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Parents Rely on Pelham Art Center During Break

PELHAM, N.Y. – Pelham parents didn't have to look far for something to keep their kids occupied on spring break thanks to the Pelham Art Center's weeklong vacation workshop for 4 to 10-year-olds.

“The kids are having an awesome time,” said Filomena Iolascon, center education and outreach program manager. Parents could register their kids for the week or take it day by day, and Iolascon said each day was full with 45 boys and girls.

The kids were split up into three groups according to age and then rotated through different classes. There was theater improv and storytelling in addition to two visual arts classes in which they would paint, draw, sculpt, make collages and do mixed media.

Each class had a teacher and each group had two counselors. It cost $77 for non-members, $69 for members and ran from 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Iolascon said the kids got “a lot accomplished” and “parents love it” because many of them work and this “gives them some place where they feel safe to bring their kids, and they have fun.”

She said kids like the program because it “gives them something to do when they’re not in school. It’s more of a respite than an actual class that they’re taking where they get graded on – it’s just for fun.”

The younger ones benefit from the socialization aspect of the weeklong camp, according to Iolascon.

“They get to see other kids their own ages, and it’s great that they’re all from different schools in the area,” she said. “They also get to do things they normally wouldn’t do, like you wouldn’t beat an African drum in school.”

The Pelham Art Center also has popular weeklong programs in January and February, Iolascon said. 

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