This Summer, Take a Hobby Holiday
Camps Aren't Just for Kids Anymore
It sounds like a dream for anyone with a busy, demanding schedule—to immerse yourself in your favorite hobby and forget about the world. Because they offer invaluable learning experiences, a chance to meet new, like-minded friends, and a way to relax without sitting still, hobby holidays—weeklong summer camps or a quick weekend getaway—are now more popular than ever.
“The best things about music camp are the support of fellow musicians and finding out other people like me exist,” says Dr. Mary Eyerer, a family physician from Newburgh, Maine, who enjoys playing flute and cello at the SummerKeys Camp. Of course, this camp offers other attractions for busy professionals like Eyerer, such as the breathtaking beauty of its Downeast Maine location and the knowledge that world-renowned teachers are there to nurture your part-time passion in a supportive environment.
“The camaraderie that comes with making music in a group makes it a natural fit for a summer camp,” says Antoinette Follett, editor-in-chief of Making Music, a lifestyle magazine for recreational musicians. “Many of our readers crave more time with their hobby because they know that creative expression is a wonderful way to relax. Making Music has written about many music camps—guitar camps for women, rock ‘n’ roll camps, jazz improv camps, piano camps—some in very picturesque settings, which adds to the enjoyment.”
Whether you’re a beginner guitarist, an early music aficionado, a bluegrass nut, a budding jazz drummer, or a lover of big bands, there’s a custom getaway for you. And now there’s an easy way to search for the right kind of camp—Making Music offers a comprehensive year-round calendar of music camps at www.makingmusicmag.com/calendar.
Fifty-something Suzanne Reed chose the SummerSongs songwriting camp. “I was intrigued because after 41 years singing and playing cover tunes, I felt compelled to try my hand at writing songs,” she tells Making Music. “Now my muse is alive and well thanks to SummerSongs. It’s wonderful to have a new hobby in this second chapter of my life.”
Like Reed, you may be intrigued with the idea of a hobby holiday, and if you sign up, Making Music offers some advice for the music camp newbie. The “Get Packing: How to Prepare for Music Camp” feature in its May/June 2007 issue provides tips on how to fly with your precious instrument, what to pack, and how to prepare, both physically and mentally, for your long-awaited musical immersion.