Park and Rec bustling with summer programs

By Staff
Tracy B. Cieniewicz, Hartselle Enquirer
Adventures galore await youth of all ages this summer with Hartselle Parks and Recreation at Sparkman Civic Center.
Annual activities like basketball camp, sports clinics, water aerobics and swimming lessons are available again this year, but the Parks and Recreation Department is especially excited about its new Daddy/Daughter Date Night and Kids' Klub programs.
"Daddy/Daughter Date Night is just in time for Father's Day," Assistant Program Coordinator Staci McCormick said of the June 16 event. "We have many wonderful things planned for the evening, including a disc jockey, dancing, a chicken dinner, pictures, time for special presentations, corsages for daughters and a present for dads."
McCormick said all ages are invited to attend this special event Friday, June 16, 7-9 p.m., and can even make special song requests when they register by June 12. Tickets are $10 per person.
"We learned about this event at a conference this February in Georgia for parks and recreation departments throughout the southeast," McCormick explained. "Those who had hosted their own date nights said they had a great time with fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers and their daughters, stepdaughters and granddaughters attending. Daughters can take their dads as dates and moms can take their dads as dates and have the whole family there. Dads can bring more than one daughter date, too."
McCormick hopes Daddy/Daughter Date Night will be as successful as their regularly scheduled youth dances, which she said are always well-attended.
"This is the first year and we hope we have a good turn out to make Daddy/Daughter Date Night an annual event," McCormick said.
Sports clinics and activities are also well-attended with Hartselle Parks and Recreation throughout the year, but McCormick hopes to build participation in fun-filled play-centered activities at Sparkman Civic Center this summer with the new Kids' Klub program for ages five through eight.
"This is a fun way for boys and girls to spend a Friday afternoon," McCormick explained. "We have special themes planned for each week, like Good Ol' Days when kids will meet with our senior citizens here and learn and play the kinds of games the seniors played when they were kids and how things are different now. For Hollywood Happenings Day, we'll dress like movie stars and have a talent show. Firefighters and police will visit for A Day in the Line of Safety Day and kids will get to see fire trucks and police cars close up while learning the importance of safety."
Kids Klub begins June 2 with Game Day and ends July 28 with Friday Free-4-All, an event McCormick said was a hit a couple of years ago to close a weeklong kids event at Sparkman Civic Center.
"It's basically a day to do whatever the kids want to do," McCormick said. "We'll have a water gun war with Alka Seltzer targets on our foreheads and even have a food fight.
"Last time I went home with spaghetti in my hair."
Kids Klub meets each Friday, 1-4 p.m., at Sparkman Civic Center. Refreshments are provided as well as a theme-related craft for each day. The fee is $5 for each class or $40 for all nine classes. Participants must register by the Thursday prior to the class they wish to attend.
"Kids' Klub will be lots of fun, but if no one signs up we can't do it," McCormick said. "It's a good way to keep kids from being in the house all day and get them interacting with other kids and using some of that summer energy. They may even be ready for a nap when they leave."
For more information on the Daddy/Daughter Date Night, Kids' Klub, or any Hartselle Parks and Recreation summer activities, call 773-2581.