The final bells of the school year are about to ring and with them comes the long-awaited arrival of summer!  One of the most time-honored and nostalgia evoking traditions of summer is the time spent at summer camp.  Cenla boasts a host of great opportunities for youth to learn new skills, build lifelong friendships, and make lasting memories.  From traditional residential camps to specialized sports focused and arts offerings, there is something for everyone at Summer Camp Across Cenla!

Camp Hardtner, located in Pollock, is home to Louisiana’s only Episcopal summer camp. The mission of Camp Hardtner is “to seek to provide an atmosphere that promotes both personal and spiritual growth and renewal for all guests.”

2022 is Camp Hardtner’s 75th summer! Hardtner welcomed its first campers in the summer of 1948, making it one of the longest running summer camps in Louisiana. In other words, its impact spans multiple generations, thousands of youth and adolescents, and countless ripples through Louisiana and the world. Put another way, kids have been having a blast at Hardtner for a long time!

Summer camp 2022 promises to build upon that 75-year history. Today’s kids, youth, and adolescents will find an experience that will stick with them all year long and quite possibly for life. An experience of relationship, community, belonging, and self-worth–all built upon the foundation that God’s love surrounds us and transforms our lives.

Camp Hardtner is for families looking for a high quality summer camp experience with a proven track record, rooted in Christ’s teachings of acceptance and love—right here in Louisiana. Given the isolation and loneliness we have experienced the last two years, camp can be the answer to what our kids need right now, and a foundation for what will serve them as they grow.

Add Camp into your summer plans and register today! For more information about the different sessions and about Camp Hardtner, browse the Camps  website at camphardtner.org or call (38) 765-3794 with any questions.

Camp Grant Walker has provided camp experiences for 4-H youth for 100 years. The summer camp program continues to be a beloved tradition for the 4-H youth in Louisiana. This year’s camp slogan is “A 100 Years, A Million Memories”. Campers will get to swim (in an Olympic size pool), canoe, play softball, volleyball, ping pong, and dance. In addition, campers will be able to choose to participate in one of the following educational tracks: water safety, food & fitness, outdoor adventures; science, engineering and technology; hunter safety; or Louisiana Wetlands.

Camp Grant Walker is a learning experience that helps boys and girls appreciate the outdoors, live together as a group, gain independence, get along with others, and appreciate people with different interests and backgrounds.

One of the most important things children learn from camp is to be self-sufficient. That is, they learn they can survive for three days on their own. To help campers learn self-sufficiency, parents are asked not to call or visit campers unless there is an emergency. Campers may not bring cell phones or electronic devices to camp. The camp week consists of four days, beginning on Monday afternoon when the campers arrive at camp and ending on Thursday morning after breakfast. 4-H Agents, volunteer leaders, and teen counselors from each parish attend camp and stay in the cabins with the campers.

To help make it possible for every young person to go to camp at least one time, the 4-H Camp Grant Walker Educational Center operates on a non-profit basis. Costs are kept as low as possible. Since transportation costs vary from parish to parish, please contact your parish 4-H agent about the total camp fee for your parish.

For 63 years, the Lions Clubs of Louisiana have provided the facilities, staff, and programming of the Louisiana Lions Camp for the youth of Louisiana with respiratory disorders, special needs, juvenile diabetes, and childhood cancer. Lions Camp is free for qualifying boys and girls of Louisiana. All campers are sponsored by their local Lions Clubs.

Campers come from across the state and attend at no cost.  While at camp, they participate in activities such as archery, swimming, and a talent show. In addition to a week full of fun activities, campers also gain valuable life lessons. These lessons teach independence, they remove the disability mindset, and they provide a social experience where everyone is treated as equal.

Counselors, high school to college-aged students, guide campers through daily life during activities and overnight. The camp serves counselors by teaching how to be a future parent, by growing a servant’s attitude, and by helping those less fortunate than themselves.

Activities at camp include archery, canoeing, fishing, air riflery, sports activities, boating, talent shows, dances, carnivals, and much more. Lions Camp is divided into several summer sessions, tailored to each group of campers.

Louisiana Lions L.P.D.C.I. Camp Pelican is a weeklong summer camp program for children living with pulmonary disorders ages five to fifteen years and will run June 5th through June 11th.

Camp for Mentally Challenged Youth, aged 8-19, with Mild-Moderate mental challenges will enjoy an outdoor summer experience filled with laughter, smiles, and LC Love. The camp will offer two sessions—June 19th through 25th and June 26th through July 2nd.

Camp for Physically Challenged Youth is designed for campers aged 7-19, with Spina Bifida, Cerebral Palsy and other physical exceptionalities. It will also offer two sessions—July 3rd through July 9th and July 10th through July 16th.

Louisiana Lions Diabetes Camp provides an opportunity for youth ages 6 to 14, who live with Type 1 diabetes, to learn about their disease and get to know others who face the same challenges. Campers have a week packed with fun and discovery. Safety, education, increased self-esteem, and respite for the family from the daily demands of diabetes are all benefits of Lions Camp. The main reason to go to diabetes camp is to have fun, and it is most often an unforgettable adventure that makes campers eager to return. This year’s camp will run from July 17th through July 23rd.

Summer 2022 will round out with Louisiana Lions & Camp Challenge July 24th through July 30th.  Louisiana Lions and Camp Challenge joined together to provide a life-changing experience for youth of Louisiana dealing with childhood cancer as well as hematologic disorders.

For more information, contact your local Lions Club or visit the camp online at lionscamp.org.

The Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) Camp program emphasizes leadership, citizenship, and personal growth.  This leadership camp is sponsored by Rotary and helps build tomorrow’s leaders. Young men and women who are rising juniors in high school spend a week in a challenging program of discussions, leadership training, and social activities. For 2022, Camp RYLA will be June 25th they July 2nd at the OWL (Outdoor Wilderness Learning) Center in Dubach, located Northwest of Ruston.  Interested campers can contact their local Rotary Club for sponsorship and registration information.

The staff at the YWCA has an exciting summer planned at the Y! Campers will enjoy daily activities which include arts and crafts, indoor/outdoor games, recreational swimming and much more.  Weekly activities include a special activity or field trip and Friday Finales.  All camp sessions are separated by age and gender.

Registration is $105.00 per camper, which includes application processing, field trips, t-shirt and Friday Finales. Once registered, weekly rates are $100 per week for the first child in a family; $95.00 per week for the second child in a family; $90.00 for the third child in a family; or $40.00 per child for the daily rate.

Questions and concerns are always welcome. The staff at the YWCA has an open door policy at and are happy to be of any assistance. Contact the YWCA office at (318) 442-3397.

Located at Alexandria Senior High, The ASH Sports Camp has provided a SAFE environment that promotes fun through participation in sports and recreational activities for 32 summers!  Campers aged 5 to 14 are involved in a wide variety of supervised activities, including daily recreational swimming with American Red Cross certified lifeguards, and daily fundamental instruction led by ASH coaches. All activities, breakfast, and lunch are included in registration fees. This year’s camp will kick off on Tuesday, May 31st and run through Friday, July 15th.

Experienced Sport Coordinators lead daily fundamental periods of instruction and supervise games. After campers mail in the registration form and $60.00 fee, they are registered to attend any or all of the weeks. Weekly fees of $130 per week ($110 per additional sibling) are due on Mondays. Campers only pay fees for the weeks they attend Sports Camp. Camp runs Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm (campers may be dropped off as early as 7:30am and picked up as late as 5:30pm).

For more information, or to register, visit ashsportscamp.com or call (318) 528-1ASH.

Summer is here so get out of school and get on the stage! Campers will explore how to be a character, how to use their voice, how use their body to act, and most importantly how to get up in front of others and act.  A class so fun they’ll be begging to stay for more!

Petite Summer Camp is offered for ages 3 to 6 beginning Monday, May 30th through Friday, June 3rd from 9:00am to 12:00pm. Petite Camp ends with a showcase at the Lagniappe Theatre Event Center.

Theatre Camp will follow Petite Camp, running daily from 1:00pm to 5:00pm, culminating in a production of Annie Kids. With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charms everyone’s hearts despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. Annie is determined to find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of an orphanage run by the cruel Miss Hannigan. Annie eventually foils Miss Hannigan’s evil machinations, finding a new home and family in billionaire, Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary, Grace Farrell, and a lovable mutt named Sandy. An Audition will be held for campers on Thursday, May 19th at 4:00pm at Lagniappe Theatre.

Late Night Lagniappe is back! The camp runs Monday, June 6th through Friday June 10th from 1:00pm to 5:00pm! Come bring your creative skills to life. The Camp will culminate with a sketch comedy show on Friday, June 10th at 8:00pm full of hilarious skits, improv, singing, dancing, and tons of laughter. Performers are also servers for the evening as the audience will enjoy desserts and beverages at your table!

For more camp tuition information or to register, visit lagniappetheatre.com/acting-classes or call (318) 487-8243.

Every year, Central Louisiana’s largest visual arts summer camp opens its doors to campers ages 5 to 13 with afternoon art sessions and additional all-day options with pre-camp care.  Campers rotate through three classes each day with a break for refreshments (provided by River Oaks). Each camp session incorporates projects using a variety of media. There will be ceramic projects, painting projects, acting, etc. During two-week sessions, every student learns basic ceramic procedures like pinch, slab, and coil methods of construction. During 1-week sessions cooking class replaces ceramics class.

On the last Thursday of each session, River Oaks hosts a Themed Thursday event.  This is an awesome day that campers dress up, create themed day art projects, participate in unique studio group challenges, and finish the day with a party. The daily studio group challenges instill all the benefits that come from team-building—teamwork, communication, leadership, confidence, responsibility trust, respect, and create a unique culture at camp.

The Board of directors of River Oaks donates a camp t-shirt to every camper.  These commemorative camp shirts are brought home after Tie-Dye Tuesday. This year’s sessions are scheduled with a holiday theme in mind: Episode 1—Mardi Gras: June 6th through June 17th; Episode 2—Independence Day: June 20th through July 1st; Episode 3—Christmas in July: July 11th through July 15th; and Episode 4—Halloween: July 18th through July 29th.

For more information on Summer Arts Studio, visit riveroaksartscenter.com or call (318) 473-2670.

It’s going to be a braniac summer at AMoA Summer Art Camp!

The July 11th through 15th session will be Process, Produce, Repeat with Carolyn Scalfano. Process art allows artists to focus on the how of making, rather than the end product. In this camp, campers can flex their creative muscles with projects like chromatography collage, geometric painting, luminescent moon phases, as well as some collaborative problem solving, focusing on the acts of the processes. It’s like creative mindfulness for kids.

Gallery Grooves with Cindy Blair will meet July 18th through 22nd. Campers will participate in fanciful, imagination-stretching art activities, inspired by art on the gallery walls of AMoA. They will create two dimensional and sculptural works AMoA classroom and galleries.

When STEM gets STEAM, awesome things happen with Jennifer DePriest, from July 25th through 29th. Campers will use science, technology, engineering, ART, and mathematics to design, experiment, problem solve and build independent structures using manipulatives, tools and other art supplies. The structures will come together to form a specialized, thoughtful, and creative model town.

All camps are half day programs, with 6- to 9-year-olds meeting from 9:00am to 12:00pm and 10- to 12-year-olds meeting from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. Early drop off is 8:45am and 12:45pm, respectively, with latest pick up at 12:15pm and 4:15pm, respectively. Camp registration is $100 for AMoA members and $130 for non-members. All sessions are limited to 20 campers each.

If you need assistance with the cost of sending a child to camp, some scholarships are available. Please apply or contact [email protected].