Saskatoon music camp teaches new instruments, gender empowerment
A group of young musicians, creators and performers capped off a week-long camp with performances at the Broadway theatre on Saturday.
Girls Rock Saskatoon is a chance for kids aged 9 to 14 to learn a completely new instrument, form a band, and write a song to perform at the end of the week.
Camp director Alison Whelan started Girls Rock Saskatoon in 2014 with a focus on gender empowerment, awareness and acceptance, and says the kids needed this interaction after the pandemic.
“It was pure excitement and happiness that we can just gather kids and adults again in this way to be really supportive and encouraging after so much time of isolation and being apart,” said Whelan, who added that the response from the kids to trying a new skill and improving their awareness of others has been rewarding.
“It’s been intense, in a very positive way. I think the kids have been really ready to do something like this. to do something creative, to do something collaboratively that's not really through a screen probably for the first time in quite a few years.”
A member of the newly formed band “The Crows,” Autumn says taking on the challenge of a new instrument and making a band seemed impossible on the first day.
“At the beginning, I was like how is this possible? How are we going to master this instrument and a whole song in a few days?” she wondered. “But we actually did it and it worked out really well.”
Fellow “The Crows” band member Georgia says she had been waiting for the chance to come to Girls Rock Camp for over two years.
“I signed in two years ago, but COVID happened,” said Georgia. “Then I didn’t go for a year, so I’ve been waiting for two years and I was super excited.”
For Riel, who played drums for the first time this week, anything is possible when you set your mind to it.
“I just learned the drums really quite quickly, and in my opinion, it’s pretty easy,” said Riel, who admitted being hesitant to come to camp because it was in the last weeks of summer.
“I thought I wouldn’t want to come to camp, but in the end, I’m really glad I did.”
Whelan said the dream is to bottle that energy and positivity from Girls Rock Camp and share it with even more people.
“It’s acceptance, and meeting people where they’re at, and it always warms my heart,” said Whelan.
“And I wish we could take the Girls Rock Camp pedagogy and spread it further into the community and reach more adults also because the message that these kids have is always overwhelmingly positive.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it’s too late
She was lying in bed on a Thursday morning, thinking about the man she loved, hoping to win his freedom before time ran out.