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Winnipeg Free Press
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Some LGBTQ+ summer camps struggle to meet demand amid corporate funding drop
On the shores of Lake Huron, Harry Stewart and his husband Chris Southin sway back and forth in their rocking chairs on a wooden deck, watching dozens of youth play and laugh around them at Rainbow Camp. 'People say that we're the two old guys from the balcony of the Muppet Show, and that is what it feels like,' Stewart said. 'It's so rewarding to see everything that you've worked so hard to make happen.' Since 2012, the couple have been running a sleepaway summer camp in Thessalon, Ont., about 200 kilometres west of Sudbury, aimed at creating a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth across Canada and the United States. But this year, they are grappling with a critical drop in funding while struggling to meet a surge in demand from youth hoping to attend the camp. Stewart said the camp has lost about 25 per cent of its funding this year. Many corporate donors with ties to the U.S. have withdrawn amid concerns that supporting an LGBTQ+ organization would spark repercussions from President Donald Trump's administration, which has been targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Those corporate donors previously sponsored camp fundraisers or youth for whom registration and transportation costs posed a barrier to attending camp, said Stewart. Even some Canadian companies, such as law firms with American clients, are now 'very wary' of sponsoring the summer camp, he said. 'They've stopped because they're being monitored on the whole DEI issue in the States,' he said. 'They realize they are being watched and screened.' Demand for Rainbow Camp's 50 spots a week has never been higher, Stewart said, but the camp is at risk of closing if it does not reach its $100,000 fundraising goal this summer. Many campers looking to attend the summer refuge have faced extreme bullying and live in rural communities where they feel isolated or unsupported in embracing their identities, he said. 'Especially around campfires, when you really start to hear some of the stories,' Stewart said. 'You get out the tissue paper because you're crying. It's just so sad to see how lonely these kids are.' Camp Ten Oaks, an LGBTQ+ summer camp run by the Ottawa-based organization Ten Oaks Project, said some donors have also pulled their support this year amid increased political tensions south of the border. 'We've definitely seen some of our third-party fundraisers who have historically supported us in the past … choose a different organization to support that maybe doesn't have specifically as queer of a mandate as our organization,' said Kymani Montgomery, executive director of Ten Oaks Project. While the funding drop hasn't yet affected finances at Camp Ten Oaks, Montgomery said a surge in interest has forced them to put at least 100 kids on the wait list each year for the past three summers. If Rainbow Camp is forced to shut its doors, Montgomery said Camp Ten Oaks will likely see even more interest as families move from one camp to the other. With LGBTQ+ camps being relatively scarce in Ontario, organizers said campers frequently travel from all over the province — and sometimes from across the country — to attend the camps. 'That means there is going to be even more youth who aren't going to be able to experience the magic of a camp that is affirming for them,' Montgomery said. While corporate funding withdrawals aren't affecting all LGBTQ+ groups, advocates say the effects on summer camps are rippling across the community. Curran Stikuts, director of advocacy and strategic communications at Toronto-based community organization The 519, said it's 'dispiriting' to see other LGBTQ+ groups struggling to receive the funding they need to run youth programs. 'We see the deep need for responses that are specifically tailored to the lived realities of 2SLGBTQ folks … and anything that makes meeting that need more challenging is pretty unfortunate,' he said. Alberta Sen. Kristopher Wells, a longtime advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, said summer camps for LGBTQ+ youth are 'critical long-term investments' and consequences would be 'devastating' if such spaces could no longer exist. 'It's really short-sighted to see people wanting to cut funding, because we're going to be paying for it through the health-care system and downstream in our communities, as these young people grow up and have to overcome discrimination, prejudice and trauma,' he said. Wednesdays What's next in arts, life and pop culture. Wells, who is also a co-founder of Camp fYrefly, an LGBTQ+ sleepaway camp in Alberta that has been operating for over 20 years, said he's witnessed the 'life changing' impacts of these summer camps first-hand. He said the LGBTQ+ community tends to find its strength by looking inward for support, rather than relying on funding from outward groups such as corporate donors. 'Twenty years ago, we weren't getting large amounts of corporate funding for our organizations,' he said. 'We're a resourceful and resilient community, and the only way our community is going to thrive is if all the members of our community come together and support it.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2025.
Toronto Star
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Some LGBTQ+ summer camps struggle to meet demand amid corporate funding drop
On the shores of Lake Huron, Harry Stewart and his husband Chris Southin sway back and forth in their rocking chairs on a wooden deck, watching dozens of youth play and laugh around them at Rainbow Camp. 'People say that we're the two old guys from the balcony of the Muppet Show, and that is what it feels like,' Stewart said. 'It's so rewarding to see everything that you've worked so hard to make happen.'
Sydney Morning Herald
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Other places would be delighted to host Paddington's puppet show. No strings attached
Until now, Muppet Show balcony critics Statler and Waldorf had the puppetry quips market cornered. 'Well, they say all good things must come to an end,' Waldorf once remarked as Kermit wrapped up another zany episode. 'What's that got to do with this show?' Statler replied. Cue self-congratulatory laughter. It seems puppet angst lives on – at least it appears so in parts of downtown Paddington. Some residents of the leafy inner Sydney suburb have raised written concerns with the City of Sydney Council over a planned puppet performance at Paddington Reservoir Gardens. The performance, which includes a four-metre puppet called Fauna, explores 'themes of climate change and deforestation' and promotes conservation. The production firm has a record of educational programs and installations in museums and galleries across Australia and New Zealand. According to a selection of the reported grievances, the proposed Paddington puppet show might cause: 'health and sleep disturbances, potential noise impacts, rowdy crowd behaviour, light spill into homes and crime'. Not since the infamous US television show Crank Yankers, featuring impudent prank-calling puppets, has the world of marionettes promised so much while angering and confounding so many. It's enough to raise even the staunchest eyebrows, a la Parker from the Thunderbirds. 'Yes, m'lady.' Loading From the balconies of the comparatively culture-starved reaches of regional NSW, Paddington's problem looks like a solution. The puppet show is part of the City of Sydney's Art and About festival. 'Expect art in any corner of our city, at any time' the blurb reads. The promise of the unexpected, for some in Paddington at least, looks as welcome as the Spanish Inquisition. Here's an idea. How about cities on the edge, literally and figuratively, formally partner with Sydney in something wonderfully original? Imagine an Art and About festival that was truly mobile. Think Uncle Max bringing a puppet theatre to the children von Trapp in the wilds of prewar Austria. Even the Nazis, Marta's sluggish set changes, or men drinking beer with the foam afloat, couldn't stop The Lonely Goatherd: 'Layee odl, layee odl layee-oo'! Imagine taking puppets, unwanted in Paddington, to areas comparatively starved of arts investment. Areas like the Central Coast, the Illawarra or the NSW Central West contend with government arts investment levels, per capita, well below those enjoyed in the eastern suburbs, which has received 23.5 per cent of total federal government arts funding over the past decade.
Sydney Morning Herald
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Paddington locals should open hearts and minds to Fauna the puppet
Until now, Muppet Show balcony critics Statler and Waldorf had the puppetry quips market cornered. 'Well, they say all good things must come to an end,' Waldorf once remarked as Kermit wrapped up another zany episode. 'What's that got to do with this show?' Statler replied. Cue self-congratulatory laughter. It seems puppet angst lives on – at least it appears so in parts of downtown Paddington. Some residents of the leafy inner Sydney suburb have raised written concerns with the City of Sydney Council over a planned puppet performance at Paddington Reservoir Gardens. The performance, which includes a four-metre puppet called Fauna, explores 'themes of climate change and deforestation' and promotes conservation. The production firm has a record of educational programs and installations in museums and galleries across Australia and New Zealand. According to a selection of the reported grievances, the proposed Paddington puppet show might cause: 'health and sleep disturbances, potential noise impacts, rowdy crowd behaviour, light spill into homes and crime'. Not since the infamous US television show Crank Yankers, featuring impudent prank-calling puppets, has the world of marionettes promised so much while angering and confounding so many. It's enough to raise even the staunchest eyebrows, a la Parker from the Thunderbirds. 'Yes, m'lady.' Loading From the balconies of the comparatively culture-starved reaches of regional NSW, Paddington's problem looks like a solution. The puppet show is part of the City of Sydney's Art and About festival. 'Expect art in any corner of our city, at any time' the blurb reads. The promise of the unexpected, for some in Paddington at least, looks as welcome as the Spanish Inquisition. Here's an idea. How about cities on the edge, literally and figuratively, formally partner with Sydney in something wonderfully original? Imagine an Art and About festival that was truly mobile. Think Uncle Max bringing a puppet theatre to the children von Trapp in the wilds of prewar Austria. Even the Nazis, Marta's sluggish set changes, or men drinking beer with the foam afloat, couldn't stop The Lonely Goatherd: 'Layee odl, layee odl layee-oo'! Imagine taking puppets, unwanted in Paddington, to areas comparatively starved of arts investment. Areas like the Central Coast, the Illawarra or the NSW Central West contend with government arts investment levels, per capita, well below those enjoyed in the eastern suburbs, which has received 23.5 per cent of total federal government arts funding over the past decade.
The Age
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Paddington locals should open hearts and minds to Fauna the puppet
Until now, Muppet Show balcony critics Statler and Waldorf had the puppetry quips market cornered. 'Well, they say all good things must come to an end,' Waldorf once remarked as Kermit wrapped up another zany episode. 'What's that got to do with this show?' Statler replied. Cue self-congratulatory laughter. It seems puppet angst lives on – at least it appears so in parts of downtown Paddington. Some residents of the leafy inner Sydney suburb have raised written concerns with the City of Sydney Council over a planned puppet performance at Paddington Reservoir Gardens. The performance, which includes a four-metre puppet called Fauna, explores 'themes of climate change and deforestation' and promotes conservation. The production firm has a record of educational programs and installations in museums and galleries across Australia and New Zealand. According to a selection of the reported grievances, the proposed Paddington puppet show might cause: 'health and sleep disturbances, potential noise impacts, rowdy crowd behaviour, light spill into homes and crime'. Not since the infamous US television show Crank Yankers, featuring impudent prank-calling puppets, has the world of marionettes promised so much while angering and confounding so many. It's enough to raise even the staunchest eyebrows, a la Parker from the Thunderbirds. 'Yes, m'lady.' Loading From the balconies of the comparatively culture-starved reaches of regional NSW, Paddington's problem looks like a solution. The puppet show is part of the City of Sydney's Art and About festival. 'Expect art in any corner of our city, at any time' the blurb reads. The promise of the unexpected, for some in Paddington at least, looks as welcome as the Spanish Inquisition. Here's an idea. How about cities on the edge, literally and figuratively, formally partner with Sydney in something wonderfully original? Imagine an Art and About festival that was truly mobile. Think Uncle Max bringing a puppet theatre to the children von Trapp in the wilds of prewar Austria. Even the Nazis, Marta's sluggish set changes, or men drinking beer with the foam afloat, couldn't stop The Lonely Goatherd: 'Layee odl, layee odl layee-oo'! Imagine taking puppets, unwanted in Paddington, to areas comparatively starved of arts investment. Areas like the Central Coast, the Illawarra or the NSW Central West contend with government arts investment levels, per capita, well below those enjoyed in the eastern suburbs, which has received 23.5 per cent of total federal government arts funding over the past decade.
