Pictured left to right: Top Row – Chautauqua Striders Executive Director Peter Morgante, Chautauqua Region Community Foundation Executive Director Randy Sweeney; 2nd Row – Council President Greg Rabb, Recreation Leader McKenzie Martin, Recreation Attendant Jeffrey Miller, Recreation Attendant Cory Tubbs; 1st Row – Chautauqua Striders Director of Education Michelle Waterman, Councilman Brent Sheldon, Girl Scouts of Western New York Community Engagement Specialist Laurie Marucci, Mayor Sam Teresi, James Prendergast Library Executive Director Tina Scott, Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation Executive Director Linda Swanson, Jamestown YMCA Operations Director John Barber, Recreation Coordinator Julia Ciesla-Hanley, Parks Manager John Williams
JAMESTOWN – The city of Jamestown has announced another season of the Summer Playground Program. This year will include a free lunch program provided at each site by the Jamestown YMCA in conjunction with the St. Susan Center.
The five playground programs participating this year are:
- Allen Park
- Fletcher Elementary School
- Lillian Dickson Park
- Nordstrom Park
- and Ring Elementary School
The staff will consist of eleven city college-aged residents.
The playground program is free of charge. This year’s program will run from Monday, June 27 through Friday, Aug. 5. The Ring Elementary School site will be open 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. All other sites will be open from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The program is geared for children between 5-13 years old.
As in past years, there will be city-wide activities scheduled, including bowling, a talent show, carnival, and the Playground Olympics. At the individual parks, there will be arts and crafts, and games such as mancala, kickball, box hockey, and wiffle ball. Equipment will be available at each playground site for the children to play with at any time.
The Nature Day field trip that will feature a tree planting will take place at Nordstrom Park this year. Additionally, the Parks & Rec Department is collaborating again with the James Prendergast Library to offer the Summer Reading Program at all playground program sites. Chautauqua Striders and the Girl Scouts of Western New York are also doing a reading program on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays afternoons at the Fletcher Elementary School site.
The free lunch will be made available between 11 a.m. to noon at Allen Park, Fletcher Elementary, Lillian Dickson Park, and Nordstrom Park. Lunch will be served between 12:30-1:30 p.m. at Ring Elementary School. Participating children will need to sign up each day in order to receive lunch for the following day. The meals will be available to children ages 18 and under.
Children must register the first time they attend their playground site. They are free to come and go as they wish after that point. Children with the best attendance records for the first two weeks of the program will be entered into a drawing, held on Friday, July 8, to win tickets to a Jamestown Jammers game.
The summer playground program is made possible through support from the City of Jamestown, the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, Jamestown Public Schools, New York State Office of Children and Family Services, and the Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation.
For specific times call the Jamestown Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Department at 483-7523.
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