Yes! And… Collaborative Arts (YACA), a youth performing arts organization in Germantown, is having a busy and ambitious summer.

With an outdoor show, a free festival, and a fundraising campaign all occurring this July, YACA is tripling down on the organization’s commitment to amplifying youth voices through the performing arts.

‘Sea You in Paradise’

YACA’s Summer Sort of Thing — an outdoor theater program — is celebrating its 10th anniversary. In this program, young people from sixth through 10th grade spend four weeks bringing a musical to life, from pre-production to a live performance.

This year’s show is called “Sea You in Paradise” and was written by Sharese Salters, with lyrics by Julissa Mishay Norment and music by Timothy Hill. According to Salters, the musical will feel “close to home” for anyone who has gone on vacation with their family.

“My thought process in creating it was that not everybody is going on a vacation this summer because not everyone can afford to,” Salters said. “So, what would it be like to create a vacation that we can all experience?”

Salters added that the youth involved in putting on the show are “excited to show their work and flex their acting muscles.”

Performances of “Sea You in Paradise” run Wednesday through Friday, July 22-24, beginning at 6 p.m. at Holman Field (21 W. Washington Lane). Admission is free.

Summer festival

On July 24, the closing night of the outdoor performances, YACA will put on a summer festival. Guests can expect treats such as popsicles, popcorn, and pretzels. There will also be community organizations and sponsors at the festival such as Germantown CDC, #Philly.TeenJobs, Natural Creativity Center, Fringe Arts, the office of state Rep. Andre Carroll, and Wesley Enhanced Living.

According to Chris Herrman, executive director of YACA, this festival is a way to celebrate 10 years of Summer Sort of Thing and give back to neighbors.

“We’re trying to uplift our community that has celebrated and supported us by coming out and seeing our performance for 10 years,” Herrman said.

The free festival will begin at 5 p.m., one hour before the final performance starts.

Every Kid, Every Stage campaign

On June 1, YACA launched its Every Kid, Every Stage fundraising campaign to support the organization’s programming and make sure young people have access to the arts. The campaign will last until August 31 and has a goal of $25,000. As of press time, YACA is more than halfway toward this goal. Herrman said this money will pay for scholarships.

“In the first three weeks of summer alone, we had 74 students walk through our doors through three programs, and 96% of those students requested financial assistance or a scholarship to attend,” Herrman said. “We’ve seen our need for scholarship funding from local families just absolutely explode. It grows every year.”

As arts programming becomes more expensive or is eliminated from schools, that creates more of a financial barrier.

“We feel that creating access is really important, especially because historically the arts are such a pay-to-play type of activity,” Herrman said. “More and more, it’s being pulled out of schools, so that means you have to pay for it if you’re going to participate. Because we believe there’s so much learning and understanding that comes through the arts, we want to make sure that is accessible to every young person.”

On July 24, coinciding with the summer festival and the last performance, YACA will also hold its first annual day of giving.

“It’s really just a day to push our campaign and highlight the work we’re doing, sort of like Giving Tuesday,” Herrman said.

For Herrman, YACA’s work is important for validating kids’ creativity, imaginations, hopes, and dreams. This summer’s initiatives will help.

“Every young person should have the ability to feel seen and valued for who they are in this moment and who they’re going to grow into,” Herrman said. “We believe that the arts are a really wonderful vehicle for a student to learn about themselves, learn about each other, learn about the community, and feel that they are a part of it.”

To learn more about YACA, visit yesandcamp.org.

Maggie Dougherty can be reached at Margaret@chestnuthilllocal.com.