9 minute read
We Are Parks and Recreation
Special Events in the Time of COVID-19
By Christine DiGioia
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When it comes to planning events, organizers have likely considered almost every scenario possible to be prepared for the unknown. There are plans for natural disasters, accidents, extreme weather, terrorist threats and so much more — but a pandemic?
Last year, as the world transitioned from the thought process of “we just need to wait this out” to “this is the new normal,” event planners were faced with the task of how to adapt special events. With only a five-step process, Howard County Recreation and Parks in Maryland was able to modify procedures to successfully develop a new event plan.
While the following example shows the measures Howard County Recreation and Parks took for its Fall Festival, called Truck or Treat in Howard County, these tips can apply toward any major holiday event, including Memorial Day.
Truck or Treat is typically a Halloween-themed touch-a-truck experience that features trucks and tractors from the parks department, county highways, police, fire and rescue, park rangers, and even local businesses. Families can trick-ortreat at the trucks; take pictures; and enjoy carnival-type games, inflatable slides, face painting, a hay ride and more. The three-hour event typically hosts more than 2,000 people. If there is inclement weather, the trucks remain outside, and all activities move inside the community center.
During the current climate with physical distancing, mask wearing and limited crowds, a few factors needed to be taken into account.
PHOTO COURTESY OF HOWARD COUNTY RECREATION AND PARKS Howard County Recreation and Parks modifies its special events during the pandemic.
TRUCK OR TREAT
Event Activities
Trucks
What Can Run
✔
Treats/Giveaways/Prizes ✔ Face painting/Tattoos
Inflatables
Petting Zoo
Games
Costumes/Picture-taking ✔ Vendors ✔
Sponsors
2,000 people
What Cannot
Run What can be adapted
No sitting or climbing/touching Pre-filled treat bags handed out at the end
Add more “photo spots”
Send giveaways for treat bags
Banners/signs only, not on-site
100 kids per hour, longer event
STEP 1: Look up the current local and state guidelines in your county or area.
For Howard County Maryland, in Stage III of reopening, inside capacity was limited to 50 percent, masks were required in all situations where you cannot physically distance from others and gatherings were limited to 250 people.
STEP 2: How can we adapt to fit the guidelines in the area?
These guidelines immediately caused the cancellation of any indoor options for the event, as well as limited the tickets to no more that 250 at a time. (The event space is approximately 85,000 square feet, and also backs up to a park.)
The event was adapted by ex-
tending the time from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and admission was limited to one-hour increments. Usually, tickets are sold for $2 per person ages 2 and older, but by changing them to $5 per child, there was an accurate count for the number of prefilled treat bags. Then, adults and babies just needed a free ticket in order to have a precise head count. (Adult tickets were limited to two per child.) The first group was given from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. to enter, look at the trucks, take pictures and pick up their pre-filled treat bag on the way out. The next group came in from 11:20 a.m. to 12:10 p.m., and so on, with the fourth group ending at 2:30 p.m.
STEP 3: List all of the activities that are part of the event.
Look at each activity and ask, “Can this be adapted to be physically distant and safe for all involved and how? Or, should this activity be removed from the event?” See the chart on the right for reference.
STEP 4: What new things can be added that are budget friendly and meet physical distancing guidelines?
• A scavenger hunt — printed and handed out with a pencil
• Photo backdrops/frames —
children attending want to have fun, see the trucks and get candy and treats. The parents want cute pictures of their children having fun. “Photo frames” or “selfie stations” can be set out using borrowed and collected materials to minimize costs.
STEP 5: Ask five important questions based on the following: Safety, Feasibility, Experience, QUESTIONS TO ASK:
Can we keep staff and participants safe? Is the event feasible with the current restrictions? Yes
Yes, as long as adaptations are made
Will we be providing the same experience or better? Different but equal experience
Will the budget at least break even? Yes Is it worth it financially and in value to the customer experience? Yes, without spending a lot we can still provide a fun holiday-themed experience and include the main feature of trucks
Budget and Value.
By answering yes to all five of these questions, a successful event can be planned while adhering to all local, state and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. All participants were emailed the participant expectations ahead of time, and all rules were followed. Howard County Recreation and Parks was able to provide the community with a fun and festive event while maintaining safety, as well as meeting the high expectations that customers have come to know and expect from the department.
Christine DiGioia is Event Coordinator for Howard County Recreation and Parks (cdigioia@howardcountymd.gov).
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COVID-19 and Parks and Recreation: One Year Later
By Jennifer Cox
In the midst of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a racial justice movement, growing economic pressures, health crises and devastating impacts of climate change, park and recreation professionals are continuing to serve their communities by maintaining essential infrastructure and providing innovative and vital programming. They also stepped into new roles to protect, strengthen and heal their communities. During the past year, local agencies scaled up childcare programs and learning centers, offered shelter to people without housing, managed food distribution programs, served as testing and vaccine distribution sites and coordinated disaster response — all while maintaining critical infrastructure that promotes physical and mental health and a healthy environment. COVID-19 continues to highlight what has been true for many years: parks
and recreation is vital to ensuring that all people — no matter their race,
ethnicity, income, age, location or gender identity — thrive.
To document the essential role of parks and recreation and advocate for necessary and sustained investment, NRPA developed a suite of resources to provide elected officials, park and recreation professionals, and partners with a clear pathway to advance climatereadiness, equity and overall well-being through parks and recreation. Informed by NRPA research, a roundtable with mayors from cities across the country, NRPA’s monthly Urban Leaders Convening, and interviews with park and recreation professionals, the following resources were developed (nrpa.org/Coronavirus): COVID-19 and Parks and Recreation: Response and Recovery showcases the role parks and recreation
NRPA developed a suite of resources to provide park and recreation professionals and others with a clear pathway to advance climate-readiness, equity and overall well-being.
played and continues to play throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrates its impact on local agencies, and highlights policy changes to support investment in parks and recreation.
COVID-19 and Parks and Recreation: Making the Case for the Future is a communications toolkit that provides key messaging, strategies and template graphics to equip park and recreation professionals and advocates with the knowledge and tools to communicate about the essential role parks and recreation has in the well-being of communities.
NRPA continues to advocate for policies and funding that benefit parks and recreation — we garner the support of members of Congress, elected officials and likeminded organizations, and we are equipping park and recreation professionals with the tools to do the same at the local and state level. The communications toolkit showcases data and critical statistics about the national-level park and recreation mission to provide essential services, but the messaging, graphics and stories should be tailored to each community and COVID-19 response. We recognize that many of these roles extend well beyond the response of COVID-19 — this toolkit was designed to showcase that both every day and in crises parks and recreation is essential.
As we look toward a post-COVID-19 future, it is critical that parks and recreation continues its role as a catalyst for equity, climatereadiness and overall well-being, as well as an advocate for increased support of these vital systems. Indeed, NRPA envisions a future in which the full power of parks and recreation will be recognized and utilized to create a better life for all people.
Jenny Cox is NRPA's Conservation Program Manager (jcox@nrpa.org).
Member Benefit: ADA in 2021 — An Old Topic That Is New Again!
Recently, a park and recreation director asked, “Why don’t the 2010 Standards include enforceable requirements for trails?” Great question! That does not mean that trails are exempt though. To comply is to meet both the design and program requirements. This short discussion clears up how to view the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements and offers readers some simple advice.
The 2010 Standards for Accessible Design are issued pursuant to the ADA regulations. Local governments must adhere to ADA Title II (see it at 28 CFR Part 35) (tinyurl.com/k962vwhp). That regulation says that park and recreation agencies must follow the 2010 Standards. But the Standards are incomplete — they do not address disc golf, dog parks, skate parks, trails, beaches, campsites, picnic areas, viewing areas and constructed elements like a grill at a pavilion. Think of the standards as a very nice car that you enjoy driving.
The Title II regulation also addresses programs. A program is defined very broadly, and is any opportunity made available by an entity to the general public. Playgrounds are built, and they are also the program of playgrounds. Other “programs” we might see are the programs of sports fields, dog parks or programs requiring registration, such as summer camps or swim lessons. The programs are the fuel for the car — one without the other is useless.
Congress and the Department of Justice realized that final and enforceable standards might be slowed, so it is made clear in the ADA that in the absence of final and enforceable design standards, programs offered by an entity must be accessible.
Some simple advice: check your programs of your website, trails, pools, golf courses, centers, rinks, picnic areas and all other opportunities you offer the public. Make them and keep them accessible.
John N. McGovern leads the Accessibility Practice at The WT Group, LLC. Since 2013, his firm has been the NRPA preferred provider of access consulting for the more than 60,000 members of NRPA. Contact him at jmcgovern@wtgroup. com. For more information, please visit nrpa.org/Accessibility AuditsDiscountProgram.
