Year in Review: Pacific Arts Association

2022 was a year of rebound from Covid-19 for the Pacific Arts Association. Our major event, the Blaine Harbor Music Festival and Jazz Camp, returned in July as a live session after a two years of closure because of Covid -19. 

We started 2021 with high hopes of being able to present a “normal” summer camp, but these dreams were soon overtaken by the reality that Covid-19 had not disappeared sufficiently. We made a tough decision to cancel early in the year and began planning for 2022. Fortunately, many of our faculty members had become techno-wizards having mastered the intricacies of teaching via Zoom and other virtual platforms. That gave us the ability to offer a “virtual” camp in 2021 that was a definite success.

Using the framework developed in 2021, we committed ourselves to having a live camp during 2022. The enthusiasm of our teachers, under the leadership of Nick Biello, for this decision was remarkable. This choice was the right one, and we welcomed 38 campers for a week of fun and challenging instruction. Four new gifted teachers joined our staff, and the support that we received from the Blaine community was inspiring and deeply appreciated.

We ended 2022 with a joyous community Christmas concert at Blaine Community Pavilion. Nick and Charlie Porter were joined by a significant number of our campers in a rousing tribute to the holidays and to our comeback year.

The fall has been spent in creating and refining our programs, developing fresh marketing materials and starting a robust and innovative student recruiting program. We are getting ready for July, so keep your vaccinations and boosters current, and we will look forward to seeing you at the 2023 Blaine Harbor Music Festival and Camp.