Renwick Mansion Opens Registration for 3rd Witchcraft & Wizardry Camp
The Renwick Mansion, 901 Tremont Ave., Davenport, is already a pretty magical place.
Kids on the steps of the Renwick Mansion have fun with one of the chemistry experiments from co-owner Dane Moulton, a Davenport science teacher.
But for up to 20 lucky 8-to-12-year-old local kids, the dramatic 1877 landmark will be home to a four-day Witchcraft & Wizardry Camp July 26-29, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Registration ($175 per camper) opens on Thursday, April 1 – on a first-come, first-served basis.
Renwick co-owners Dane and Sarah Moulton started the fun activities in summer 2019, over two separate weeks, but Covid scaled the camp back last year to one week in late July with 17 students, and mostly outdoor activities.
“Whether kids are Muggle or Magic, have read the HP books or not, our activities are sure to capture
The Renwick Mansion’s third-annual Witchcraft & Wizardry Camp will be held July 26-29, 2021.
their imagination, creativity and enthusiasm!” according to the Renwick Mansion Facebook page.
Dane Moulton has taught science and math for 12 years in the Davenport Community Schools (currently at Madison Elementary); has coached teams in Lego Robotics competition, and has worked for the City of Davenport Junior Naturalist Camp. Sarah Moulton was Director of Religious Education at a non-denominational congregation for several years and has taught preschool. They have three kids, ages 17, 15 and 10.
“We do a lot of science activities; I’ve been a science teacher for 12 years, so it kind of fit naturally,” Dane said Tuesday. “But with the magical world, there’s herbology – which is biology, and potions is chemistry. So we have four acres there, so for biology, we’ll do a wild edible hike. I
Paige Lehsing walks around a circle of camp participants playing a game called Drip, Drip, Splash.
used to work with the city in Davenport and Scott County and we do like a Junior Naturalist Camp, we do that kind of stuff.”
They’ll do some cool chemistry experiments, that kids don’t necessarily get to do in school, but are fun to do and watch, and be part of. And the camp includes a certain broomstick game, in which kids try to score goals, Dane said.
Children ages 8-12 at the Renwick Mansion Witchcraft & Wizardry Camp.
As a teacher, Dane got the second dose of his Covid vaccine March 3, and Sarah has received her first dose. The participating camp students won’t wear masks outdoors, but likely will be for inside activities.
Dane is an amateur magician and will show kids how to do some simple tricks, including sleight of hand, but he’ll also have professional Q-C musician David Casas in the camp – who participated by Zoom last summer.
“I’m hoping to get him to do a class during the week. He’s fantastic,” Dane said, noting Casas would be in person.
Dave Murcia, director of the Wapsi Center, displays a great horned owl at the Renwick camp.
Another guest instructor will be Dave Murcia, director of the Wapsi River Environmental Education Center, who usually shows off a horned owl and snakes.
The Renwick – a popular event space for weddings, receptions, and the Tomfoolery on Tremont standup comedy series – is Davenport’s finest example of Italian Revival Villa architecture, according to renwickmansion.net.
Because of Covid restrictions, most of the big 2020 events there were canceled or moved to this year, Dane said.
“It was a challenge; we lost probably 75 percent of our business,” he said. “We had a wedding last weekend,
Renwick owners Dane and Sarah Moulton with their three children.
and we will have a wedding not this weekend, but the weekend after that and then pretty much every weekend from there.” Most couples choose to have both the ceremony and reception on site, Dane said.
Because of weddings, many comedy shows in spring and summer are bumped back to Sunday nights.
“It gets more challenging because that gets dumped back to Sundays now because it’s the wedding season so it’s always a little bit harder in the summertime to get people to come out of a
Comedian Sam Tallent will perform at Tomfoolery on Tremont on Wednesday, April 14 for two shows.
Sunday night rather than Friday or Saturday,” Dane said. .
“We’ve got some really good with coming up, Sam Tallent being April 14th, which is one of the best touring comics of the country right now,” he added. “We’re lucky to catch him.”
That will be a rare mid-week show on Wednesday, April 14 with Sam Tallent, doing two shows at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tables of two will cost $24, and $48 for tables of four (you can get tickets HERE). There’s limited seating due to social distancing, and masks will be required while not seated.
Tallent performed a Sunday night last September as part of the Renwick comedy series.
In 2019, he was one of the “New Faces” for Just For Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival. Tallent “is known for whip-quick wit and rollicking improvisations, and is one of the sharpest, most original rising talents in comedy today,” according to the event description, which notes he’s worked alongside many of the biggest names in comedy, including Russel Peters, Ron White, Dave Chappelle, and more. Tallent recently won his battle on Comedy Central’s Roast Battle.
To sign up for the July 26-29 camp, visit www.facebook.com/therenwickmansion after April 1, or email sarah@renwickmansion.net.
