Havin' Fun All Summer Long

Gambier, Ohio (June 9, 2006) Most of the students may have gone home, but the Kenyon campus will be humming throughout the summer. In four-part harmony, in fact, during the week of June 7-11, when some two hundred barbershoppers will fill the air with sweet melodies, culminating in a free public concert Saturday, June 10, at 8:00 p.m. in Rosse Hall.

Gambier becomes a microcosm of the worlds of art and music, athletics and academics, and much more, with more than 4,600 visitors expected from June through early August. The campus will be filled with scientists, mimes, and dancers; youth attending sports camps; Episcopalians, Baptists, Adventists, and Unitarians; and, of course, students working closely with faculty. The Silverweed program brings incoming first-year students to campus for workshops and internships, and the Summer Science Scholars program pairs students with professors for one-on-one research projects.

And, since it's Kenyon, there are writing workshops for all ages, starting June 17-24 with the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, an opportunity for writers to concentrate on their craft and to give and receive feedback from their peers. The Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop, for students ages 16-18, is so popular that two sessions are scheduled, from June 25-July 8, and from July 16-29.

For the athletically inclined, there will be summer camps for swimming, soccer, football, basketball, and softball. College coaching staff and players will teach youngsters of all ages, taking full advantage of the spectacular facilities at the new Kenyon Athletic Center. For more information, go to http://athletics.kenyon.edu/x23398.xml , and follow the links to individual sports camps.

The School for Mime has been so popular that for the third year, there will be a session, from June 12-22, especially for area youngsters from second grade through high school. The kids will present a public performance in Bolton Theater on Thursday, June 22. Adult mime school runs June 26-July 7, with a public performance in Bolton on Friday, July 7, and mimes of all ages will march in the Gambier Fourth of July Parade.

And what's summer without softball? Organizers of Gambier's community softball league invite anyone who wants to play, "regardless of skill or experience," to show up on Wednesday evenings. "We play a soft, recreational version of softball, as opposed to the real competitive stuff," explains Jim Riggs. "We generally do not keep score, but just play innings for the fun of it, with lots of laughs. We have had little children playing, and grandmothers, and on one occasion, a dog circled the bases to score a very dramatic run - the stuff of legend."