BY HANNAH KING
Are you wondering if you got the most out of summer?
Did you make it to your favourite beach or attend the festival you couldn’t miss? Personally, I could use another few weeks of summer to get that lazy summer to-do list complete.
The parks, recreation and culture team on the other hand is feeling like we squeezed out every last drop of summer.
Our youth leadership programs Leaders in Training and QUEST had 118 participants who collectively logged 12,300-plus hours of volunteer time within our programs and at various events.
You might have seen them around with their bright coloured T-shirts and smiling faces. There is another crew starting in late September for the fall session with orientation happening Sept. 27.
The department offered 50 different theme summer day camps, working with different community organizations to help introduce as much of a variety of activities as possible.
Overall, we had 2,452 camp registrations over three months. We are always looking for new program ideas and community partnerships, so if you have an idea for a program or camp, please let us know.
For most of us, the first place we take summer visitors is to one of our fabulous parks. Our parks played host to a number of events over the course of the summer months like the recent Nanaimo Blues Festival or the Save-On-Foods Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival. Our free summer concert series in parks saw audiences from 50-80 people.
This year our free summer playground program was based at Pawson, Deverill, Harewood Mining, and Mansfield parks. The program has been a summer staple since 1954 and the sense of belonging it brings to those neighbourhoods is incredible.
As you wind down your summer activities, don’t forget to spend some time picking out your fall and winter plans with parks, recreation and culture. Pick up an activity guide at one of the recreation centres or visit us online www.nanaimo.ca.
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Hannah King is a marketing and communication specialist with Nanaimo parks, recreation and culture.