BETHLEHEM, Pa. — After four years of COVID-19 pandemic-driven hiatus, local music education nonprofit Lehigh Valley Girls Rock is bringing back its adult "Let's Rock" camp in April.
The camp is to enable women, trans and nonbinary members of the community aged 18 or older to get a taste of the Get LOUD Camp youth program.
Throughout the weekend, campers will be taught to play a traditional rock band instrument (guitar, bass, drums) or sing, form a band among the members there and, between educational workshops, write an original song together to be performed at a Sunday showcase.
The camp is set to take place at Circle of Seasons charter school in Fogelsville from Friday, April 19 to Sunday, April 21, with an end-of-camp showcase at National Sokols Lodge, 613 Hillside Ave., Bethlehem.
Registration for the camp closes April 5, and is on a first come, first served basis.
"It's about creating positive, safe spaces for people to try new things, find their voice, and just, you know, learn more about themselves."Lehigh Valley Girls Rock board President Jennifer Alpha
"It's about creating positive, safe spaces for people to try new things, find their voice and just, you know, learn more about themselves," Lehigh Valley Girls Rock board President Jennifer Alpha said.
"We're not teaching them to read music, we're not teaching them music theory or anything like that. But we're teaching them foundational elements of songwriting, and things about their instruments specifically, that so that they can apply those in their band.
"And magically, everybody comes out with a song."
'Commitment large, outcome larger'
Alpha said that while the songwriting process can be stressful while meeting new people and learning a new instrument, the camp includes many opportunities for breaks and fun activities to keep it uplifting and positive.
"As physically and emotionally challenging as it can be, sometimes you get that much back in inspiration, and a feeling of really being uplifted by other people," Alpha said.
"In all of our years and all of our camps, there hasn't been a single band who wasn't able to make a killer song in the time that they had together. "Lehigh Valley Girls Rock board President Jennifer Alpha
"So I think the time commitment is large, but the outcome is larger.
"In all of our years and all of our camps, there hasn't been a single band who wasn't able to make a killer song in the time that they had together.
"So I think that that is a pretty cool thing. I won't say it's always easy, sometimes bands struggle. But we certainly help them through it. Our volunteers are amazing, and people always come out feeling like rock stars."
Camp Director Becca Buhler said the program typically features four to six bands by the end.
'A wide range of people'
Buhler said the camp gets "a little bit of everything" in terms of experience, from people in their late teens to people in their 60s. She said it doesn't matter what campers' skill level is going in.
"We have people who are new to the area and just trying to meet like-minded people."Camp Director Becca Buhler
"We have people who are new to the area and just trying to meet like-minded people," Buhler said.
"Sometimes we have like older folks who maybe played in a band in their 20s or just love music and want to get involved in some way, we have people that have been in bands, we have people that play instruments, we have people who have never touched an instrument in their lives.
"So it really is just a really wide range of people."
Tuition is on a sliding scale. People are asked to be honest about what they can afford to pay. Standard tuition for the camp is $300, with the option to further donate to supplement scholarships for other campers.
Meals are provided as part of the camp.
More information on the camp and registration can be found on the Lehigh Valley Girls Rock website.
Return of full slate of programming
After four years of virtual programming and cut back offerings, the return of the adult camp finally signals the complete return to the full slate of what Lehigh Valley Girls Rock offered in 2019.
"It feels like when we're able to do this program that we're like, really back," Buhler said, who took part in the camp alongside Alpha in 2015. Now, they share band separate from Lehigh Valley Girls Rock called Ghost Lily.
The local nonprofit seeks to make "a difference in the lives of youth and adults who may experience marginalization because of their gender" through music.
"If you're a woman or female-identifying person, nonbinary or trans, it is hard to have a voice in the music scene, and to find a place where you feel safe and comfortable," Alpha said.
Alpha said that while the organization has not yet fully recovered financially from the pandemic, recovering programming-wise has been really special.
"It's an opportunity to invest in ourselves and take time to learn something new and nurture something that we've always wanted, and make new friends. It's really special."Jennifer Alpha
"The adult program is really special to me, because I think that as adults, we are not good at taking time for ourselves and we're not good at investing in ourselves in ways that help us grow," Alpha said.
"It's an opportunity to invest in ourselves and take time to learn something new and nurture something that we've always wanted, and make new friends. It's really special."
Lehigh Valley Girls Rock is funded in primarily by individual donors, as well as fundraisers and grants. it is run by volunteers of musicians, artists, educators and parents across the Lehigh Valley.
