Ross Creek Centre for the Arts answered our questions

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Financial Aid & Payment Details

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Scholarships & awards:

• Canadian Forces

  Amount: 5%

  Deadline: Rolling

  Type: Need based
  Age: 5 to 18
  Details: Immediate families of active or veteran members of the Canadian Armed Forces
  Application Details: Just enter the coupon Military5 to get your discount!

Review(s) of Ross Creek Centre for the Arts

Accommodations

Sleeping Accommodations

Amenities

Washrooms Facilities

More details about accommodations: Rustic bunkhouse cabins sleep 12 campers in each, with a composting toilet behind each bunkhouse cabin. On the edge of our forest, and close walking to the main building, with its hot showers and great facilities!

Are meals provided? Yes

Is Ross Creek Centre for the Arts technology free? Yes Kids are welcome to bring devices to take pictures and play music, but we ask that they do not have sim cards for cell usage, if they do upon arrival, we will put those in our safe until the end of camp to ensure a fabulous camp experience for all!

Property Details

Sports facilities

Landscape

More details about property: With world-class arts studio facilities in our programming building, and a gorgeous award-winning outdoor dining hall for summer eating, the camp is on 178 acres of fields and forests overlooking the Bay of Fundy. We have three ponds, a magical campfire area, and large organic gardens with produce used for our camp menus.

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Director's Message

In the News

April 19, 2021
SummerArts 2021 is Here!
Ross Creek SummerArts, Teen Academy and Dance Summer Dance camps are a perfect combination of enrichment, skill development and creativity!... Read More

June 12, 2019
SummerArts Camps at Ross Creek!
SummerArts combines the best of camp with the best of the arts, with overnight cabins, a full recreation schedule, campfire and arts!... Read More

January 30, 2019
Artist explores African Nova Scotian roots in Ross Creek Exhibition
Opening on February 10, a multimedia exploration created by the award-winning African-Canadian artist-educator Chantal Gibson. ... Read More

Stories

• Sharing Art

  "I’m Moxy from Manitoulin Island in Ontario and I am turning 13 in April. My interests are movie-making, acting, that kind of stuff. Art is a big thing, any type of art really. That’s kind of me.

  The first time I came to Ross Creek was in 2016. We went there to check it out and see if I’d want to go there. First off, everyone was super welcoming and it just really looked like a great place to hang out and make some art. So then I went there for a week overnight and I wasn’t scared at all. It was actually really fun. I’ve done a lot of different programs - movie-making, a theatre one, graphic design. A bunch of others. A printmaking one. I didn’t get to do animation this year, and architecture is another one that I thought would be cool to try. So I haven’t gotten to that yet but those sound pretty fun.

  The staff are amazing and they really help. It’s really cool because I get to meet creators and mentors from all over the world. I just think it’s really cool how many people can share their art at Ross Creek. My family are kind of artistes and I’m one of them so I love Ross Creek and that I can share my art there.

  My favourite memory that comes to my head is, we were around the campfire I jokingly went up to the front even though it was like a staff thing and they invited me up there. We sang a song and it was really nice. I’d like to keep going and do the youth leadership program. I just love the work of the youth leaders. They make me smile every day and I want to do that for all the other kids.

  It’s a really fun place. They’re really welcoming and you get a lot of things when you go there. You get a lot of life skills, you get to learn from mentors from all over the world, and the plays are amazing. Also the food! If I could say one thing it would be: just go to Ross Creek.'

• Room to Grow

  “I’m Marah, I’m Anishinabe, and I really like doing visual arts and dancing. I went with my parents to look into different camps because I wanted a new environment other than school where I could meet people. I first came to Ross Creek two years ago to be part of Teen Academies and I did the visual arts program there. I literally fell in love with Ross Creek and with everyone there and it just felt so inclusive. Ah I just love it. They just accept you for who you are.

  This summer I started finding books in the library of Norval Morriseau and different Indigenous artists and during the Academies this year I was able to spend a lot of time with Sara Hartland-Rowe and just, like, explore those things. I definitely learned so much from the Academies, not only in terms of art but about how collaboration is such a big part of it. It just has really helped me especially in school and in other projects outside of school and in helping the community and at work. It’s just so useful. And creating those personal relationships with the artists and having those connections in the arts community is really cool. Before Ross Creek I never thought that was possible.

  Being able to explore arts without judgment is a super big part of it. I know that I can play around with ideas without any judgment but I also get really good feedback. Working with the other teens in the Academies is super fun too. Oh and the leadership program! It’s helped me in so many things. It helped me to get my job because you get so much experience in all kinds of areas. It’s just such a safe place to learn and to make mistakes and then to grow as a person. My confidence has definitely grown so much being at Ross Creek and accepting myself and being myself. At Ross Creek you can just be whoever you want to be.

  I belong to a reserve called Timiskaming First Nation. I basically grew up there and am really passionate about the Anishinabe culture and think it’s very important. At Ross Creek, they made me even more proud to be Native American and to express myself.

  There was a week this summer when I got a bit sick so I had a lot of time on my hands. During that time I put together a call-and-response land acknowledgement for the camp. I think that it’s important that everyone has that education about where they are and on whose territory. It was super interesting to me because I’ve never been able to write and lead something like that. It felt very empowering. It actually made me pretty emotional because I’ve never had a place where I could bring that out of me and express it and share it with other people. Everyone was super accepting and very encouraging. It made me want to dive more into those kinds of things.

  After that I was looking through the library and I found this book, it’s like a comic on Indigenous culture, and I was in a workshop with the juniors (4-7 year olds) so I read it to them. I was kind of scared because I didn’t want them to be uninterested but they were so into it and they wanted to read it every single day! I was able to teach them my own understandings and words and different parts of the culture and it was just super nice to get even the small kids interested and learning. And then they started going to tuck and saying “miigwetch” when they got their snacks. It was so...I almost cried.

  I’d like to keep working at Ross Creek and make it to a counselor position eventually. I want to become a teacher because I just really enjoy interacting with kids all day and being able to educate them on new things. Seeing how curious and open minded they are is just so cool. Ross Creek has really helped me figure that out. I also want to learn even more about my Indigenous culture. Even though I’ve already made progress there’s always room to grow.”

• The Twins from Texas

  Our Twins (Maeve & Sean) have been attending Ross Creek Art Camp each year for the past 6 years.  They started as Junior day campers when they were 5 years old, and have both attended one or two weeks at Ross Creek each year, including overnight camps for the past 3 years.  We live in Texas, but have been able to spend our Summers in Nova Scotia, and Ross Creek is definitely the highlight of the summer for both kids. 

  Maeve has really blossomed as an artist, enjoying all of the types of media she has been introduced to. She was really inspired by the fashion design camp this past summer, and has asked for a sewing machine and fabric to continue exploring this art form. Sean has focused his artistic passion on the film making and computer generated art.

  Beyond the art, which is tremendous with the talented volunteers that lead the camps each year, the joyous, welcoming and true love that Ross Creek shows to our kids and their individual personalities is what brings us back to Ross Creek each year.  Artistic kids sometimes have a difficult time fitting in normal social circles. Ross Creek embraces these differences and makes the kids feel special. 

  The Ross Creek staff have also inspired leadership aspirations in our kids.  Both now have the desire and drive to become Junior Counselors at Ross Creek and take all that they have learned and give it back to other kids.

  Summers in the Annapolis Valley are spectacular, but Ross Creek Art Camp is the best part of summer in the Valley.

  Jeffrey W. Hurley

• Max at Camp

  My 13yr-old son Max has been attending Ross Creek camps since he was five, both the March Break and Summer sessions.  I cannot say enough about his experience at Ross Creek.  It is a place where he has been allowed to express himself artistically and grow leaps and bounds as a person. 

  Max became an overnight camper at the age of nine.  I was so worried when I dropped him off on that Sunday afternoon.  Would he be homesick?  Would he take care of and keep track of his belongings?  Would he get along with the other boys in his cabin?  Would he eat and brush his teeth and take a shower?  It was a very long week.  On Friday when we picked him up, I was met by a smiling boy who had spent five glorious days making art and making friends and making memories.  Under the watchful eyes of Roxy and the camp counsellors he had taken care of himself beautifully!  I was so happy and proud to see all that he had achieved.

  Independence grows at Ross Creek.  Creativity blossoms.  Activity is key.  A great deal of confidence is gained.  The campers are exposed to young people in leadership roles and inspiration follows each of them home.  Ross Creek is about games and campfires and sleep-outs under the stars.  Every day has a theme.  Mention Kangaroo Court to Max and watch him grin from ear to ear.

  The instructors that Ross Creek attracts to each session are top-notch in their fields and incredibly generous when it comes to sharing their knowledge and skill with the campers – Max has learned so much.  The counsellors and counsellors-in-training all bring a passion for the arts and a crazy amount of youthful, contagious enthusiasm.  They have been mentors for Max, who in turn has been inspired by their example to become a mentor himself.

  The fact that Ross Creek is a safe environment for children to be free to be whatever and whoever they want has been huge for Max.  To the extent that my artist / actor / comedian now wants to become a Ross Creek volunteer, a counsellor-in-training and eventually, a counsellor.  Those are amazing goals for a 13yr-old to have and I am eternally grateful to Ross Creek for helping nurture them.

• Dance Summer Dance

  This is Jordan's (age 16) second DSD camp. She previously attended in 2013. Jordan has been trained in classical ballet/jazz/modern and hip-hop since age 5. She has also attended Quinte Ballet School of Canada Summer Intensive (offered spot in full-time program) and Canada's Ballet Jorgen SI IV .
  
  Jordan really loves going to DSD!! There is not any aspect of camp life that she would change. The instructors such as Robert McCollum are top notch. Jordan chose to attend DSD primarily to work with "Ballet Bob" again. Every year she comes back from camp armed with new knowledge and has worked very hard on perfecting technique and mastering new choreography.
  Jordan especially enjoyed the African drumming she learned this past summer. 
  
  Camp life is so much fun !! The camp staff do an amazing job. They are well trained and always available day or night The campers enjoy dancing all day and at night they enjoy campfires,and fun activities like spa nights/gala dinners to keep them entertained. The weekend beach/Frency's trip is also something the dancers look forward to every year.
  One thing Jordan has enjoyed both times she attended DSD, is the food !! As much of the produce as possible is grown at or near Ross Creek Centre for the Arts. The chef really tries to incorporate a very healthy , well balanced menu which caters to the dancers and gives them the energy required to complete the day's activities.
  
  This year Jordan hopes to attend Dance Summer Dance again after returning from her 5 week program in Toronto with Ballet Jorgen. Thank you so much for putting  on such a fantastic program. I can't wait to send Jordan to Ross Creek again next summer!!!

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