Published August 7th, 2019
Young writers gather in Orinda for creative summer fun
Submitted by Leslie Darwin
Four writers deep in thought in front of their ice cream trough. Photo provided
Young writers gathered at Orinda Community Church for a week of "Writers' Camp." Brock, The Dog and Dave, and The Magic Unicorn served as mascots, reminding them "You be you, for only you can tell your story."

The tweens wrote children's stories which they read to 4-year-olds at St. John's preschool. In addition to the stories for children, the campers wrote poems, haikus, and fortunes to place in fortune cookies for their parents. They also made green eggs and ham in honor of Dr. Seuss, baked cupcakes for Orinda Senior Village, spelled out supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in tiles, and made birthday cards to send to a political prisoner in Uzbekistan through Amnesty International.

On Taco Tuesday, the kids held a "Guac Off" where they made their own guacamole. The teams were reminded that just as each guacamole bowl is a little different (and delicious), writing can be the same way.

The week ended with a presentation by the young authors. Some shared "I Remember" books. Others shared their children's stories with the titles "The Ghost Train," "The Misunderstood Zombie," "Mr. Cheezo," and "My Bad Dad." A highlight of the week was a chocolate fountain at the writers' reception and eating ice cream out of a trough.

Writers' Camp was held at Orinda Community Church and was led by award-winning poet Elizabeth Robinson and Leslie Darwin O'Brien who has written for Time Magazine and PBS.

Reach the reporter at:

back
Copyright Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA