June 7, 2005 > Busy days of summer

This summer, when a kid says, "There's nothing to do," direct them to the city's leisure services where there kids can learn to paint like Van Gogh, sing like a Broadway star or draw like a Pixar animator.

Fremont is kicking off the season by offering an abundance of cool camps for kids. Pint-sized Picassos can develop their skills at Modern Art Camp while would-be Hollywood stars can hone their craft at various drama and public speaking camps. For computer aficionados, there is Tech Camp where kids will design and create their own computer games.

The city also has numerous athletic camps to keep kids active during the lazy days of summer. Some of these weekly classes include tennis, badminton, roller hockey, golf, basketball, baseball, volleyball and soccer among others. Call (510) 494-4300 to find out more.

H.A.R.D. (Hayward Area Recreation Department) is offering a number of classes to get kids off the street and into the theatre. Youth age 7 to 14 can take part in a theatre camp designed to explore movement, music and acting. In addition, The Musical Workshop, entry by audition only, will perform "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" at the end of its session. To take part in these activities at Hayward's Douglas Morrisson Theatre, call (510) 881-6777.

The city also has a series of fascinating, and free, classes at its Shoreline Interpretative Center, located at 4901 Breakwater Ave. in Hayward. For more information on the center, or to register for classes, call (510) 670-7270.

Kids in the Milpitas area can have some dramatic fun of their own with the Theatre Fun Staff. Among the classes offered this summer are "Theatre 101" in which students will collaborate on a script, "Cheer" where participants learn the latest moves from cheerleading coaches and "Click" introducing would-be models to runway walking, photo shoots and how to contact agents. To find out more about these, or Milpitas' many other youth activities, contact the Milpitas Recreation Department at (408) 586-3210.

Newark is offering Kids in Tune, a series of classes designed to make singing fun for 1 1/2 to 7 year olds. All Kids in Tune staff are specially trained in the Kodaly Method which teaches children to sing, play instruments and dance from memory.

The city also has other musically-creative classes including guitar and piano lessons, a dance camp and Bollywood Bhangra, Indian folk dance for kids. Call (510) 742-4437 for more information.

In addition to its usual painting and jewelry making workshops, Union City Leisure Services has added innovative and exciting visual art classes to its roster. Young photographers can learn a thing or two about basic digital photography while budding painters can master one-stroke painting.

New this summer at Union City is the one-day cartoon workshop taught by professional Pixar animator Matthew Luhn, who has worked on the Toy Story movies, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo. Call (510) 489-0360 for more information.

The League of Volunteers (LOV) is getting ready to kick off its 10th summer of Y.E.S. - Youth Encouraged to Serve - with a pizza party on Youth, from seventh grade to sophomores in high school, can join Y.E.S., a club in which kids perform community service, earning field trips and other great stuff. The organization will also be sponsoring Kid's BINGO on Saturday, June 18, from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. $1,000 in prizes and certificates will be given away during this kids-only afternoon. The LOV Community Service Center is located at 35233-C Newark Boulevard in Newark. For more information call (510) 793-5683 or visit their website at www.lov.org.

For a complete listing of all summer activities offered by each city, visit their parks and recreation websites.

Fremont - www.ci.fremont.ca.us/Recreation/default.htm
Hayward - www.haywardrec.org
Milpitas - www.ci.milpitas.ca.gov/citydept/planning/recreation
Newark - www.ci.newark.ca.us/rc
Union City - www.ci.union-city.ca.us/leisure/ucls.htm

Note: While some of these activities and classes are free, others charge a fee. Contact each city for more information.