By Andrea Holata 

BRIGHTON — With summertime in full swing on the Brighton Reservation and hundreds of youth out of school, Brighton has two summer camps with many activities to keep the youth engaged during their break.

The camp has no shortage of action, including media production, aviation building, arts and crafts, movies, health, volleyball, softball and football, just to name a few. The activities are offered by the Boys & Girls Club and the Recreation Department.

Recreation holds their summer camp from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and all community youth are invited to participate.

With several Tribal members attending the camp daily, Recreation’s main focus is on sports, but it also works with the Arts and Crafts Department to provide a craft hour for youth each week.

The camp also promotes an early morning fitness hour.

“It keeps them active, out of trouble and promotes healthiness,” fitness specialist Ignacio Orozco said.

If youth participate throughout the week, they are treated to a field trip, such as ice skating, bowling and movies.

In addition to Recreation’s youth summer camp, the Boys & Girls Club has a summer camp for youth as well.

Under the direction of Boys & Girls Club unit manager Derek Pierce, the summer camp, on average, has about 40 daily participants between the ages of 5-18. The camp focuses on keeping the kids’ minds stimulated in a fun, structured environment.

“A lot of what we are doing is pretty heavy stuff, particularly with the music,” Pierce said. “They write lyrics and learn time management in sort of a structured way.”

The youth also do other things to help spark their interests. The latest projects include rocket building and the home makeover of a doll house.

“These projects stimulate good conversation. It gets them thinking about their future,” Pierce said. “They are related to science, to math, and we get to see where it goes from there.”

The younger kids can choose from all sorts of fun activities, including arts and crafts, movies, tether ball, jump rope and kickball.

“I like coming to camp because we get to play all kinds of games,” Jana Johnson said.

Pierce said he hopes everyone will give the camp a try.

“Kids got to have something to do over the summer – something that’s structured, safe and fun,” he said. “Sometimes parents want a break, and we provide those kinds of services to give the kids structure and attention that they deserve over the summer.”