It's comfortable. Well, mostly. The beds are like sleeping on squeaky concrete. But safe, clean…read moreand fine. The dining hall is a well oiled machine and the food is ok. They can cater to dietary needs. The grounds are beautiful! We went for 5th grade outdoor camp, was a fantastic experience.

It's the most amazing place on earth!!!!!!!! Truly magical and filled with a spirit of peace and…read moreserenity.

Camp YATC has truly blown us away! Of course, I was not in attendance as the Mom. That being…read moresaid, I can begin by saying that the very FIRST thing my 13 year old son said to me today (after giving me a giant, obligatory hug ;) was: "Mom, I'll do anything if you say I can come back here next summer. I had the BEST TIME EVER!!" We live about 2.5 hours away from the beautiful Mt. Cross campsite in the Santa Cruz mountains and had heard about Camp YATC through a local, dear friend of ours. It had been over a year that my son had been begging me to go I had been in contact with Shawn and Valerie beginning last March with tons of questions. My son has a physical special need and all staff were supportive & compassionate. Shawn and Val both listened graciously to concerns I had regarding this prior, & reassured me during the week by response to a text message I sent; that he was safe, smiling, & thriving. It was at this point, that I felt like their promise to treat all campers as kids of their own -- was genuine & sincere. Sometimes the little things for one person are big things to someone else. My son had nothing but positive feedback to share about his cabin counselor, Ian... that he was attentive, patient, & helpful. Themed dinner evenings seemed to have been all the rage; and surprise on and off Broadway actors participated in mentoring with productive & validating feedback. What a remarkable bonus that was to hear about! The team at YATC has magically blended a smooth structure with room for each individual to be themselves -- simultaneously making it appear easy & joyful. He shared that his most significant takeaway from his time away from home st YATC was a tie. Learning and growing as a performer (in the Musical Theatre track) was at the top - and in large part due to the many experienced, talented, & insightful folks who taught. Right up there were the many new friendships made with campers from all over the world, literally. Upon our return home, I found my son in his room organizing each paper that he had torn off writing contact information for various new buddies -- and also reviewing a notebook chalk full of notes he'd taken during instructional classes. It sounds to me as though they have nailed it at being sure there was equal part "fun" to in "class" - and it stood out to me when I was told that he's never experienced how learning can be FUN in and of itself. Togetherness with other campers whose interests often paralleled his own, he mentioned how fantastic it was to learn from peers simply by getting to know these truly special people. "Mom, I don't know if there were bullet points in the adult paperwork about your child needing to be a kind human being, but I never met anyone who wasn't!" This made my Mom heart especially happy. The showcase held at pick up time was incredible! Each camper has been encouraged (but not forced or required) to stand up in front of the crowd & share their talent. Performers were excited and as an audience member, easy to see how hard they had worked! Something else that stood out was the way campers cheered on one another offering high fives or hugs. If you hadn't known that these kids only met 9 days prior, you sure wouldn't have been able to tell! So sweet to witness this! In my opinion, the sheer number of returning campers year after year says a whole lot about the phenomenal team behind the scenes executing this well oiled operation. It was abundantly evident that the people I came into contact with not only wanted to promote & encourage these kids' passion for the arts // but also, help strengthen self confidence, responsibility, and adventure. I promised my son that I'll do everything possible under the sun to make sure he can return to (what he called his new) "happy place and home away from home." This crew has absolutely nailed it!! BRAVO CAMP YATC! His countdown has begun! My gratitude and appreciation are endless for all they've done in playing an integral role in my son's happiness.

Where do I start!? Well, I was nervous-trepidatious-just not sure if we were doing the right thing…read moreby sending our son to Camp YATC. I must say, we were blown away- and so was our son! He's already a working actor, so sometimes it's tough to find a space that caters to someone like him- he has some experience-but of course-he's a kid! And has SO much to learn and so much growing to do. When they say that you'll feel at home- they are absolutely correct! Our son was nervous and within 5 minutes of arriving, he was waving us off~ from tears of anxiety to smiles and an eagerness to join and play and learn and experience all that camp YATC has to offer! From top notch coaches, teachers, performers, counselors, and the sweetest-most accepting & creative kids! All set in the breathtaking Santa Cruz mountains. It's a dreamy place where dreams grow and kids can be themselves, accepted, encouraged, and nurtured. Thank you Shawn & Valerie & everyone at Campy YATC for creating a welcoming space for these sweet performers to hone their craft, while making new friends in a gorgeous setting. PS-our kid is a mega boy-like plays football & has has a ton of bros- but-he's an artist and loves to meet fellow artists from all walks of life - this place delivered! Oh- yeah- the cabins- well- they're cabins... it's not the Ritz-but-it's safe-comfortable- well ventilated!! And really-so fun-our son tells it like it is and is super picky- he loved his time and can't wait to return. As a mom, I am grateful. Highly recommend for your young performer-actor, singer, dancer, writer, dreamer. Ps... the pool is clean and perfect- the cabins are older, but not moldy- I'm not sure where the bad reviewer below stayed, but it does not sound like this camp. The cost is not "cheap" but I feel that the value is there- the kids are learning & are safe-engaged-encouraged-and really well taken care of.

Great ceramic facilities. Flexible hours for drop in potters. Gallery has a fine mix of local…read moreartists.

The Art Center is a nice community of artists who are friendly and welcoming to newcomers. I've…read moremet so many great people here. I also really enjoy taking their classes and participating in the art shows. Membership costs are low, and provide a discount on classes. Top notch ceramics facilities too! The gallery space is lovely and offers an interesting variety of revolving art shows. The pictures I've shared here are from a recent show called "Pose." The theme was the human figure. I also included a photo of a pastel that painting I did in class. Currently the gallery is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A lovely facility all around. I highly recommend a visit!

The most creative and fun filled area for your kids! Free to express and imagination fueled with…read moreinspiration. As a mother of creative and artistic children I highly recommend!!

Some amazing people bringing community and care to the SLV neighborhood. Excited to see the…read moreprojects and creativity coming out. Congrats on making your dreams come true!

I've been taking vocal lessons with Audrey and she's a wonderful teacher. Knowledgeable,…read moreencouraging and inspiring. Everything you want from someone helping you with your musical journey. The Skype lessons are super helpful as she takes video and the ability to watch and listen back to your exercises is incredibly valuable. I'm a drummer who is adding vocals to my repertoire and her assistance has been invaluable! I highly recommend!

Pulled my daughter (6 years old) out of the Disney Princess camp due to concerns that camp was…read morebeing treated more like a day care than an actual vocal camp. When we first dropped my daughter off at camp, my wife and I immediately felt a bit weird about this place. None of the instructors welcomed us in. In fact, only one of the instructors spoke to us. He actually recognized my wife from somewhere, but they couldn't remember where. After they figured out where they recognized each other from the coach's response was "Jesus F@#%$&* Christ, that's where I remember you from. Time sure flies!" Not exactly the type of language to be using in front of children. We checked in at lunch on the first day, and unfortunately, the instructors seemed to be more interested in whatever was going on with their phones than actually interacting with the kids. The scene was the same at pick up time. Coaches on the couch, kids playing on their own. When checking in with my daughter at lunch on the first day, she told us they hadn't sung anything yet. But instead watched a movie. At the end of the first day, we asked her "What songs did you sing today?" She told us she learned part of 1 song......over the course of a 6 hour camp. The following day was even more alarming when my when my wife went to pick our daughter up from camp and the coach informed her that they had a "very chill day." We asked our daughter what they did at camp and she said "We didn't sing at all today. Instead, the kids voted not to sing because there was a new kid and she didn't want to sing. I wanted to sing, but we voted. So we just watched movies and played dress up." I was dumbfounded. We had paid over $200 for a VOCAL camp. 2 days into this "vocal camp" our kid had watched Disney movies, played a lot of dress up and learned part of 1 song. After hearing all of this, I decided to call Forte. Nobody picked up the phone. So I drove down to their location to try and ask what had happened during camp that day. I proceeded to ask the lead vocal coach about the days events and why there was no singing today. Her response was (loosely quoted) "The kids decided they wanted to spend double time on costumes and so they voted not to sing today." "Also, the kids are young so they can't sing and do stage work all day, despite this being a vocal camp." I then asked when they are going to sing, and her response was (again loosely quoted) "Well they will have to spend the whole day singing tomorrow because they didn't sing today." (Wait....what? I'm confused. I thought the kids were "too young to spend all day singing...????) Never once did I receive an apology. But I did receive multiple attempts to justify why things at camp fell short. I notified the coach that my daughter wouldn't be attending the remaining days of the camp as I felt like this camp was totally misrepresented. To us, this camp acted more like a daycare. (But a daycare where the employees are more interested in whatever is happening on their cell phones than the children they are supposed to be interacting with.) We might have been able to just write this off, and chalk it up to one of those "you live and you learn lessons." But then something too coincidental happened and we felt like we just had to say something. We purchased a spot in this camp after seeing a posting on the Facebook site "Scotts Valley Virtual Garage Sale." The head vocal coach says a parent bought the spot, but their child came down with pneumonia, so she was trying to help her sell it. OK. Well interestingly enough, 2 weeks later the same head vocal coach posts on Scotts Valley Virtual Garage Sale again that a parent purchased a spot for their child for Katy Perry camp, but instead they decided to go to Hawaii, and thus she decided to help sell her spot. Coincidence? Maybe, but it sure feels more like a deceiving way to sell spots in your vocal camp. It feels unethical. I took screen shots of the two postings and uploaded them to yelp so you can review them if you want. Our daughter has attended many dance/performing arts camps for similar or even cheaper pricing. So this was not our first go-round. The other camps we have been a part of have all been professionally run. Unfortunately, Forte Vocal Academy's Disney Princess Vocal Camp felt completely thrown together. It lacked structure, professionalism, and even common courtesy.

Highly recommend taking this classes to learn how to surf, we can't get enough now!…read moreWe had a great time, felt safe and really learned a lot. Neil was an awesome instructor, very patient and fun.

WOW! I could not have been happier with this experience! This was my 20-year-old's first experience…read morewith surfing. The instructor arrived early and ready to go when we arrived. The borrowed gear was in good condition. He was very friendly and showed my son the basics. Within 20 minutes, they were out in the water, and my son was catching some waves! I credit that to the great basic instructing! The instructor was attentive at all times and helpful throughout the lesson. Overall, a fantastic experience with no complaints. Highly recommended!

i did a 1 day surf lesson in Pacifica with Gary as our instructor, it was an amazing time, very…read morenice and likable guy. made sure everyone was safe especially because the surf was a bit bigger than normal, overall would love to do it again. thanks Gary!

Adventure out is simply amazing!!! Everybody in the team is an expert and very friendly, and you…read morewill have fun with them 100% I did surf lessons and they were just great in every aspect, I stood up on my first time and learned about the ocean and surfing and also swimming with Chase and Antonio (aka the sweetest). If anybody is planning to come down to santa cruz definitely do out doors activities with adventure out!

We've been coming to this art class 3x now and intend to continue coming for the kid's art class on…read moreWednesday. My daughter truly enjoys the class and intends to turn her room into an art studio. Tami, the owner, is a wonderful art teacher and truly great with kids. She also provides snacks and drinks for them as well. I'm looking forward to trying one of their craft classes. The studio itself is clean and inviting. We just love this place!

Hosted my daughter's 9th birthday party at the studio with Tami. I'm so thankful I did!…read more My daughter and her friends had a great time painting, eating pizza and cupcakes. Tami made the painting of the unicorn easy that every girl enjoyed the event and they were proud of their artwork. I highly recommend planning your next party with Tami. She made the party planning stress feel, and my daughter loved picking out what her friends would paint. The space of the studio was perfect and so cute with twinkle-lights and artwork all over. This place is such a gem for Gilroy! My daughter looks forward to going again to paint just for fun on one of studio's themed painting afternoons.