July 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 16

Community Center

OSP Images

COLUMBUS,
OHIO

The Scioto Mile Fountain in Columbus, Ohio's Bicentennial Park attracts splashers of all
ages and provides a creative playspace near the park's outdoor performance pavilion.

viewing of the movie " Frozen, " explains Nazanin Weck, marketing manager with Gwinnett County Parks and
Recreation. In a similar nationwide
event, many parks have hosted the
Electric Run, a 5K event with plenty
of glowing attire and whimsical neon
scenery that culminates with a latenight DJ-hosted dance party at
finish
line.
thee fi
th
fini
nish
ni
sh llin
inee.
in

LENEXA,
KANSAS

Lenexa Parks and Recreation/Bill Harrison

engage in free organized sports - basketball, soccer, softball - as well as art
classes, Zumba workouts and more.
Other park systems are getting people exercising at night through bike
rides and runs. Lenexa, Kansas, held a
Moonlight Bike Ride last July, during
which bikers started at 10 p.m. and
rode through town streets and even a
cave system. For extraa fun
fun,
riders
decn, ri
ride
ders
de
rs d
dec
ec-ec
orated their bikes with
h
lights to compete forr
prizes.
Further south, forr
the 1, 2, 3K Glow and
d
Show in Alexanderr
Park in Lawrenceville,
e,,
Georgia, walkers and
d
runners donned gloww-in-the-dark
T-shirts,
s,,
face paint and nail
ill
polish for an after-dark
k
3K fun run/walk and
d
outdoor film. Black
k
light stations welcomed
meed al
aalmost
lmostt 3
350
50
glowstick-carrying participants, who
illuminated the park trails with glowin-the-dark gear before settling into a

Parks & Recreation

On the West Coast, glow-in-thedark ambiance takes a different twist
d
eeach spring in Malibu Bluffs Park in
Malibu, California, where staff and
M
vvolunteers hide about 1,500 eggs filled
with tiny glow sticks, candy and other
w
gglowing prizes for teens bearing glow
wands and illuminated rings.
w
After summer's heat has passed, fall
proves a popular time for pre-Hallowp
eeen evening events, such as hayrides
aand bonfires. New Braunfels Parks and
Recreation in New Braunfels, Texas,
R
offers autumn after-dark tours of the
o
historic Comal Cemetery - complete
h
with living history portrayals of cemw
eetery " residents " by volunteer actors
who dress in period clothing and use
w
historical props to narrate the life stories
h
of the deceased. At the tour's conclusion, a German choir sings old funeral
hymns alongside an authentic horsedrawn funeral wagon and casket.
" This is not a scary event, but rather a history of our town, " says Director of Parks and Recreation Stacey
Dicke. " It sells out every year in about
two to three weeks. "
For events such as New
Braunfels'
cemetery tours, a
B au
Br
a n
nighttime
setting helps take
niig
programs
to a new level.
pro
Such
Suc after-hours opportunities
tiess may bring in visitors less
likely
like to come during the day
due
due to work commitments,
preference
to stay out of daypre
time
tim heat or other reasons.
Whether
evening programs
Wh
occur
occ regularly or feature as
one-night
occasions, park
one
and
and recreation departments
have
hav found creative - and
fun
fun - ways to make cultural-,
sportall , sspo
po
ort
rt-- aand nature-oriented activities light up the night.

The popular Lenexa, Kansas, Moonlight
Bike Ride attracts hundreds of bikers and
hikers to the city's Black Hoof Park after
hours, many of whom wear costumes or
decorate their bikes for the event.

| J U LY 2 0 1 4 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

Carrie Madren is a freelance writer based in
northern Virginia (camadren@gmail.com).

July 2014 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2014 - Parks & Recreation