This weekend Camp Ramah is hosting the Northwoods Ramah Theatre Festival, a weekend of creativity inspired by the two-week residency of the Northwoods Ramah Theatre Company (more on that in another post). One of the components is the Tikvah Arts Festival, which took place on Friday. For many years, Tikvah and Machon have worked together to create the Tikvah Lunch Theatre, a series of short plays written by the campers based on a theme that they would then present at lunch. This year, they expanded the project to include visual art and dance in addition to the theatre component. Entitled "It Could Always Be Worse: Three Artistic Interpretations," campers explored Jewish folktales highlighting the values of tzedakah and gratitude. 
The campers in Tikvah and the Machon campers who chose to participate spent the last several weeks studying these Jewish texts and then chose visual art, dance, or drama to express their own creative interpretations. The dance and the plays were presented on Friday during lunch for Bogrim, Machon, Nivonim and staff, and an art gallery was set up for everyone to view throughout the day on Friday.
Before and after the performances, campers who participated in the visual arts component stood proudly by their creations and explained their pieces of art. The dancers danced with smiles on their faces and lots of enthusiasm. The actors delivered their lines with confidence and excitement. It was easy to see how much fun everyone was having and how proud they were at what they had accomplished.
Kol HaKavod to Tikvah and Machon, and all the staff that made the Tikvah Arts Festival possible! Click below to see the dance.
