Some of my happiest childhood memories are from the time I spent at Camp Kinderland. Despite an initial bout of homesickness my first summer, I soon felt like I had been part of the Kinderland community for years. Bunks and buildings were named after radical heroes I recognized from family discussions and Seders. I lived in Harriet Tubman, Emma Lazarus, and Ernestine Rose cabins, danced in the Paul Robeson theatre and played ultimate frisbee by the Roberto Clemente sports hut.

My older cousins had attended camp before me and I remember listening to their stories about the Peace Olympics, Kinderland ties (the outcome of most, if not all, “competitive” games at Camp), casa (goodies sent from home which were shared by all campers in a bunk), Holocaust Remembrance Day, and Camp-wide share. I wanted a chance to experience all of it for myself.

Progressive summer camps were an important part of my dad and uncle’s childhood; they provided a place where many adults knew their family history and supported their birth parents, and where the majority of campers shared many of their values. So it’s not surprising that my dad strongly encouraged first me, and then my younger sister, to attend summer camp.

I was delighted to have the opportunity to return to Kinderland as an adult when it hosted several RFC events in the early 2000s. And I’m thrilled that the RFC is one of the sponsors of the first Kinderland Arts & Activism Festival this Labor Day weekend, September 3 -5. The festival’s mission, “artistic collaboration for social justice,” is a perfect fit with the RFC’s ongoing commitment to celebrating activist artists and their contributions to our work. The Festival will “bring together musicians, artists, and dancers, with activists and organizers for a celebration of art as an agent of peace.”

Dar Williams, Guy Davis (son of Ruby Dee and RFC Advisory Board member in memoriam, Ossie Davis), Gerry Tenney, Los Hacheros, Vitalis Maembe and others will perform throughout the festival. The weekend will also feature workshops (including Clowning for a Cause, Art for Activism: Protest Sign and Puppet Making, and Food for Thought: Responsible Eating) and booths highlighting artistic and activist organizations. There will be on and off site camping, space in the bunks and other accommodations, including at bed and breakfasts and area hotels.

Festival ticket prices were recently reduced thanks to grant funding to make the festival more accessible. These rates are available for a limited time only. You can take advantage of the discounts here. There are no on-site ticket sales, so don’t delay!

Thanks to generous support from the Puffin Foundation for our ongoing “Artists as Activist” programming, RFC staff will be at the festival Saturday and Sunday. Stop by our booth to say hello, sign the petition to Exonerate Ethel Rosenberg and learn more about our grants that help today’s “children of resistance.” I hope we’ll see you there.