Appel Farm Arts and Music Center facts for kids
Appel Farm Arts & Music Center is a special place near Elmer, New Jersey, in the United States. It's a non-profit organization that helps people of all ages learn about and enjoy the arts. Founded in 1960 by musicians and art educators Albert and Clare Rostan Appel, it started as a summer camp. Over the years, Appel Farm has grown a lot. It now offers arts classes, retreats, programs in schools, and even a big arts festival. It's known as a top arts education group in South Jersey.
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What is Appel Farm's Goal?
Appel Farm's main goal is to give everyone a chance to explore the arts. This includes people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds. The founders believed that art is a fun and important part of learning. They also thought that everyone has artistic talent inside them, just waiting to be discovered!
How Appel Farm Started
Appel Farm began in 1959. Clare Appel, who was a refugee from Germany, and her husband Albert Appel, a farmer from New Jersey, loved music and their children. They decided to turn their 176-acre (0.71 km2) farm into a day camp. The very first campers arrived in the summer of 1960.
As more kids joined, small wooden cabins were built around the Appel family home. Albert, who played the violin, invited guest artists to perform and teach the children. Slowly, the activities grew. They hired full-time and seasonal teachers, and the camp became a place where kids could stay overnight. The first bunks were actually old chicken coops! Art classes were held in a barn.
Appel Farm officially became a non-profit organization in 1978. In 1987, Mark Packer became the Executive Director. Albert Appel still helped out a lot. In 1989, they started an annual arts and music festival. Clare Appel passed away in 1990, and Albert Appel passed away in 2020. Their dream, however, kept growing.
In 2014, Cori Solomon became the Executive Director. She wanted Appel Farm to focus even more on arts education. The New Jersey State Council on the Arts recognized them as an "Arts Basic to Education" organization. This helped Appel Farm work with more schools and art groups. Now, they offer many arts retreats for families and groups like Girl Scouts. About 25,000 people, including many schoolchildren, take part in Appel Farm's programs each year.
Appel Farm Today
Today, Appel Farm has many great facilities:
- The Clare Rostan Appel Theatre, which seats 250 people.
- A 7,000-square-foot (650 m2) Fine Arts Building with art studios and a gallery.
- Modern bunkhouses where campers and conference guests stay.
- Classrooms and a dance studio.
- A dining hall and two outdoor stages.
- A swimming pool and practice rooms.
- Photography darkrooms and video studios.
- A main office building.
- A special wood-fired kiln for pottery, built in 2000.
Appel Farm has won many awards. It has been approved by the American Camp Association for 39 years. For 20 years in a row, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts has called it a "Major Presenting Organization" for its great work in New Jersey. In 2004 and 2008, Appel Farm won a Governor's Award for Tourism because of its popular Arts and Music Festival.
Summer Arts Camp
The Summer Arts Camp is Appel Farm's oldest program. It's a sleepaway camp for kids aged 7–17. It offers intense arts education in a fun and encouraging environment. The Appels believed that all children have artistic talent. So, you don't need to audition to join the camp! It's not about competing, but about helping each other.
Campers explore different arts and learn to work together. They learn to appreciate other cultures and support each other's creative ideas. There are about 250 campers at a time, with over 100 staff members. These staff include professional artists and teachers from around the world. They help students build confidence and learn about different cultures.
What You Can Do at Camp
During each two-week session, students spend five hours a day on their chosen main and minor subjects. These include:
- Theatre and technical theatre
- Music and dance
- Visual arts, photography, and video
- Creative writing and Arts + Technology
- Sports, swimming, and horseback riding
For example, if you choose music, you might get private lessons, play in a group, learn music theory, and take performance classes. The GREEN Corps program teaches about how art and the environment are connected. Kids work on projects to create art and make the campus beautiful. Students can try any course that interests them and are encouraged to explore new art forms. There's also time for relaxing, field trips, evening concerts, and workshops by visiting artists.
Campers and staff also visit hospitals, nursing homes, and community centers. They bring fun art activities to places that might not have much art programming. Appel Farm also has a scholarship program. It helps kids who love art but need financial help to attend the camp.
Famous Alumni
Many talented people have attended Appel Farm's Summer Arts Camp. Some of them include:
- Designer Jonathan Adler
- Violist Toby Appel
- Composer Michael Kaulkin
- Broadway musical director Stephen Oremus
- Actor Connor Paolo
- Songwriter Adam Schlesinger
- Musician Rami Perlman (son of violinist Itzhak Perlman)
- Actress Genevieve Angelson
- Singer/songwriter Bethany Yarrow (daughter of folksinger Peter Yarrow)
- Musician Steve Berlin from Los Lobos
- Actor Daniel Jenkins
- Brett Loewenstern from American Idol
Concerts and Festivals
For many years, Appel Farm hosted concerts year-round with different types of music. They also had "First Fridays @ the Gallery," which showed off new performers in a cozy setting. Appel Farm also worked with Washington Township Live Arts to hold concerts at the Commerce Bank Arts Center. Famous past performers included Lonestar, Dave Koz, and Sweet Honey in the Rock.
Appel Farm Arts and Music Festival
The annual Appel Farm Arts and Music Festival was a very popular event. It attracted over 10,000 people from all over the Eastern United States. Started in 1989, the festival was held on the first Saturday of June. It featured up to twelve musicians and groups on two outdoor stages. The festival also had a Children's Village with kids' theatre and art activities. There was also a Crafts Fair where artists showed and sold their work.
Music & Wine Festival
After a break, Appel Farm started a new event in 2015: the Music & Wine Festival. This festival celebrated local wineries from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. It featured 15 wineries, musicians, and artists. This event moved to June in 2017 and became a two-day, overnight festival. Besides wine tasting, it included a Kids Camp, a bonfire with s'mores, and a private concert by musician Joe Crookston.
Since 2018, the center has focused its festival more on its main goal of arts education.
Community Arts Programs
Appel Farm also has Community Arts Outreach Programs. These programs help people in southwestern New Jersey, especially in cities and rural areas that don't have many art programs. This includes Salem, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Camden counties.
Programs for Schools
Appel Farm partners with elementary and middle schools. They offer programs like:
- Theatre in the Schools
- Music in the Schools
- Visual Arts in the Schools
- Dance in the Schools
- Student Theater and Dance Matinées
For high schools, they offer visual arts and music residencies, and professional theatre performances. Over 20,000 schoolchildren benefit from these programs every year.
Appel Farm also hosts a Family Matinée Series at its theatre, featuring children's performers. They also offer arts classes on-site in many different art forms. These programs mostly serve people living within 25-mile (40 km) of Appel Farm.
