Spring break will offer an education in art this year.

Arts of the Pamlico will host “Art Break,” a weeklong camp for children ages five through 16, at the Turnage Theatre in downtown Washington. Featuring painting, theatre, music, writing, along with some movies for downtime, the event is designed to maximize exposure to and exploration of the arts.

The camp will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day of the week of April 17, which is ideal for working parents, according to Dylan Ritch, Arts of the Pamlico’s children’s programming director.

Ritch said Art Break is all about the process of engaging in art, as opposed to a product-based camp, in which an end product, such as performing a play, is the goal.

“Process is more like exploring, doing their own thing,” Ritch said. “There will definitely be things that the kids take home, performances at the end of the day, there will be tangible things that will show what the kids have been doing every day.”

Ritch is no stranger to leading children’s arts camps. He’s an East Carolina University graduate with a theater for youth degree, and as an assistant to Washington resident and ECU theatre education coordinator Patch Clark, has helped Clark run ECU’s drama camp for the past several years. Theater for youth specializes in using theater as an avenue to reach children, to which Ritch can relate: it was middle school when he became involved in the arts.

“I was actually a sports kid most of my life, but around eighth grade—I loved to sing—there was a playhouse outside Asheville, the Flat Rock Playhouse, and I auditioned for a play. … It just kind of stuck with me, and when I got to college, I thought, well, I want to be an actor,” Ritch said. “I love kids, inspiring people, and I also love the arts, and this was kind of the perfect way to do both.”

Ritch said there are 40 spots available in the camp; 10 of those spots have already been taken. He’s hoping to make Art Break an annual event, with sessions held in the fall and spring.

At $50, it’s a great deal for working parents, who often have to make childcare arrangements for the week of spring break, Ritch said.

“Parents have a fun, safe place to send their child,” Ritch said, adding that snacks will be provided throughout each day of camp.

For more information, Ritch can be contacted at Arts of the Pamlico, 252-946-2504. Applications will be sent upon request.