The River Pierce Foundation in historic San Ygnacio continues its tradition of enrichment classes for youth ages 10 – 16 by offering a summer camp in two sessions for a maximum of 15 students. There is no tuition fee for attendance.
The first session of the annual camp runs June 2 – 6, and the second from June 9 – 13.
Both sessions run from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., with different guest lecturers who address the topics of the history of the colonial settlement on the Río Grande, the folkways and traditions of ranching, customs of the indigenous people of South Texas, and the stewardship of the natural environment.
While some of the presenters in the camp are professional scientists in their respective fields, the Foundation also works with artists.
Herbalist Tony Ramirez shares his vast knowledge of beneficial native plants with summer camp attendees.
In 2023, the River Pierce hosted a children’s writing workshop with author Valeria Luiselli, a MacArthur Fellow and Harvard professor raised in Mexico City, whose fiction writing focuses on the sensitive issues around immigration and the US/Mexico border.
Thanks to then artist-in-residence Karen Gaytan, Luiselli was able to come to San Ygnacio for a week to experience a part of the border she had never visited and to understand the unique circumstances of San Ygnacio and include the community’s voices in her installation, Echoes from the Borderlands: Study Two, at New York’s Dia Foundation’s Chelsea space in December 2024.
This year the camp’s focus will center around creating a mural with acclaimed visual artist Uriel Landeros to showcase the rich history of the region.
Environmental stewardship and the importance of the life-giving Río Grande are major components of the camp’s focus.
San Ygnacio remains an underserved rural community in one of the poorest counties in Texas, all five of which are along the lower Río Grande. Thanks to generous patrons over the last 35 years, the River Pierce Foundation has been able to provide art and culture for local and regional audiences. This year with a special grant from the Mellon Foundation, River Pierce is able to expand this camp to include multigenerational audiences and to provide programming year-round.
Other sponsors have included The Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Foundation, the National Park Service, the Texas Historical Commission, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
To reserve a space for either session of the camp, RSVP RIVERPIERCE.ORG.
