About Encore Creative Arts Camp
Encore Creative Arts Camp offers a dynamic, non-academic summer and winter camp experience, distinguishing itself with a unique blend of creative arts (singing, dancing, yoga, crafts) and specialized programs like 'Survivor Camp' focusing on real-world skills. Under new management and with recently retrained staff, it fosters strong social bonds and high engagement among campers, making it a 'hidden gem' for parents seeking a fun-first environment.
What parents should know
Summarized from real visitor reviews.
Best for: Children aged 5 and older who are drawn to creative arts, performing, unique skill-building (like survival), and highly social environments.Parents seeking a non-academic summer or winter camp experience prioritizing fun, engagement, and skill development.Families requiring convenient extended camp hours and easy parking options.Those who value a camp with strong positive peer interaction and a focus on children making friends.Excellent for 5-year-olds, with programs like 'Minows' and specific winter camp activities (singing, dancing, yoga, crafts).
Why families love it
- Operates under new management with staff retrained for proper child supervision, addressing prior concerns (since Thanksgiving break, current as of Winter camp).
- Offers a diverse range of activities including singing, dancing, yoga, crafts, and daily winter performances.
- Features a specialized 'Survivor Camp' that teaches engaging and 'very real survival skills'.
- Fosters strong positive peer interaction, with older children actively helping younger campers with activities like crafts and reading.
- Specific staff members, Laura and Joseph, were highly praised for their interaction with children.
- Children consistently report high engagement, eagerness to attend, and making friends quickly.
Insider tips
- If there's any chance of needing to cancel, thoroughly understand and confirm the cancellation and refund policy *in writing* before registering, as the process is reported to be extremely difficult and uncooperative.
- If sensitive to occasional informal or potentially unprofessional language from counselors, be aware that some instances of swearing/put-downs have been reported.
- Inquire about specific camp themes, such as the 'Survivor Camp' or 'Arts and Crafts Camp', to ensure alignment with your child's interests.
- Label all personal belongings clearly to mitigate the risk of lost items, and be prepared for minor administrative delays.
Good to know before you go
- Parents who anticipate needing a flexible cancellation policy or a guaranteed refund for changed plans, due to reported administrative difficulties.
- Families seeking a 'summer school' or a strictly academically oriented camp environment.
- Individuals who expect flawless administrative efficiency, immediate responses, or zero lost items.
- Parents who are highly sensitive to occasional casual swearing or unprofessional language from counselors.
- Severe difficulty and unresponsiveness regarding cancellation requests and refunds, with explicit warnings to 'BEWARE' from registrants due to an uncooperative administrative process.
- Crowds
- No specific details regarding crowd levels or peak times were mentioned in the reviews.
- Value
- Offers extended hours for an additional fee, making it convenient for working parents (e.g., 8:30-5:15 with extra after-hours paid). Many parents find the camp to be a 'hidden gem' offering better value and experience compared to other neighborhood camps. However, the difficulty in obtaining refunds for cancellations represents a significant potential 'hidden cost' or loss of value.
- Food
- No specific food and drink rules or policies mentioned in the reviews.
- Accessibility
- No specific accessibility accommodations mentioned in the reviews.
- Safety
- New management has implemented staff training to 'properly watch kids', assuring parents of a 'safe and fun place'.
What parents say
"My daughter (5 years old) really enjoyed the winter camp. She loved the staff (Laura and Joseph) and was super excited about all the crafts and the winter performance each day. They taught her singing, dancing, and even yoga! She made a lot of friends and some of the older kids helped her with her crafts, read books to her, etc. We were hesitant about the older reviews and being that it would be our first time sending our child there, we decided to check out the camp during Thanksgiving break, before sending our daughter to winter camp. We learned they are under new management and all of "
a year ago
"We registered our son last summer and he had a really great time thanks to the camp. Our experience with the staff was pretty good and our son was always very eager to get to camp every morning. We found it to be a very creative and fun environment with lots of activities. If your looking for summer school type environment, this is not it. But, if you want your kids to have an amazing summer and make new friends, you can't go wrong with Encore."
2 years ago
"I registered for the camp very early on, before seeing the unhappy reviews from other parents. I sent my kids on day 1, mentally preparing for the worst… but you know what? My kids really like this camp! My son is in the survivor camp and he LOVES learning all of the very real survival skills. He’s completely engaged and talks nonstop about all that he’s learning. My daughter is in arts and crafts camp and she’s very happy! She has made friends quickly and wakes up every morning eager to get going back to camp. I wish I could do 4.5 stars here - we are happy but would love to see some bett"
3 years ago
Reviews sourced from public Google data.
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