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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.