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The Friday Letter
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In The News:
Construction work on the
two I-485 bridges that pass
over Lower McAlpine Creek
and McMullen Creek green-
ways will cause sections of
both trails to close periodi-
cally over the next year.
The section of McMullen
Creek Greenway underneath
the I-485 bridge will close
beginning Monday, May 13,
and will remained closed
through the rest of the year.
It will reopen in early 2014.
The section of Lower McAl-
pine Creek Greenway under
the I-485 bridge will close
later this month and will re-
main closed through early
summer 2014.
Greenway visitors can fol-
low detour signs along low
volume roads to continue on
the greenway and use
nearby Four Mile Creek
Greenway during trail clo-
sures. Detours will be
signed by NCDOT.
Park and Recreation— Park News
this issue
Park News P.1
Enterprise Services P.2
Community & Recreation Center Services P.4
V o l u m e 2 I S S U E
M a y 2 4 2 0 1 3
20 WEEKLY
NEWSLETTER OF THE
PARK AND RECREATION
DEPARTMENT FridayFridayLetterLetter THE
Annual Employee Picnic and Softball Game The Annual Employee Picnic and Softball Game will be held on Saturday, June 1 from 3pm until 7pm at Reedy Creek Park Shelter 1. Employees and their families can enjoy food, fun, games and entertainment. The highlight of the day will be the infamous Employee Softball Game—North vs. South. The North Team consists of North and Central Corridor, Park, Mainte-nance, Nature Preserves and Therapeutic Recreation. The South team is made up of South Corridor, Park, Maintenance, Athletics, Aquatics and AOB. Come out to participate or show your support for your team!
Mecklenburg County Pools and area Sprayground’s
Mecklenburg County’s Neighborhood Pools and area Sprayground’s opened with a Splash this past Memorial Day Weekend. Beautiful weather and crystal blue water were a welcome treat for all participants. Double Oaks Community Pool and Cordelia Community Pool were open Saturday, Sunday, and Mon-day. Attendance was record breaking bringing in almost 1,500 folks over the three days.
Tournaments & Adult Athletics Powerade Games of NC The Powerade State Games Youth and Adult Soccer Tournaments will be held on June 22nd-23rd. The deadline to register your team is tomorrow. Don't miss your chance to participate in the soccer tournament of the summer! Visit the SOCCER PAGE for regis-tration information and to sign up today Other Registration Deadlines Approaching Quickly! Many of our other team sports are filling up fast and registration deadlines will be here in the next week or two:
Youth & Adult Ice Hockey - May 31st Youth & Adult Lacrosse - June 7th Boys & Girls High School Basketball - June 7th Ultimate - June 14th
Volley Girls The Volley Girls recently won the spring women’s A- league volleyball championship. The Gym Ratts won the spring adult men’s B-league basketball championship, and No Limit Auto won the 30 and over men’s basketball league for the spring. Spring Softball is entering its playoff season. Ninety-two (92) teams have registered to play in the 10th Annual Volleyball Bash at Historic American Legion Memorial Stadium on June 1-2.
In The News:
Park and Rec Hosts Free
Golf Classic for Veterans
and Active Duty Military
All military veterans
(including National Guard
and Reserves) and active
duty military personnel are
invited to sign-up to play in
the 8th annual Veterans &
Reservists Golf Classic at
Sunset Hills Golf Course,
800 Radio Road, on June 27,
2013. This event features a
free round of golf on a fine
course plus lunch provided
by Texas Land & Cattle
Steak House at no charge
for those who qualify to
play.
The Golf Classic is pre-
sented by Mecklenburg
County Park and Recreation
Department and Mecklen-
burg County Community
Support Services-Veterans
Services Division to show
appreciation to men and
women who serve and have
served our country in the
armed forces.
Did You Know ~ Rodney’s Great Kids Triathlon Rodney's Great Kids Tri-athlon (RGKT) on its 16th year, is a fun, challeng-ing, annual event for chil-dren (17 and under) chal-lenging themselves in swimming, biking, and running. Ages and Race Distances 8 and under - 100 yard swim, .7 bike, .7 run 9 - 10 - 100 yard swim, 1.4 bike, .7 run 11 - 12 - 200 yard swim, 2.8 bike, 1.4 run 13 - 14 - 200 yard swim, 2.8 bike, 1.4 run 15 - 17 - 400 yard swim, 5.6 bike, 2.8 run Click here to visit the RGKT Triathlon webpage for additional details.
Scenes from Events
No Limit Larry 30 and Over No Limit Auto won the 30 and over men’s basketball league for the spring.
The Gym Ratts The Gym Ratts won the spring adult men’s B-league basketball championship
Botanical Garden Trip at Albemarle Road Recreation Center: On May 21st,
seniors from Albemarle Road Recreation Center visited the Susie Harwood Garden located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Spring in the Harwood Garden is fresh, colorful, and inspiring! Prior to touring the garden, they spent some time in the McMillan Greenhouse complex consisting of eight glasshouse rooms surrounded by beds, terraces, and courtyard bog gardens. For more information on senior programming at Albemarle Road Recreation Center, contact Ivan Jones or Tiffany Peterson at 704-567-1941.
Toddler and Parent Playtime (TAPP) at Elon Recreation Center: Each
Tuesday, between 15 and 20 toddlers and their parents come together for Toddler and Parent Playtime (TAPP) at Elon Recreation Center to develop their motor skills as they play and tumble on the mats! Various activities involving hula hoops and balls are also included as well as completing a take home craft project. The program just finished up and will be taking a break for the summer but will resume in the fall. For more information about our programs at Elon Recreation Center please call 704-540-2426.
Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities
Horticulture News: Partnership Up-dates Internal County Partner-ships with Enterprise and Real Estate Services helped to finance Hort in-house design and install of a brand new landscape at St. Mary’s Chapel. And with CMPD and many others to develop the Offi-cer Sean Clark Memorial Garden at Blythe Landing Park. With Charlotte Housing Authority and McColl Vis-ual Arts creating an envi-ronmentally sound and very functional Native Plants’ Garden at Anita Stroud Park. Carolinas’ Healthcare Sys-tem volunteers to beautify the Little Sugar Creek Greenway . (pictured in order below) As a member of the TreeCharlotte collabora-tive, planting new trees at Shuffletown and South-side Parks at no cost to the County. With our friends at the City of Charlotte, partner-ing to add much needed trees at Flat Branch and Mallard Creek Parks at no cost to the County.
Beneficial Programming. Developing Character. Enriching Lives.
Bricks4Kidz at Berewick Recreation Center: Nine children enjoyed this six week program which ended on May 22nd. The Bricks4Kidz program curriculum explores architecture, engineering, and technology concepts using LEGO bricks. Each week children created a specific model which could be attached to a motor to make moving parts work! Children created projects such as See-Saws, Ferris Wheels, and cars and enjoyed free play to let their imaginations run wild! For more information about this and other programs at Berewick, please contact [email protected] or call 704.432.4934
Berewick Dance Academy : Dance classes at Berewick Recreation Center finished
up their nine week session on May 23rd. Children enjoyed coming to class each Thursday to learn and improve their technique, positions, and moves! Parents, family, and friends were invited to the last session to watch and see all of the improvements the dancers made throughout the session. They were also treated to a one-minute dance routine created specifically for their class! Thirty-seven dancers and ninety-six family & friends came to visit the last week of class! For more information about Berewick Dance Academy, please contact Kimberly Golden at [email protected] or call 704.432.4934.
Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities
Hort news cont...Also, partnerships with several Recreation Centers and the fine carpentry work of the North County Jail inmates to develop gar-dening programs like Lil’ Sprouts and expose the children to Going Green!
Horticulture: Memorial Tree, Brick & Bench Pro-gram
Make a gift in honor of a loved one, organization or event by dedicating a tree or brick in a park, greenway or nature pre-serve (natives only in the preserves). The gift represents a last-ing tribute as it grows and flourishes for years to come. Trees are an im-portant resource, offering habitat, oxygen and beauty.
...and with partner-ships with many of our patrons, fulfilling their Memorial wishes. For more information on Horticulture and volunteer opportunities, call Tim Tur-ton at 704-336-8840.
Gardening at Mallard Creek Rec-reation Center: The Senior Nutrition
Program at Mallard Creek Recreation Center enjoys going out to tend to their tabletop garden. They have a variety of herbs, fruits and vegetables; including: collard greens, strawberries, cabbage, tomato, basil. Carolyn, a program participant, states, “I like gar-dening, I love having a garden at the recreation center”. The group enjoys making salads and watching the pro-gress of the garden.
Ray Play: Mallard Creek Recreation Center held Ray Play on Thursday, May 30. Parents
are eager to register again for the fall! The Pre-School aged children enjoyed riding bikes, playing dress up, shooting hoops, but most of all they loved interacting with the other children and gained socialization.
For more information on programming at Mallard Creek Recreation Center, call 704-548-8234.
Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities
Romare Bearden Bad weather has forced Park and Rec to push back the opening of Romare Bearden Park in Third Ward until September. Park officials now hope to open the park around La-bor Day, which would coin-cide with what would have been the 102nd birthday of the park’s namesake.
Beneficial Programming. Developing Character. Enriching Lives.
Obstacle Course Day: Youth ages 3-13 participated in a fun filled day at Revolution
Park Sports Academy. Daycares and Afterschool groups both participated in age-specific games and obstacles. As the home of non-traditional sports, events such as a chicken toss and tunnel crawls wouldn't be uncommon. Participant times were recorded, and each youth will have a chance to beat their time when their respective programs resume in the fall. If interested in these programs, or Summer Camp opportunities, please call Revolution Park Sports Academy at (704) 432-4963.
Just Dance: So YOU think YOU Can Dance?? Just Dance is a program for individuals
ages 13-35 with disabilities. The program provides individuals with the opportunity to learn the foundational moves of hip hop dancing. The group met for a 6 week session and performed their final routine on Thursday, May 16th. After the encore performance, dance members stayed for a VIP autograph signing. For more information on the Just Dance program contact [email protected].
Baseball and Disc Golf reach Mid-season in Full Stride: The 2013 Youth Baseball and Inaugural 2013 Youth Disc Golf Leagues have both reached week 4 of their 8 week Regular Sea-sons. 705 Participants from 46 Youth Baseball Teams (Countywide) and 31 Youth Disc Golf League Partici-pants (2 Regions – North @ Reedy Creek Park and South @ Elon Park) have found their stride and will begin the second half of their seasons this Saturday at 7 different parks throughout the County. Both programs will run through early June and conclude following their post-season county-wide tournaments. Good luck to all the partici-pants. Youth Soccer and Flag Football registration begins July 1! For more information about youth sports leagues, email [email protected] or call (704) 432-4963.
Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities
Therapeutic Recreation Services
Park and Recreation News:
Submissions for the Newsletter
Please submit all news for the
Friday Letter to your Division
Director for review and routing.
Park Partners may contact
Kesha Meads at
for publication assistance.
The Friday Letter Volume 2 • Issue 20• May 31, 2013
Mecklenburg County
Park and Recreation
Senior Leadership Team
Jim Garges, Director
Michael Kirschman, Deputy Director
James Alsop, Enterprise Services
Renea Barber, Human Resources
Mario Chang, Budget Administration
Lee Jones, Capital Planning
Lola Massad, Community and Recreation
Center Services
Jeff Robinson, Park Operations
5841 Brookshire Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28216
(704) 336-8840
Recreate All Year! Subscribe to the Park and Recreation E-Newsletter to learn of new and exciting way sto continue recreating during the spring and summer months. Subscribe to the Park and Recreation E-Newsletter to stay up to date on activities that may be available to you.
www.parkandrec.com
Upcoming Events:
Benefit Concert: Park and Recreation and Partners for Parks are holding a
Jazz concert to help build playgrounds. Come enjoy a night of Jazz under the stars at Freedom Park with Nnenna Freelon and The Branford Marsalis Quartet. All proceeds from Donations, Tickets and Alcohol sales will go to Partners for Parks to build a Playground at Park Road Park in Memory of the victims of the New-town, CT tragedy. Chairs, picnic baskets and blankets are welcomed. Please no pets, outside alcohol or glass containers. Saturday, June 15, 2013 - 7:00PM—$5 per person - $20 for families of 4 or more Freedom Park, 1900 East Blvd, Charlotte, NC 7:00PM—Nnenna Freelon 8:30PM—The Branford Marsalis Quartet
Leadership Academy Graduation: Twenty one employees from the
Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department will be graduating from the department’s unique Leadership Academy. This is a nine month academy de-signed for the growth of Park & Recreation professionals. It provides employees an opportunity to learn from and interact with other employees and profession-als within the surrounding area. Students were exposed to training outlining “Best Practices” in the field of Park & Recreation. On Wednesday June 5th the students will be honored with a lunch and receive plaques for their successful completion of the academy.
