Children can kick it again at rec center
By: Will Reisman
June 19, 2009
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| Work in progress: Madeline Clinch, 7, Leila Sulentic, 6, and Ethan Jones, 7, create art in their summer class Thursday at the recently reopened Harvey Milk Center for Recreational Arts. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner) |
After two years of silence, the sound of voices has returned to the halls of the recently remodeled Harvey Milk Center for Recreational Arts.
The center welcomed 6- and 7-year-olds for its inaugural summer day camp this week, the first of many music- and art-related programs to be based at the Duboce Park site, which had been closed since July 2007.
Fencing that once surrounded the site is gone. Children can now sit on picnic benches outside to work on different art projects.
The summer camp runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and offers aspiring artists the chance to take rhythmic-dance lessons, build musical instruments and develop photographs, according to Elena Brown, a director at the center.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for these kids to engage in specialized art courses,” she said. “It’s our first year, and so far everyone seems to be really enjoying themselves. The goal is to promote and instill a love of the arts in these kids.”
It was fortunate the recreation center reopened just as school ended, she said.
Currently, the day camp is the only active program, but a slew of different art initiatives are set to debut during the next few months. Jazz dance classes, music therapy sessions, the Young Teen’s Musical Theater Co. and the San Francisco Photography Center will soon return after being scattered during the renovation.
The center is overseen by the Recreation and Park Department and is named after the assassinated city supervisor who led the Castro community in the 1970s.
“It’s great that we’ll finally have all the arts back into one center in The City,” Brown said. “It’s very centrally located, and in a very supportive neighborhood. Having all of these programs under one roof is a great way to highlight the art programs The City offers.”
The $8 million renovation was part of a voter-approved bond measure in 2000 that gave $110 million to Rec and Park for capital improvement projects.
Residents interested in attending programs can find more information online at www.sfreconline.org.
