Happy Memorial Day, Hollow Mountain friends! I’m writing this while being nap-trapped after my toddler went ham at the Discovery Museum this afternoon, and I hope you were also able to fun-exhaust your kiddos on this three-day weekend.
As we are heading into our fifth and final week, I just want to say thank you all so much. Whether you have donated, signed your kiddos up for our programs, or just shared the word: the outpouring of support from the community these last couple of months has been so humbling and it reinforces I made the right choice in sticking around to raise my fifth generation Nevadan kiddos. Our community is full of awesome, wonderful people and businesses just waiting to help — this has shown all they need is the opportunity!
Last week we also got to take our jackalopes and their families out of the studio and into the community itself, with a tour of the Carson City Sheriff’s Office led by Sheriff Kenny Furlong, and a tour of City Hall led by Mayor Lori Bagwell.
They both did so in their off hours while both buildings were closed, but our core mission is to make sure all kids and families have access to opportunities for enrichment and community building, which means after-hours for working families. We extend our biggest, loudest thank you to Sheriff Kenny and Mayor Lori for volunteering their time for our jackalopes!
Yesterday we also announced our next big project: an Art Design Challenge for our all new youth-designed Community Garden & Monarch Butterfly Waystation mini-station, which is opened to artists between the ages of 1 and 20, and comes with a $250 cash prize for the final design winner.
Submissions open May 27 and continue through June 27. Click the flyer below to learn more:
We hosted our first Game Design workshop, where our jackalopes got to learn from our brilliant instructor Cadance, a student of the University of Edinburgh studying Game Design Theory and Mixed Media. They were taken through the steps of concept design and implementation while exploring their own unique gaming ideas.
Our all-ages gardening workshop participants got to bring a little science into the mix by getting to engage in hands-on soil testing before learning all about seeds, the needs of sprouts, and planting their own mini gardens to plant at home!
Just because our pilot program is ending, however, it doesn’t mean we’re going away. We will be taking a short break to go through the data, see what families are looking for the most and when, and come up with a plan to move forward.
This might look like hosting series instead of standalone workshops, offering memberships instead of per-workshop payments, hosting weeklong daytime camps / homeschool enrichment programming, offering one-on-one academic tutoring services, summer internships for middle and high schoolers — the possibilities are endless!
In addition to sorting through the data and making final decisions, we will also be sending out a survey at the end of this week so you can help us determine where we will go next! Keep your eyes and ears peeled for when that comes out — as a nonprofit, we are an organization “owned” by the public, and our team are simply the stewards of it. So in essence, when we say “it takes a village” we mean it very literally.
Scholarships & Discounted Tickets
Just as a quick reminder before we get to the schedule, the Hop & Mae Adams Foundation provided a generous donation to Hollow Mountain which has allowed us to provide (in addition to our scholarship fund!) TWO 50% off tickets for every regular-priced workshop through the pilot program! These are on a first-come, first-served basis, so register early to snag your $20 tickets.
If you want to sign up your jackalope for a workshop, but feel as though the cost would be a financial strain, reach out to us directly at info@hollowmountainworkshops.org for a scholarship request and we will make sure no one gets left behind!
This week
This week we our kicking off with a Creative Writing workshop Tuesday hosted by the amazing award-winning writer and college writing professor Corrinne Bollendorf.
Wednesday brings us our final Zine Making and Collage workshop, followed by our final Game Design workshop Thursday, both available for older elementary aged students and older!
Friday brings our final Family Friendly Friday Yoga, and all ages gardening Saturday morning.
If weren’t able to come to our first apocalypse workshop, we’ll be hosting another on May 30 — one for younger wastelanders (which will focus on much less scary aspects of the apocalypse) and one for the saem demographic of 10+.
Click on the image to be taken to our workshops page directly.
We know how difficult it can be to find mental health care at times (and prices) accessible to working families. That’s why our Wellness Workshops are always held in the evenings, and at the same flat-rate as our workshops, no insurance required. We have two on the books currently: an all-(big kid)ages Art-Therapy Themed Wellness Group on Mondays, and a Improv & Theater Themed Wellness Group for older elementary and up on Tuesdays on alternating weeks. Both are led by licensed therapists. Learn more by clicking on the image to the right!
As always: thank you!
Thank you for helping us on our mission to connect kids with their community and gain some cool skills and friends along the way! We couldn’t do it without you — and please, if you want to sign up but need some help covering costs, don’t hesitate to reach out. “It takes a village” doesn’t just mean keeping an eye on each other’s children at the park, or lending a hand when your neighbor is sick: it also means accepting support from others! We all benefit from living in a community where our children feel needed, safe and loved.
See you soon friends! And be sure to keep up to date with workshop offerings and new opportunities at hollowmountainworkshops.org
Check out all our available workshops at the link below:
