Silver City's Summer Public Programming 2003 - 2019

Silver City, Nevada- In 2003 when my son was four years old, there weren’t many children his age in our small community of Silver City, and there weren’t any formal children’s programs. But the town had a terrific park with a big lawn and lots of trees for shade, and a lovely community center, built in 1867, that had been used as a school house until the 1950s. I asked other Silver City folks what they’d think of having a free summer program for kids, and they were enthusiastic about working together to create it. Healthy Communities Coalition agreed to contribute some funding, and for the first few years, Lyon County Recreation Department was the program sponsor. Later Healthy Communities partnered with the community and regional groups to make the program possible.

The first couple of summers local volunteers focused on a schedule of science, arts and crafts activities built around a hot lunch. My recollection is that the first day of the first summer program included a pancake brunch, with locals such as Renate Victor and Cleo Ross flipping the hotcakes.

Local volunteers were generous with offers to teach music, cooking, gardening, photography, journal writing, painting, music and more. For example, Cashion Callaway taught kids how to make things like Jidan Guan Bing (breakfast pancakes), Lanzhou Mein (noodles), and Chao Jiaozi (festival dumplings); Renate Victor taught children how to make terrariums, how to garden and keep journals; Meg Burns taught workshops on photography; Chris Brown led kids through bicycle repair basics; Robert Elston, Will Rose and Sheree Rose gave music lessons; Larry Wahrenbrock taught beading; Karen Kreyeski and Diane Kotik offered art lessons. Cooking was by far one of the most popular activities - Louise Crawford, Meg Burns, Renate Victor, Sara Ross, Cashion Callaway and others were repeat volunteers offering classes in making everything from chili to pizza to cookies.

Field trips became part of the program too, and locals helped carpool kids to the Nevada State Museum, Shakespeare on the beach at Lake Tahoe, the Fourth Ward School Museum, etc.

After a few years, the summer program began to attract not only children of Silver City, but children from Virginia City, Carson City, Dayton, Mound House, Silver Springs, and Reno as well.

As I discovered rural outreach available from Nevada Arts Council’s Folklife Program, River Wranglers, Nevada USGS, Tahoe Astronomy, Nevada Humanities, and Young Shakespeare, the program added guest teachers from those organizations who led activities like traditional Chinese folk dancing, river and watershed education, drama exercises, and evening star gazing and astronomy lessons. Chautaqua performers brought history to life by portraying historic figures such as Amelia Earhart and Margaret Bourke-White. Jenni Jeffers of the Nevada Department of Wildlife was a repeat visitor with education about bats and owls. State Park rangers led field trips to find out what exactly was in the local creek. Over the years, Seena Drapala of the Society of Women Engineers and Patti Poston of FIRST Nevada have come to the summer program many times with hands-on engineering activities. Jim Barcellos of University Nevada Cooperative Extension is an especially popular guest teacher with his fun activities that teach science concepts about rockets, wind energy, carbon dioxide, and more. Cortney Bloomer of Western Nevada Safe Routes to Schools' brought a Bicycle Safety Rodeo to town for several summers. United Way has hosted five educational fun fairs for parents and their preschoolers with activities that encourage early love of reading, arts and math. Kids were delighted when Lyon County 4-H leaders offered hands-on lessons about vermiculture and soil science (which means they got to play with earthworms)!

Eventually, Healthy Communities staff wrote Nevada Arts Council grants that helped bring artists from Reno, Virginia City, Carson City, and other states to the program for very popular workshops on painting, mask making, lyric writing, and more.

Summer Events for Teens and Adults Too: In recent years, through partnerships with groups like the Silver City Arts group, Evangeline Presents, Yellow Truck Productions, Silver City Historic Preservation Society, and the local Resident Artist Program, the summer program has expanded to include events that appeal to older teens and adults as well. In recent years there have been summer exhibitions by local artists such as Larry Kotik, Karen Kreyeski, and Molly Brunhilde and international artists such as Sophie Scott of New Zealand. Summer poetry readings by award-winning poets such as Shaun Griffin and Gary Short have drawn enthusiastic audiences. Free summer workshops on embroidery, illustration, sound ecology, painting, dance, and more have been offered by UK artists Stewart Easton and Claire Scully, Michigan-based artist Brian Schorn, the Oakland-based team marksearch, Jessica Sanford, etc. Live music is always popular with all ages, and recent summer concerts on the town’s outdoor stage, the Silver Pavilion, have included all sorts of entertaining music by Red Rose, Constant Coogan, American Phlats Band, Tom Zachary, The Ukalocos, Mylo McCormick, Jim Allander, Susan Stornetta, Barbara Peck, Robin Cobbey, Wayne Thomas, Trevor Thomas, Cindi Godwin, Craig Young, and Robert Elston, among others.

Summer Program 2019: This year’s summer program – sponsored by a number of groups- will include activities for various ages from June – August. For more information, or to be placed on the program’s mailing list, please contact me at quest@theodata.com. Events will include a free family-friendly concert featuring music of Peru and the Andes, visits from award-winning visiting artists and writers, free kids science and engineering activities, plus a floral design class, a coding workshop, lectures and more for adults and teens. More details below (we’ll add specific dates and times as they’re confirmed over the next few months):

Insect Petting Zoo with Nevada Bugs & Butterflies' Kevin Burls, Ph.D. – Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at 10am at the School House (free). Sponsored in partnership with Healthy Communities Coalition (HCC).

Educational Fun Fair for Preschoolers and Parents with United Way, Tues. June 25, 2019 at 10am-noon at the School House (free). Perfect for ages 1 year to 6 years and their parents. In partnership with HCC.

Science for 8-13 year olds with University Nevada Cooperative Extension, July 2nd & July 9th, 2019. In partnership with HCC (free).

Free Concert for All Ages in the Park by Kantu Inka Sat., Aug. 3, 2019 (featuring music of Peru and the Andes with traditional instruments like zampoñas, quenas, charangos, bombos, chacchas, and cajón). Sponsored by Silver City Historic Preservation Society and local donations. Time TBD.

Engineering/Robotics Mini-Camp for Kids Ages 8-14 and Their Parents, Tuesday, August 6th, 2019 at 10am – noon at the School House. Led by Society of Women Engineers & First Nevada in partnership with HCC (free).

Floral Design Class for Adults and Teens, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019 from 10am-noon at the School House with the very talented Lynnette Edmondson of HCC’s Community Roots & Shoots (free).

Monthly Acoustic Jam, 4th Sat. of month (3-5pm) in the park or School House (depending on weather). Sponsored by Silver City Arts group.

Plus, visiting artists at the local Resident Artist Program: 1) David Cote, a talented playwright/ librettist from Manhattan 2) award-winning painter Morgan Craig of Philadelphia 3) London-based artists Stewart Easton and Claire Scully. Event dates to be determined.