A world of travel without leaving Surf City sand

Jillian Ukropina

As schools let out for summer, parents are challenged with finding

activities to entertain and educate children. The local Huntington

Valley Boys and Girls Club, however, found an activity that

captivated its members on June 17.

Nearly 100 children hopped off school buses on the beach in

matching yellow T-shirts in front of the Hyatt Regency Huntington

Beach Resort and Spa. Camp Hyatt, a program sponsored by Hyatt Hotels

Corporation, joined together with the Boys and Girls Club to let its

kids explore, experience, create and play.

Camp Hyatt constructed seven tents on the beach, each representing

a different Hyatt destination resort. The locations each had a

specific activity for the children that aimed to showcase the

individuality of the resorts.

The Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas Resort, Spa and Casino’s tent

offered a class in frame making to share the “glitz and glamour that

they might find in Las Vegas,” according to the attendant working the

booth. Children decorated with beads, sparkles and colored foil.

“Pinch-pot” making was a hit at the Santa Fe tent as children were

encouraged to mimic the traditional pottery of New Mexico. Boys and

girls were educated on pottery making while transforming shapeless

clay into pots they could personally engrave.

“I strive to give them a little culture and to show them that this

technique is still used today by the Indians,” said Ed Deherrera, a

representative from the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa in Santa

Fe.

Bryce Sarmiento, 10, from Santa Ana, enjoyed the lei making at the

Hawaiian resort tent the most. The leis, made from orchids shipped in

the day before from Hawaii, were quickly assembled and slipped around

eager necks and wrists.

“I’m going to wear it now, and when I go home I’m going to give it

to my mom,” Bryce said.

The highlight of the day came from Surf City’s very own Huntington

Beach Resort. Youngsters took part in dry surfing lessons, learning

how to respond to changing surf and water conditions in the ocean.

The surfing instructors, representatives from local surf shop Toes on

the Nose, helped simulate a ride on a wave.