Los Banos performing arts camp to return

A summer arts program returns to the Westside later this month thanks to an educational collaboration.

The Los Banos Unified School District will partner with the Merced County Office of Education and the Merced County Education Foundation to host the second Summer Performing Arts Program on the Westside, according to a news release.

The program culminates in several performances of the musical “Once on This Island!”

The summer program is planned at Pacheco High School in Los Banos and registration is open to all Merced County students entering fourth through eighth grades. There is a $60 registration fee per student, and the program is first come, first served, officials said in the statement.

“Once on This Island!” is set on an island in the Caribbean Sea and focuses on a peasant girl who uses the power of love to bring together people of different social classes.

The program runs June 30 through Aug. 8, with performances scheduled Aug. 6-8. There is a mandatory parent meeting at 9 a.m. on the first day of the program at the Pacheco High School Theater, 200 N. Ward Road, in Los Banos.

Participating students meet from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday at the Pacheco theater. They will take classes in set design and construction; prop building; costume design and construction; makeup; and performing in the production. Lunch will be provided each day.

To download the registration packet, go to www.mcoe.org/foundation/Pages/Summer-Performing-Arts-Program.aspx.

For more information, call the district’s theater director, G.B. Blackmon III, at (209) 827-4506.

This story was originally published June 10, 2015 at 1:38 PM with the headline "Los Banos performing arts camp to return."