CACTUS Fine Arts Day Camp

Creativity abounds at CACTUS Fine Arts Day Camp, as children and youth entering grades 3-8 explore the arts!  Master teachers offer instruction in vocal development, Orff instrument instruction, Kodály techniques for music literacy, drama, motivating musical games, dance, visual art and creative writing.  Participants gain a wealth of knowledge, as well as increased confidence in using the imagination.  The week-long camp concludes on Sunday morning as campers participate in morning worship, sharing their creativity with the congregation. 

CACTUS 2011 is scheduled for July 25-29 and Sunday, July 31. 

Camp Schedule and Activities

Camp activities begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Each camper rotates through five classes with students of the same grade level.  Between classes, campers enjoy snack breaks, lunch and recreation.  Participants bring their own sack lunch and beverage each day. 

Registration

The CACTUS tuition is $15/child.  (Donations above that amount are greatly appreciated!)  Campers are also asked to donate a can of juice or a bag of snacks on the first day of camp. To register, download a form here, or pick up a form in the church office.  Older youth are welcome to participate as volunteer assistants.

CACTUS Staff

The professional CACTUS staff  for 2010 included:

REBECCA GRUBER, Vocal Development

Since the founding of CACTUS in 1998, Rebecca Gruber has often been a part of the camp staff. Rebecca has conducted the Des Moines Public Schools Honor Chorus and the Southwest Iowa Children’s Honor Choir. She has presented seminars on children’s music to the Iowa Music Educators Association, the Central Iowa Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and the Iowa Choral Directors Association. She has conducted at the American Baptist Summer Music Conference in Greenlake, Wisconsin, the Great Plains Music Camp in Nebraska, “Listen and Love: Make a Difference for Children” in Chicago, and in All-State clinics throughout the Midwest. She has published a music literacy curriculum for elementary children as part of the Stepping Stones series.  Rebecca holds a Master of Sacred Music degree from Perkins School of Theology, a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from Southern Methodist University and a Doctor of Music Arts degree from the University of Nebraska. She is choirmaster of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Des Moines.

MARK GRUBER, Creative Drama

Mark Gruber holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Pittsburgh. His credits include more than 42 productions while serving as professor of theatre and speech at the University of Pittsburgh, El Centro College in Dallas, and Grand View College in Des Moines.  His acting credits include 14 productions of Shakespeare’s plays. Mark most enjoys the development of original plays and characters interpreted from Scripture.  He is a frequent worship planning contributor and guest artist in the Westminster Fine Art Series.  Mark is a featured presenter at arts camps and workshops.  He co-produced and directed seven seasons with the Dallas Children’s Theatre and directed The Adventures of Paddington Bear for the Lincoln Playhouse in Nebraska.  With Iowa Dance Theatre, Mark’s credits include Drosselmeyer in the Nutcracker and Captain Hook in Peter Pan.

RACHEL FAIDLEY, Orff Instruments

Rachel Faidley comes to CACTUS with 21 years of experience in elementary music education, having taught general music to kindergarten through eighth graders in New Jersey and Iowa.  Rachel holds a Bachelor of Music degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College and a Master of Music degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey.  She also holds Level 1 and 2 training in Orff-Schulwerk.  Rachel has “worn several hats” in various churches, most often serving as director of music/organist and director of drama ministries.  In her spare time she enjoys gardening, quilting and being involved in the Newton Community Theatre.  She and her husband share a log home on an acreage near Colfax.  They have seven adult children and a dog named Molly.

BETH ANN EDWARDS, Connecting Musical and Visual Art

Beth Ann Edwards is a free-lance graphic designer and fine art painter. Her liturgical commissions for installations and paintings have been exhibited in several local churches and she has lectured on historical liturgical art. Beth Ann received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Drake University in 1999, holds a Bachelor of Science in education from Southeast Missouri State University and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and is currently working on a Master of Church Music degree at Concordia University Wisconsin. Beth Ann is a member of the Westminster Chorale, the Oratorio Choir, and the Westminster Chimes. She directs handbell and vocal choirs at Westminster and curates art exhibits for youth and adults.

KELLIE JOHNSON, Creative Writing

Kellie Johnson, Director of Christian Education at Westminster, is an experienced Christian educator with a broad background in communications and the arts.  Kellie is a trained violist who loves writing and expressing herself creatively.   She was drawn to Westminster by CACTUS Fine Arts Camp, as she has a passion for connecting the creativity of the arts to the worship experience, and she enjoys working with children and youth.  Kellie holds a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in music from the University of Northern Iowa, and she is a graduate of the United Methodist Academy for Christian Education.  Her curriculum ideas have been recognized by others in the Christian education field, and her creative input has been used by curriculum writers at Abingdon Press.  Before coming to Westminster, she first served as Director of Lay Ministries at West Des Moines United Methodist Church before becoming their Director of Christian Education.

RUTH HARRIS, Accompanist

Ruth Harris, AAGO, received her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Music degrees in organ and church music from Northwestern University and has done doctoral work at the University  of Michigan.  She studied as a Fulbright scholar in Paris.  Later, she studied for a year at the Academy of Music in Vienna.  Organist at Westminster since 1976, Ruth has served as a member of the Worship Committee of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, on the staff of the national Montreat Worship and Music Conferences, as a music contest adjudicator throughout the Midwest, and, on occasion, as organist with the Des Moines Symphony. She teaches organ as an adjunct instructor at Drake University.

BECKY MILLER, Administrator

Becky Miller is a long-time member of Westminster Church. She has had numerous opportunities to share her organizational skills through stage-managing several Fine Arts Series productions at Westminster, serving as an Elder on Session and past chairperson  of the Worship & Music Committee. She served as vice chair of one of Westminster’s  Pastor Nominating Committees, and also served on the church’s Long Range Planning Committee. Becky’s “real” job entails serving ninth through twelfth graders at East High School as a counselor and department chair of the East High Counseling Department.   She has been a counselor with the Des Moines School district since 1991.

"Nothing in your life is so insignificant, so small, that God cannot be found at its centre."

Mother Frances Dominica