Summer Dreaming: Summer Camps and Activities for the 2026 Season
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Has all this winter weather got you dreaming about summer? Though we’re buried under more than a foot of ice and snow, it will all melt in a few months, just in time for the kids to attend summer camp. Where are you sending your children? Programs are filling up quickly and now’s the time to make a summer plan that’s just right for your family.
We reached out to some local camps and programs to find out what they are planning, and here is what’s in store. Contact them soon and tell them you read about them on Scarsdale10583.com.
Central Park Dance
For more than 40 years, Central Park Dance has offered professional training in a supportive, community-centered environment for dancers of all ages and levels. From June 29 through August 28, the studio’s summer programs include creative performing arts camps for ages 3–6 that combine dance, music, and storytelling to explore different themes and characters. Dancers ages 7–18 select a focused track of intensive study in either ballet or musical theater, including voice, and share their work in performances for friends and family. The summer season also features focused workshops, events, top guest teachers and a full schedule of classes for children and adults, with more than 100 classes offered each week.
Central Park Dance, 165-171 South Central Avenue, Hartsdale, 914.723.2949. Learn more and register at centralparkdance.com.
Clay Summer Day Camp 2026 at Clay Art Center
Calling all young creators! Let your child discover the joy of clay at Clay Art Center’s award-winning Clay Summer Day Camp. Weekly themed camps for ages 7-15 include activities like handbuilding, sculpture, and wheel throwing pottery. Our expert instructors guide campers through creative, hands-on projects, building confidence and fostering artistic expression in a fun, supportive environment. From mythical creatures to handmade dishes, kids will create lasting memories with their own hands. Camps run July 13–August 28. Early Bird Discount before 2/11! Register today at clayartcenter.org, Follow us on Instagram! @clayartcenter
Clay Art Center, 40 Beech Street, Port Chester, NY 10573, www.clayartcenter.org (914) 937-2047 x 6
Hoff Barthelson
Discover a summer of creativity, connection, and growth at Hoff-Barthelson Music School’s Summer Arts Program, a dynamic and enriching experience for students entering grades 1–9. Designed for young musicians and artists of all backgrounds and experience levels, this engaging program brings together outstanding music instruction, inspiring ensembles, musicianship, and visual arts in a warm, supportive environment where students are encouraged to learn, explore, and thrive. The program is offered in two two-week sessions—July 6–17 and July 20–31, 2026—and families may choose to attend one or both sessions.
Photo by Steven SchnurLed by experienced and supportive teaching artists, students strengthen their musical skills while exploring new instruments, styles, and creative interests. Through ensemble playing, musicianship, and visual arts, children learn to collaborate, stay engaged, and take pride in their progress—building skills and habits that support both artistic and personal growth.
With flexible morning, afternoon, and full-day options, as well as early drop-off and late pick-up, the Summer Arts Program is designed to meet the needs of busy families while offering students a meaningful and memorable summer. It’s a place where learning feels exciting, creativity is celebrated, and friendships take root—making summer at Hoff-Barthelson both inspiring and fun.
Hoff-Barthelson Music School, 25 School Lane, Scarsdale NY 10583, 914-723-1169, summerarts@hbms.org. Learn more and register here.
Play Group Theater
The Play Group Theatre in White Plains is preparing kids for every stage of life while giving them the tools they need to succeed on stage today. PGT offers a fun-filled, non-competitive performing arts program that provides actor training at the highest level while fostering friendships and building skills that last a lifetime. Camp program options include 1, 2, or 4-week long programs in: Acting, Musical Theatre, Sketch Comedy, Playwriting, Improv, On Camera, Design/Tech, Shakespeare, Stage Combat, and more. To sign up for spring programs and summer camps, please visit playgroup.org.
Play Group Theatre, One North Broadway, White Plains, 914-946-4433, info@playgroup.org.
Rye Arts Center
The Rye Arts Center invites all ages to register for a variety of enriching arts programs this summer! Teaching artists and expert instructors will guide participants through a multitude of courses and disciplines such as painting, ceramics, sculpture, musical theater, music lessons, and STEAM programming. With flexible week-to-week availability and morning and afternoon options, there's a perfect fit for every schedule! Join The Rye Arts Center for a summer where creativity takes center stage, and all are welcome to learn and create in a supporting, welcoming environment. Financial aid is available, please inquire! (Photo at top)
The Rye Arts Center, 51 Milton Road. Rye, NY 10580, www.ryeartscenter.org, +1 (914) - 967- 0700, info@ryeartscenter.org
Steffi Nossen School of Dance
The Steffi Nossen School of Dance is excited to offer NEW flexible programming for all ages this summer!
Celebrating our 89th dance year in Westchester, Steffi Nossen has expanded its summer dance choices so you can design your own dance experience! Choose from a flexible lineup of dynamic camps, intensives, and NEW Drop-In classes designed to inspire dancers of all ages, levels, and schedules. Weeklong Camps and Intensives include Musical Theater Camp, Dance Camp, Dancing Through the Movies Camp (dance, sing and choreograph inspired by a favorite film each day), or our unique Adaptive Adult Musical Theater Workshop, Join Drop-In classes Creative Movement, Ballet, Jazz, and Ballet/Tap. Pre-Schoolers, in our Storybook Dance Camps, are inspired by a new book each week in dance and craft activities. Steffi Nossen programs combine high-quality technical training with creativity, musicality, and artistic exploration, taught by a nurturing faculty, all within a supportive and welcoming environment.
Steffi Nossen School of Dance, 216 Central Avenue, White Plains, NY 10583, www.steffinossen.org, info@steffinossen.org, 914-328-1900
Bergen Debate Camp in White Plains
Confidence and clear communication develop fastest when learning is active, social, and fun. Bergen Debate offers engaging summer programs designed to help students build confidence, sharpen thinking skills, and learn how to express ideas clearly in a supportive, high-energy environment. Our summer camps welcome both beginners and experienced students, with offerings in Speech & Debate, Model United Nations, and Young Entrepreneurship, where students learn through interactive discussions, collaboration, and hands-on challenges. Whether students are finding their voice for the first time or ready to deepen their skills, Bergen Debate combines meaningful academic content with activities students genuinely enjoy.
Camp Info:
Ages: Grades 5–12
Camp Dates:
-Model UN & Young Entrepreneurship: July 27 – August 7
-Intro to Speech & Debate, PF Labs: August 10 – August 21
Camp Hours: 9:30 am – 3:15 pm
Location: White Plains, NY (address to be announced)
Explore our programs or register for Summer 2026 now!
Summer Stars at Scarsdale Synagogue
Summer Stars at Scarsdale Synagogue is a seven-week camp experience offered to children ages 18 months to 6 year-olds. Our campers are engaged in activities such as sports, music, art, daily water play and much, much more. We also have a special day each week focusing on a theme such as Circus Day, Hawaiian Day or Carnival Day. We strive to foster friendships in a warm, nurturing environment and encourage children to grow socially, emotionally and intellectually as they engage in fun, stimulating summer activities. We offer a three-day option for Toddlers ages 18 to 30 months and our two year-olds may choose 3 or 5 mornings a week. Our three year-olds to six year olds may choose a half-day 9:00-12:00 option or a full-day 9:00-2:00 option which includes a served lunch. Contact Jody Glassman at mazeltots@sstte.org or 914-723-3001, or click here.
Camp Ramaquois
Camp Ramaquois is not like every other camp. Our day camp for boys and girls ages 3 to 15 in Pomona, NY (only 30 minutes from the George Washington Bridge and 15 minutes from the Mario Cuomo Bridge) provides a truly authentic camp experience. Our magnificent 44 acres, 5-acre lake, 9 heated swimming pools, and exceptional facilities and programs allow us to provide children with a dynamic and memorable summer filled with love, warmth, and being part of a special community. Our campers are encouraged to take healthy risks, learn new skills, develop relationships with their peers and counselors, develop independence and assume responsibility.
Camp Ramaquois, 30 Mountain Road. Pomona, NY 10970, 845-354-1600.
Future Stars
Future Stars Summer Camps are the perfect blend of specialized sports training and FUN from 9am-4pm for campers aged 5-16!! Conveniently located at the beautiful SUNY Purchase College, there are outstanding facilities available to maximize the experience for each camper including 3 turf fields, 3 air-conditioned gymnasiums, 16 outdoor tennis courts, 3 outdoor basketball courts, swimming pool and diving well and more. Choose from individual camp offerings in soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, diving, lacrosse, volleyball, multisport, softball, art, adventure, circus and many more - there is something for everyone this summer.
Contact: purchase@fscamps.com or call (914) 273-8500 for more information.
Website: www.fscamps.com.
Sportime
Serious Tennis, Serious Fitness, Serious Fun! The John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA) team is already gearing up for Summer Training Camp 2026! At JMTA we train 52 weeks a year, and our Summer Training is specifically designed for players ages 5-18 looking to continue their indoor-season tennis training through the summer, and those who want to spend their summers focused on learning and playing tennis. Participate in drills, instruction, matchplay, athletic training and more in age and level appropriate groups. Players train at JMTA Westchester’s home, SPORTIME Lake Isle, outdoors on our meticulously maintained har-tru courts and on the hard courts at Leewood Park.
JMTA Green and Yellow Ball (ages 9+) Camp Hours:
Yellow Ball 14+ years old/ High School: 9am-1pm at Leewood Park
Yellow Ball U14: 10am-5pm
Green Ball 10am-5pm
Extended Day Available
JMTA MAC Red and Orange Ball (ages 5-9) Camp Hours:
Half Day AM: 9am-12:30pm
Half Day PM: 12:30pm-4pm
Full Day: 9am-4pm
Extended Day Available
If you have any questions or need assistance with registration, please don’t hesitate to contact us by calling or texting (914) 517-3190, or by emailing jmtawestchester@sportimeny.com. Visit us here. We are here to help!
Squire Advantage and Sports Camps
Squire Advantage and Squire Sports Camps at Maria Regina High School in Hartsdale is celebrating 53 years and is the proud recipient of the first ever Westchester County Inspector Choice Award! Squire Advantage Primary (grades K-3) and Advantage Choice (grades 4-9) is created for campers who wish to custom design their own schedule by choosing activities like swimming, sports, fine arts, science, cooking, martial arts, archery and more. There are more than 60 different activities to choose from! Squire Camps programs run from June 29 to August 14, 2026. Courses are taught by certified schoolteachers, and hot lunch and early drop off is included. Extended day and transportation available.
Attend our open house with bounce houses, food and carnival games on February 8 from 11am to 2pm. Register here: https://www.squirecamps.com/
Contact Matt Davanzo, Director, Squire Camps, Maria Regina High School, Hartsdale, NY, (914) 328-3798.
SHS Students Stage Anti-Ice Demonstration
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“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
On the heels of Martin Luther King Jr Day, a day that honors one of the Civil Rights Movement’s most influential figures, students from Scarsdale High School banded together and staged a walk-out to raise their voices in protest of ICE.
SHS students braved freezing temperatures to join thousands of others around the nation who walked out of schools and businesses on Tuesday January 20th, to take part in a “Free-America” anti-ICE march.
Addressing the robust crowd of students, the organizer of the walk-out (a current senior at SHS) reminded those gathered that, “Scarsdale High School graduate Soo Go was kidnapped by ICE outside of her routine immigration hearing -- only to be released from detention after five days of protest and national media coverage.”
The student went on to explain, “Miss Go, whose visa was valid through this past December, was seized and detained nonetheless -- and it was in this detainment where she was transferred from Manhattan to Louisiana’s Richwood Correctional Center.
And while she was returned to Scarsdale in less than a week, it’s undeniable that Miss Go and her family had far 
more resources than the vast majority of the other sixty eight thousand people who were detained by ICE in 2025 -- many, like Go, who are legal immigrants or even refugees or American citizens.”
Describing the process that many detainees experience, the student added, “Also just like Go, many of these detainees are transferred to detention centers across the country, making achieving justice as difficult as possible for those wrongly arrested.
Privately operated detention centers like Richwood, run nation-wide on our tax dollars, lining the 
pockets of the CEOs of companies like LaSalle Corrections or CoreCivic while their detainees are kept in poor conditions without access to outside communication, lawyers, or even enough food.”
Bringing their impassioned speech to a close, the student called on their peers to stand in solidarity with those who are affected by this cruelty and to contact their elected officials to advocate for the abolishment of ICE and for agents to be replaced by more people working in customs to get visas approved and to improve the system overall.
After stepping down from their make-shift podium, the organizer led the group of protestors on a peaceful march through the school grounds, down to the library and back to the Brewster Road entrance. While chants of “No More Ice” filled the air, another SHS senior explained that they thought it was important to take part in the walk-out to show that the students in Scarsdale are “united against what we see as injustice.”
Another student added “What we see happening in this country is horrendous and in many cases, actually illegal and it is important that we raise awareness about it all.”
Yet another student joined the march because they themselves are a descendent of immigrants. And while the student and their family are U.S. citizens, they fear that they or people like them, could be unfairly taken from their homes.
After marching peacefully through the school grounds, the students ended their protest on bended knee singing the “Star Spangled Banner," demonstrating that patriotism has many faces.
Young Artists Invited to Submit Work for the Scarsdale Youth Art Show
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The Scarsdale Youth Art Show (SYAS) is back for another exciting year, celebrating the creativity and talent of young artists in our community. Organized in collaboration with the Scarsdale Public Library, this year’s SYAS will feature an opening ceremony and public exhibition held in the Scott Room at the Scarsdale Library this month.
SYAS invites all young artists in the Scarsdale community to participate by displaying, sharing, and optionally selling their artwork as part of this annual exhibition. Artists are welcome to submit past or recent works in any medium they would like to share. Please note that all participating artists are responsible for providing their own frames (if they would like their artwork to be framed) for exhibition.
The opening ceremony will take place on Sunday, January 18, from 2:00–4:00 PM at the Scarsdale Public Library. This event offers artists a chance to speak about their artwork, inspiration, and to share their creative process with the community. Artists who prefer not to speak may instead submit a quick written artist statement to be printed and displayed alongside their work.
Artwork submissions should be dropped off at Dr. Eisenstadt’s office (Room 278) at Scarsdale High School any time between now and January 15th (as artworks will be installed at the library by that date, in preparation for the exhibition). All pieces should be clearly labeled with the artist’s name and selling price, (if applicable).
The Scarsdale Youth Art Show is a wonderful opportunity to showcase youth creativity and connect with the wider community. Artists, families, and all Scarsdale community members are encouraged to spread the word and attend the opening ceremony on January 18th!
Submit your artwork here:
For questions or additional information, please contact:
claudiawang28@scarsdaleschools.org claudiawang1805@gmail.com
+1 (914) 415-1168
Is Santa Real? Letters to Santa Part II
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We opened another group of the 500 letters sent to Santa from Scarsdale kids and found some more amusing lists:
A young boy informed Santa that they celebrate Hanukkah, not Christmas, at his house but added his lists of requests nonetheless.
Another family divided their letter into three segments – for mom, dad and the dog to add their requests to the child’s. In additional to a few Lego’s for the letter writer, mom asked for a plum-colored bag and a nice scarf!
Aiden from Fox Meadow reported “I helped by mom do housework, and helped my teacher in math class, adding, “sometimes even teaching the class.”
A Quaker Ride boy reported “that he recycled,” and vowed to "shout less" and say, “thank you more.”
Three and half year-old Sophie said, “After my nap I am going to drop off this note and Santa is going to say “Hey” who dropped off this note!”
On behalf of her two dogs Itty and Sherman a girl said they “would love some peace and quiet and new dog bed.”
One boy wrote in large black block type, “Dear Santa this year I tride to do my best at being good even though I did some stuff that I shouldn’t do and I might have did some stuff that isint necessary but just remember that I’m trying to do my best …. So for Christmas I want …..”
Charlotte requested an AI robot bunny and a “cleaning robot” for her mom. But is Santa real? She added a P.S .to her letter saying, “Please tell me if you are Mom or Dad. Write it in a letter.”
(We will have another 300+ letters to read, so if anyone wants to stop by, let us know.)
Happy New Year!
Scarsdale Kids Mail 500 Letters to Santa
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Santa was in big demand this week in Scarsdale. Kids had deposited a record 500 letters in four mailboxes placed around the Village and he had to collect them, read them and figure out how to fulfill so many Christmas wishes.
The mail was generated in response to the Scarsdale Recreation Department’s Letters to Santa program, and busy elves at the Recreation Department sent responses from Santa to 450 of the 500 letters that included return addresses.
What do kids want this year? Electronic games, dolls, fart blasters, Lego, Air Pods, speakers, slime, remote control trucks, skates, squishmallows, drones, stuffies, make-up and more.
A nine year-old boy said, “I’ve been pretty good this year except I got banned from video games but I know better now.” What did he want from Santa? “Some kind of video game.”
Some looked beyond the material and asked for things that cannot be wrapped up in a box.
One girl asked to “be a smarter kid, to be more successful, to be prettier, to have a best friend, to know if anyone has a crush on her and requested “lots of snow days.” She also wrote a quiz for Santa, “to see if you real,” asking if he knew her favorite color, favorite animal, her favorite sport and the name of her first friend.
Another wrote, “My only Christmas wish is to achieve my goals and have a wonderful new year with my loved ones.”
A six year-old boy decided to interview Santa, before submitting his list for a remote control airplane and a remote control garbage truck for his little brother.
He asked:
1. How did you become Santa?
2. Where did you get your reindeers?
3. How do you go down the chimney
4. Where did you get your sleigh?
A recent immigrant told St. Nick, “U.S. is a new country for me, and everything is new to me too, like new home, new school and new fried also English.But I’m push myself very hard. I made new friend, I join in the school band. I am very excited. I will working harder in 2026. He asked for a German Shepherd puppy and basketball shoes."
A generous soul from Drake Road asked for a puppy but ended her note saying, “But also I would really like for the kids who can’t have presents to have extra toys on Christmas.”
And one who said “I am too old for toys,” asked for world peace, and said. “I hope that all kids, no matter what religion, even if they’re atheist, has a positive holiday season although it might not be perfect.”
From the sampling of letters we read, it’s clear we’re raising some very good kids in Scarsdale. Let’s hope they all find what they want under the tree.
Merry merry.
