The Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls, founded in Portland, Ore., is expanding to Gainesville.
Chelsea Carnes, a 24-year-old UF history senior and music teacher at Studio Percussion, started the camp in Gainesville.
“After volunteering at the girls camps in Jacksonville and Orlando, I felt very inspired by the feeling of empowerment being given to girls. And having the instruments needed at Studio Percussion, I decided to start one here with some friends,” said Carnes, the camp’s co-director.
The theme is empowerment for girls.
“It’s especially interesting that they are trying to pursue this sense of empowerment for girls through rock ‘n’ roll, which is typically seen as masculine,” said Kathy Keeter, a 21-year-old UF Spanish, political science and women’s studies senior and vice president of external affairs of UF’s Women’s Student Association.
The camp will run from Aug. 5 to Aug. 10 at Studio Percussion, 2512 NE First Blvd., Building 500, and is open to girls between the ages of 8 and 17. On the first day, they will choose an instrument. During the camp, attendees will spend half the day learning the instrument, while they spend the other half in arts and crafts and women’s history workshops. When the camp ends, the girls will put together a performance at the music venue 1982.
“I think any kind of program that empowers girls is a good one,” Keeter said.
