNOVATION DISTRICT do not stop there. In addition to youth development programming, THRIVE will create and facilitate spaces for collaboration and engagement through the arts, technology, urban farming, co-working, and entrepreneurship.
Opa-locka is off the beaten path and has been underestimated for its checkered past. That is exactly why OLCDC President and affordable real estate development expert, Dr. Willie Logan, knows Opa-locka is the perfect place for an innovation hub to flourish.
OLCDC President & CEO Dr. Willie Logan comments on THRIVE: “We can either sit around and complain about what’s missing in Opa-locka and about the art and technological divide, or we can work with partners to provide positive opportunities for youth to delve into creative writing, dance, and coding right here in their own neighborhood. We’ve chosen to revitalize assets we’ve amassed in downtown Opa-locka and transform them into spaces where residents of all ages in Northwest Miami-Dade can make, create and innovate, starting with our Arts+Tech camps this summer.”
Enrollment for the ARTS + TECH SUMMER CAMPS is now open for students in Grades 4-12, at www.olcdc.org or by calling (305) 687-3545. Applications are due by May 1, 2017.
