GRC 2020

2020 would have been our 7th annual in person Girls Rock Camp. ✨

But this year, we decided to shift our focus from in-person camp to a new online format to ensure safety of our campers and volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introducing: Girls Rock — Connecting While Apart (GRCWA) 💖

Our first ever virtual Girls Rock Camp was awesome! Eleven campers joined us from their homes for a week of togetherness from a distance via Zoom. We took the main parts of GRC— assemblies, workshops, and band practice— and adapted them to online hangouts, skillshares + discussions, and electronic songwriting collaboration + music video production. It was fun!

Monday
opening: introductions & agreements / electronic instrument assignment & band formation
music: Soundtrap lessons / studio time
workshops: how to make music video magic
performance: camper open mic!

Tuesday
special: flower bombs
music: Soundtrap lessons / studio time
workshops: creating art with words / audible anti-racism
performance: Carly Comando!

Wednesday
special: diy band patches
music: Soundtrap lessons / studio time
workshops: protest songs / making music video magic
fun: virtual dance party

Thursday
special: friendship bracelets
music: studio time
workshops: filling up our cups (self-care) / connecting through zine making
performance: Neybuu

Friday
special: diy postcards
music: studio time
workshop: zumba / finding your voice through your vote
closing: end-of-camp reflections ❤ | awards ceremony!

Saturday
Our campers didn’t get to perform at a live concert in front of an adoring audience this year. Instead, we held a special watch party for our campers & volunteers during the live premiere of their music videos that the whole world could see!

We are so proud of each and every one of our campers. In just one week, they learned how to compose music digitally with Soundtrap *and* how to create a video with WeVideo. That's tough enough in itself! THEN, our campers actually wrote an original song with their bandmates *and* collaborated to set it to their very own music video! All of that in JUST 5 DAYS-- while also attending 10 educational workshops and having fun at morning & afternoon assemblies-- wow!!!

We already knew our campers were amazing, but we are truly blown away by all of their hard work. Camp was so different in so many ways, but they still showed up with their whole selves and managed to navigate all of this new technology with grace. 💖

And, right alongside them were our volunteers. We’ve always said that we have the best, most dedicated team— This year, they certainly proved it!

🌟

We usually close our showcase concerts with a giant sing-along where all of our campers and volunteers are called to the stage to perform our theme song together. It's such a moving part of the night, and we were so bummed that we wouldn't be able to experience it within the online format. So, we wanted to surprise our campers with something in its place…

One of our volunteers had the idea to use Soundtrap to record a socially-distant chorus (with all members in their own homes), and another had the idea to use WeVideo to create a special music video to go along with it. All of our camp staff and a few other folks from our community submitted photos or short videos which were then very carefully compiled together. Below is the final result! It totally fits with our theme this year, Connecting While Apart. 💖

Thank you to our campers, their parents, our volunteers, the Re-imagining Camp Committee, all of the workshop leaders, our amazing care package sponsors, each of the folks who tuned in to our Sharecase & donated, and everyone else who helped to make GRCWA possible. We are so grateful. 💖