The Italian American Association of Monmouth County will hold an Italian enrichment summer camp in Marlboro.
The camp will be held at the Old Brick Reformed Church, Route 520, from Aug. 3-14. The camp will run Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and will accept children between the ages of 5 and 14.
Cheryl Scuorzo, the president of the Italian association and camp coordinator, said certified Italian teachers who work in public schools and are fluent in the language will teach the children.
Activities for the camp will include Italian language lessons, crafts, games and cooking lessons.
The crafts will include clay sculpting of Italian landmarks, mosaics, painting and sewing. In the past, the camp had an Italian sculptor visit and teach campers how to chisel stone.
“Art is in the blood of Italians,” Scuorzo said.
The children will learn how to play an Italian card game called Scopa, and they will play Italian Jeopardy and bocce.
According to Scuorzo, the campers will learn how to cook homemade pasta and pizza, chicken marsala and meatball sauce, and they will learn how to make biscotti. At the end of camp, each child will receive a cookbook containing the recipes the youngsters followed. The children will be taught the Italian language through lessons and their experiences at camp. During crafts, games and cooking lessons, the instructors will use Italian to identify certain items to help the children learn the language.
On the last day of camp, the children will perform Italian songs and put on plays in Italian.
The Italian American Association of Monmouth County was founded in 2002 and members range from native Italians to people who are not Italian. The group raises money for charities and scholarships. Scuorzo said the organization has awarded scholarships to graduating seniors across the county.
“Our organization is dedicated to promoting Italian American culture, family values and tradition,” she said. “In bringing together Italian Americans from all walks of life, we hope to promote the common feelings we all share — love for our families, love for Italian American culture and love for the United States, which has provided us so much and enjoying life itself seen and enhanced by our Italian American experience.”
To register for the Italian enrichment summer camp, call Cheryl Scuorzo, 732-536-5832, or Maria Cucciniello, 732-863-0021.