Opportunity Guide I Summer, Enrichment & Activities Guide

If your child loves singing, dancing, acting, playing an instrument, composing music or painting and designing, she will find a plethora of outstanding fun and instructional programs where she can develop her talents and meet people who love what she does. Check out extracurricular arts activities, including performance opportunities, at your child’s school or at local community centers. Specialized private weekend classes and summer programs for students of all levels are sponsored by various art institutes, music festivals, universities and professional music and dance companies.

To perform at the highest levels, many arts, especially music and dance, require private lessons and enrichment. If your child likes to perform, look for audition opportunities at local fairs, festivals, community orchestras and theaters. Many professional theaters and ballet companies sponsor summer intensive programs from talented youth. A child who enjoys competing may be interested in participating in arts contests where her work can earn recognition and win awards. The best students compete, at national arts contests that offer scholarship prizes.



  1. Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, a summer school of the arts located on a 1,600 acre campus in Michigan’s Manistee National Forest, offers fine arts education for all ages. Each summer, the principal camp… Read more
  2. Interlochen was founded in 1928 and is located in beautiful northwest lower Michigan. Each year, thousands of artists and arts patrons come to Interlochen to experience world-class educational and… Read more
  3. The Continuing Studies Department at Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (KCAD) offers non-credit classes for youth. Classes include: drawing, painting, photography, digital… Read more
  4. Camp programs feature content pulled right from the college curriculum, created and advised by leading faculty in the relevant content area, and led by experienced teaching assistants and college… Read more
  5. Summer camp? Sort of... but better. Our programs aren't ordinary, and neither are our students. They build robots, perform chemical analyses, explore entrepreneurship, and explore ecosystems. They… Read more
  6. Each summer, the MPulse Summer Performing Arts Institutes bring approximately 250 eligible young people to the Ann Arbor campus to pursue excellence in music performance, music technology, musical… Read more
  7. For 67 years, Western Michigan University’s School of Music has been elevating high school musicians through its Seminar music camp. A unique program with a focus on chamber music, Seminar is a… Read more