Things to Do in Beecher

Working at the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 1994 World Cup are a few of the sporting events on camp director Shelly Watkins's resumé, which she draws on to run a summer camp for kids of all ages. A mother herself, she believes in giving each child individual attention, recognition, and respect, rewarding campers with high-fives and compliments for jobs well done. Together with assistant camp director Cortney Spiegel, she runs fun-packed day camps focused on arts, sports, field trips, and specialty programs. Professional counselors work with pintsize Pacinos in the Lights, Camera, Action class to make short films; kick off Nerf-themed sports events in the Nerf Extravaganza class; or venture out to bowling, movies, rollerblading, and laser tag during the Mega Adventure Field Trip. Shelly and her friendly crew also lead precamp and aftercamp activities for early-morning and evening supervision, and junior camp for campers aged 4¬–7 or 10-year-olds having their pre-preteen life crisis.

Ever since he began playing with the family Kodak as a toddler, Mark Chamberlin’s passion for photography has been insatiable. He opened his first studio in 1977, and soon earned numerous awards for his portrait, wedding, and scenic photography. By 1995, he felt ready to move on from the studio business and switched his career focus to adult education. As the director and primary instructor of SmarterPics, which he founded in 2008, Mark teaches all level of student the ins and outs of digital photography.

In classes and private tutoring sessions, Mark instructs students through a combination of verbal instruction and hands-on practice. His classes range in subject, from introductory DSLR-camera courses to flash photography and controlling bright sun, where students learn more productive ways to work with light than attempting to harvest it from within. Subjects in his tutoring sessions also run the gamut from camera basics to digital editing tips, depending on the specific needs of his clients.

Passionate staff members stroll through bell-shaped fairy doors at The Bead Gallery’s Ann Arbor location, which has housed a voluminous spread of crafting accessories in an idyllic Victorian abode for more than 20 years. Both here and at the store's Howell locale, sprawling aisles house an epic selection of Czech pressed glass beads, Swarovski crystals, and semiprecious gemstones, which customers can buy loose, by the strand, or in repurposed Skittles bags. Crafters can also sign up for classes that cycle through beadwork, metal and stone techniques, and methods for manipulating wire and glass. Along with their expert instruction, The Bead Gallery’s crackerjack staff can also flex their restringing skills to repair beaten-up baubles.

With more than 13 years of experience in the party-planning industry, Valley Tent Rental supplies event coordinators with affordable amusements ranging from portable putt-putt greens to dunk tanks. To accommodate indoor play time, Valley Tent Rental created the Bounce Warehouse, a facility brimming with ping-pong tables, arcade games, and inflatable castles where kids can play without weather getting in the way. In addition to party-planning items, Valley Tent Rental enlivens events with DJ services and guest appearances by its Spiderman or Tom Brokaw impersonators.

After six years of working in Chicago, Kasey Shoemaker returned to Lansing to raise her family. Fusing her dedication to her children with her entrepreneurial aspirations, Kasey set out to assemble natural, local, and organic materials and to transform them into a space where kids aged 6 or younger could frolic while parents relaxed with other adults. Her vision came to fruition with play., a 2,600-square-foot space with play areas where kids shop at a pretend farmers' market or cavort across a stage in elaborate costumes and props. Tykes who wish to check in with Clifford, Dora the Explorer, or Hamlet can nestle into the reading nook with a favorite book. Beside permanent play spots, constantly evolving interest areas accommodate new attractions, such as a chalk wall and a basketball hoop, that enthrall drop-in visitors and birthday-party guests alike. Along with unstructured play, classes led by experienced educators engage tykes with art activities and interactive projects. During the warmer months, play. also offers summer camps that run for two-week sessions and let children explore and create while accompanied by staff and guest instructors.

A reiki healer and fifth-generation painter, Hannah Manges believes in the power of intuition, such as when she sensed that what her adult art students needed most was to finger paint. Though she's classically trained, Manges never cared for the rigidity and competitiveness that often characterized the art industry. She further saw that teaching her adult students in a classical tradition took the joy out of things; most of them were there to try something new and expand themselves, not master technique. So during a class in which her students struggled to find joy in their work, she put their canvases away and grabbed a stack of paper plates. Thus began her BYOB finger-painting class, which has evolved into an experience in which people "kick off their shoes, have some wine, and have some fun."

Though the BYOB finger-painting course remains among her most popular—it's earned recognition in local press, such as the Midland Daily News—Manges leads other classes that range from couples' painting workshops to watercolor for beginners. She also teaches art via her television series, Painting Pictures with Hannah Manges, on Midland Community Television Network Channel 99. "I'm becoming a celebrity to all the 80-year-old women in town who read the paper and watch public television," she laughs.

To further encourage students and visitors to become more comfortable with art, Manges posts signs throughout her gallery that say, "Please touch everything." She encourages everyone to fully experience each piece of her art, which includes The Healing Tree series, a collection Manges began to connect with her deceased mother.