Growing local talent: Bosque Arts Center’s Imagination Factory camp concludes with music, art, appreciation as young artists take center stage
When children are encouraged to create, imagine and explore, they develop the confidence and emotional resilience needed to face future challenges and learn from mistakes.
Thirty-two young artists took the stage June 18 to conclude the Bosque Arts Center’s annual Imagination Factory summer creative arts camp, showcasing three days of music, movement and creativity during a performance in the Frazier Performance Hall.
The week-long camp brought together children who had completed first through fifth grades, dividing them into four classes of eight students each. While preparing a musical production, campers also spent their days creating a variety of visual art projects, including marionette mice, wire sculptures and other works of art.
For Bosque Arts Center events coordinator Deb Phinney, the 2026 group stood out from the beginning.
“It’s been my pleasure to be program director this year, and to be in charge of this year’s Imagination Factory, and it’s because this is a wonderful group of kids,” Phinney told parents and family members gathered for the closing program. “You should all be proud of your kids, as they’ve been one of the best groups I’ve had the privilege of working with since I took over at the Imagination Factory.”
Phinney also shared the praise by the camp’s instructors: “That’s not just me saying that, that’s almost every one of the teachers telling me that too.”
Camp teacher Jeanne Davis said students had only three days to learn and rehearse the musical numbers featured in the performance.
The show included “Farm Funnies,” a comedy routine built around farm-themed jokes, along with musical selections “Every Part of Me Likes to Dance,” “A Million Dreams” and “The Greatest Show” from the Broadway musical The Greatest Showman.
Davis acknowledged that some of the songs were ambitious for younger performers but praised the students’ efforts in bringing the production together in a short amount of time.
Throughout the week, campers rotated through classes taught by Shannon Birchum, Julie Maxwell, Tia Oliver, Jeanne Davis and Deb Phinney. Classroom youth helpers included Suzi Etheredge, Dacey Patrick, Lilian Harris, Lila Alfaia, Anna Lovell and Coco Guitierrez. Group guides Ellie Baker, Marilee Harris, Hanna Beaudin and Daniel Terrell helped escort students between activities and assisted with camp operations.
Following the performance, families were invited to the ground floor to view an exhibit of the students’ artwork before taking their creations home. A reception with cookies and pink lemonade followed.
The evening also featured a special recognition for longtime Imagination Factory volunteers Diana Robertson and Dawn Nowell – sisters who retired after 15 years of service to the camp.
Phinney presented the pair with special awards and asked the audience to recognize their contributions with applause, which was immediately showered at the humbled pair.
“Please give them a standing ovation,” Phinney said. “They have made Imagination Factory fabulous for a lot of students over the years.”
Robertson later reflected on what kept her returning to the camp year after year.
“Oh, the kids, oh my goodness, lots of great, great, wonderful kids,” Robertson told the Clifton Record Tribune.
The longtime volunteers estimated that countless children had participated during their tenure, noting that many former campers later returned as teen helpers and volunteers themselves.
“A lot of these kids, we see their faces, because we’ve had them,” Robertson said.
Phinney also thanked the Bosque Arts Center’s members, donors and volunteers for making the program possible, noting that support from the Clifton Higher Education Finance Corporation helped fund the center’s summer camp offerings this year.
“If it wasn’t for our BAC memberships and donations, Imagination Factory, along with all of our other programming, might not happen,” Phinney said.
As the young performers took their final bows and families admired the week’s artistic creations, the annual camp once again demonstrated the Bosque Arts Center’s mission of enriching children in the arts by fostering creativity, confidence and community connections that can last long after summer ends.
Photos by NATHAN DIEBENOW
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