Camp Heebie Jeebies will enter its 16th summer season Sunday.
Seventy young people will take classes and make music for a week at Camp David Jr. on Lake Crescent.
The public is invited to hear the joyful sounds, said Bud Critchfield, who is in charge of fundraising.
A faculty concert is planned each evening at about 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m., he said, and the students will perform Friday, July 8, in an evening concert.
“They are invited to come out at any time because there will be music in the air at all times,” Critchfield said. “The public can come out during the day every day, and they will hear lots of music.”
Parking can be tight at Camp David Jr., he said, and will be limited next Friday for the final concert.
Karayco Productions Inc., a nonprofit corporation, now manages Camp Heebie Jeebies under a contractual agreement.
Students at the youth camp — named after a Louis Armstrong song — come from the Port Angeles-Sequim area, Ocean Shores, Olympia, Seattle and Bellingham; Portland and Seaside, Ore.; Whitefish, Mont.; and Victoria and Chilliwack, B.C.
These students are sponsored by the scholarship fund as well as from donations made by other organizations and individuals.
Camp Heebie Jeebies campers are placed in seven traditional jazz bands — with eight to 10 musicians in each — and three big bands with 20 to 23 musicians in each.
A typical day at Camp Heebie Jeebies begins with a full breakfast at 7:45 a.m., a 50-minute theory class at 8:45 a.m., a two-hour traditional band rehearsal at 9:45 a.m., lunch with entertainment from noon to 12:45 p.m., sectionals at 1 p.m., improvisation for front-line players at 1:40 p.m., and big-band rehearsals are scheduled one after another from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
After dinner at 8:30 p.m., the students have jam sessions.
For more information about Camp Heebie Jeebies, visit www.campheebiejeebies.us.
