Camp Adler

Camp Adler is a group-based, arts-focused summer camp where campers take conservatory-level art classes, movement and dance, improv, musical theater, songwriting, choir classes, and visual art. Each camper participates in four different classes per day from five disciplines—visual art, music, theater, dance, and nature and environmental arts—receiving four out of the five during a three-week session. Campers also take part in Forest/Nature programming, group games and activities, community art projects, and, for Junior Counselors, leading activities for campers and assisting in fine arts classes.

• Ages: 5–15 years old
• Schedule: Three-week sessions, with daily camp hours from 9:00am–4:00pm and optional After Care from 4:15pm–6:00pm; 2026 Session I runs June 8–26 and 2026 Session II runs July 6–24, and campers and Junior Counselors enroll in all three weeks of a session
• Price: Camp tuition is $1100 per three-week session ($366 per week); Junior Counselor tuition is $825 per three-week session ($275 per week); After Care is $150 per session per camper; camp insurance is $150 per child and covers both sessions; tuition and extended care fees are non-refundable, balances are due May 17 with a $25 fee, and there is no prorating

All classes at Camp Adler are led by professional teaching artists with backgrounds in their respective fields, and instructors are experienced educators. The curriculum follows a three-week thematic arc in each discipline and is intentionally designed to balance structure, creativity, and joyful exploration, with campers experiencing a different class each period of the day. Camp Adler includes a Celebration of the Arts where student artwork is displayed throughout the Adler Arts Center building and grounds and student performances take place on an outdoor stage, and campers must have completed at least one year of school (kindergarten and up) to attend. The Junior Counselor Program is for young teens entering 7th–10th grade to learn the basics of camp counseling while participating in camp, and families may choose an optional camp insurance plan that refunds tuition if plans change before June 1 or provides a prorated refund in case of coronavirus closure. Families must fill out a medical form if a camper has allergies or medication they need to take while at camp and email it to [email protected].

Camp Adler is directed by Camp Director Sarah Cohen. The program is part of the Adler Arts Center, whose mission is to educate, promote, and preserve the arts, and to promote music and the arts as an integral part of everyday life. The Adler Arts Center offers year-round activities for people in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin and serves as a community center for the arts in Lake County, Illinois. Architect David Adler, whose historic home houses the Adler Arts Center, was elected to the American Institute of Architects in 1926.

Last updated May 23, 2026.