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Wizards, spies and Rubik's Cubes: Summer camp options abound in Sask.

Summer camp used to mean jumping in a lake, learning how to tie slipknots and songs around the campfire.

With school ending this week, those kinds of activities remain popular, but kids now have dozens of other options.

Saskatoon mom Amy Dabghi has sent her two daughters to a variety of camps, from the University of Saskatchewan's veterinary medicine camp to Camp Kadesh, a more traditional summer camp at Emma Lake.

"We have been thrilled. The kids have loved every one of their experiences," she said. "More than anything, it's difficult to just decide on which experiences to do. The quality of the programming out there is really, really incredible."

Submitted by Amy Dabghi
Submitted by Amy Dabghi

Wanuskewin Heritage Park just outside Saskatoon offers storytelling, hiking, puppet shows and crafts delivered from an Indigenous perspective.

"We get everyone, Indigenous and non-Indigenous. We're almost training young interpretive guides," manager Chris Standing said with a laugh.

Saskatoon has sports camps in tennis, soccer, track and hockey, as well as art, music and math camps. There's a spy camp at the Diefenbaker Canada Centre, a wizard camp at Persephone Theatre and camps at the University of Saskatchewan to spend a week doing veterinary medicine or computer coding. There's even a camp to master the Rubik's Cube.

Dabghi and other parents said it can all be a bit intimidating, but overall, they love it. Dagbhi's 13-year-old daughter is going again to Camp Kadesh near Emma Lake with her friends. Dagbhi's older daughter wants to be a vet or doctor after going to the U of S camps.

"More than anything, I want them to have hands-on experience that open up different interests, to do something they wouldn't do during the school year," she said.

Chanss Lagaden/CBC
Chanss Lagaden/CBC

Saskatoon dad Chris Scribe and his wife take their kids to pow wows all over the Prairies all summer. They've also put their kids in camps through the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club, along with a specialized hockey camp.

Both Scribe and Dabghi say they want their kids to have new experiences, but don't want to ship the kids away for the entire summer.

Scribe said he and his wife — who are expecting a third little one any moment now — try to take their kids home to their reserves to see relatives and get back to the land as often as they can.

"I mean these camps are amazing, phenomenal experiences for our children, but so are the things we grew up with," Scribe said.

Scribe and Dabghi offered a few tips when considering camps. Check your available dates, decide what kind of camp you want, make the decision together as a family, and sign up early, as some of these camps fill up within hours, some as far back as January.