On Friday, December 7th 2018 Heart of Camden teamed up with multiple local art and cultural organizations to form a walking tour of Camden.
Among the stops and involved organizations were the FireWorks Gallery, Nick Virgilio Writer's House, CFET, South Camden Theater, the Camden Shipyard Museum and the Michael Doyle Fieldhouse. Below are some of the best things these places has to offer!
The tour started at the Camden FireWorks Gallery were there were refreshments of a wide variety, a live musician performing and plenty of artwork to explore. For many first time viewers they were in awe of the large building and different creations. The FireWorks Gallery is a refurbished firehouse whose decor says enough on its own. It is a contemporary place where the community often meets. FireWorks offers art classes, exhibits and will soon be developing printing press job training for teenagers.
The Nick Virgilio Writer's House focus on how to teach children how to think and write. They house the Mighty Writers and often have poetry nights open to the public. The writer's house has historical content related to Nick Virgilio contained on the second floor of the house. The house is an open environment filled with books, poems and classic decor.
The third stop was the CFET offices or house. CFET stands for Center for Environmental Transformation and they even had there own hot sauce for sale. The tour was greeted by an urban farmer who shared a program they have. CFET hosts mainly high school and college students from all over the country for service learning projects. The students are placed in locations across Camden to help them understand some of the issues urban communities face and are hosted in the house in the evening.
The tour also stopped at the South Camden Theater where four productions are put on every theater season. The theater is small, but mighty. It offers the feeling of a 60's theater in a cozy space. From the outside many may not know what capabilties it has, but few if not none have any negative things to say about the theater and events that go on there.
On of the last stops was that of the Shipyard Museum. The museum was once a parish and has since transformed themselves into a workshop for kayaks and canoes. Right now they are getting ready to celebrate their ten year anniversary of boat building and are constantly working with young people to build boats. They also work with eight people who serve as river guides for ecology on the Cooper River. These tours are part of Camden utilizing more spaces, focusing on the natural environment and boating as a way for physical activity. The museum is also filled with information on boats, ships and expeditions throughout time. Many of the exhibts are interactive and a great place for children to do some hands on learning.
What these places say is that Camden is full of hidden gems, Camden residents although faced with adverse conditions have not lost their artistical abilties. These organizations are working hard so that culture and art stays alive in the city. There projects are spilling onto the streets of Camden as more and more people come across them everyday, especially Camden's children. This event and their everyday hard work is commendable, with their dedicated teams as well as their sense of community; they will succeed in their endeavors.
View Pictures from the tour below!
Camden Fire Works
Nick Virgilio Writer's House
South Camden Theater
Camden Shipyard Museum
