The Friday Letter | April 10, 2015

The

The 2015 Bark in the Park Top Dog Festival presented by Purina and Harris Teeter will take place Saturday, April 25, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., at Historic Rural Hill in Huntersville.

Bring your pooch and enjoy a funfilled day of contests, vendors , food and much more!

Founded by Celebrity Pet Lifestyle Expert & Animal Welfare Advocate Colleen Paige and sponsored by the Animal Miracle Foundation & Network, April 11 is National Pet Day.

Mecklenburg County News Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation is making sure that every child can swim by the 5th grade.

Through a partnership with Second Ward High School National Alumni Foundation, the department will continue its free swim lessons program for youth, ages 3-12, at Ray’s Splash Planet, 215 N. Sycamore Street in uptown Charlotte.

Swim lessons are offered in monthly sessions and take place on Saturday mornings.

For a child to participate, he or she must attend a pre-registration event with a parent or guardian at Ray’s Splash Planet. Each registration session begins at 5:30 p.m.

Upcoming sessions:

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April 28: Lessons take place on May 2, 9, 16 and 23 Applications will not be accepted after 6:30 p.m. on the day of registration. If applications exceed the number of available spots, a public lottery will be conducted.

For more information, visit www.parkandrec.com and click on the Ray's Splash Planet Web page.

Mecklenburg County News

‘Get Involved and Get Green’ for the Great American Cleanup Each spring, Mecklenburg County participates in the Great American Cleanup, a national movement that stresses environmental awareness through community-organized beautification projects.

Locally, thousands of volunteers work to clean and beautify parks, greenways, creeks and other areas throughout the County. You can view a schedule of upcoming events at www.wipeoutwaste.com.

Aquatics The Sunkissed Invitational The Sunkissed Invitational Junior/Senior Championships of the USA took place at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center, March 26 – 29, 2015. 18 teams took part in the swimming championship. 584 participants from New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Illinois competed in this special event.

Community & Recreation Center Services Wilderness Bunch: The Therapeutic Recreation Section took a group "camping" at the cabins at Morrow Mountain State Park, just outside of Albemarle, NC. We enjoyed 2 overnights and 3 days full of hiking, arts and crafts and other outside activities. Wilderness Bunch is a program designed to increase independence in a wilderness setting. We are usually camping in tents, but we had a great experience staying in cabins! For more information about Wilderness Bunch programs, contact Melissa Johnson at Melissa.Johnson@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Nature Preserves & Natural Resources

Spring Cleaning A small but steadfast group of 6 volunteers from Bank of America spent 2.5 hours on March 25 raking and cleaning up debris at Carmel Road Park. Park Maintenance Supervisor Richard Reed, who oversaw the project, was impressed with the results of the volunteers’ efforts to get the park ready for spring.

Nature Preserves & Natural Resources

Nature Egg Hunt: McDowell Nature Center hosted an “egg”cellent Nature Egg Hunt this past Saturday. Staff and volunteers worked very hard for weeks before the hunt, stuffing the eggs full of fun prizes and finding the perfect hiding spots along the Sierra Trail in the nature preserve. When the day of the hunt arrived with blue skies and sunshine, so did the hunters, all of them ready to look high and low for the best eggs on the trail. The hunt went quickly, but all the participants were very “hoppy” with their prizes and are looking forward to next year’s hunt!

GC/MS, Youth & Adult Athletics, RPSA Revolution Park Sports Academy Tot Time Easter Egg Hunt: On Thursday, April 2, 2015 the Revolution Park Sports Academy hosted an Easter Egg Hunt during our Tot Time Class. The hunt was held outside at Revolution’s Community playground. The participants ranged in ages 2-5 years old and had a great time seeking through the playground for various treats. For more information on this program and others contact Revolution Park Sports Academy at 704-432-4963.

GC/MS, Youth & Adult Athletics, RPSA Charlotte Hounds Season Home Opener At American Legion Memorial Stadium: This Sunday, April 12th the Charlotte Hounds clash with the Rochester Rattlers in their home season opener at 1:00PM. For ticket information, visit the Hounds official site at: www.charlottehounds.com For more information about past or upcoming events, email GradyCole-MemorialStadium@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

GC/MS, Youth & Adult Athletics, RPSA Countywide Youth Baseball Season Begins this Saturday: Take me out to the Ball Game! Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department’s youth baseball season begins this weekend at multiple parks. This year, over 500 participants age 4-12 have registered to play from recreation centers across the county. The 2015 season will run from April 11 – June 6, and will conclude the weekend of June 13-14 with the County Wide Tournament for ages 7-12. Games begin on Saturday at 9am. PLAY BALL! For more information about youth sports, please visit www.ParkandRec.com or call 704-432-4963.

GC/MS, Youth & Adult Athletics, RPSA Men’s Basketball: Men 40 & Over will be playing in the final game of their regular season this Sunday April 12th. They will enter into their playoff games the following week.

Games are played on Sunday afternoons at Tuckaseegee Rec Center starting at 2pm. For more information on adult leagues please visit our website at www.parkandrec.com, or call us at 704-432-3095 or 704-336-7639

Women’s Basketball: The women’s basketball league will being playing in the championship of their winter season league Sunday April 12th. There was a total of 7 teams participating in this league. Games will be played on Sunday afternoon starting at 2pm at Tom Sykes Rec Center. For more information on adult leagues please visit our website at www.parkandrec.com, or call us at 704-432-3095 or 704-336-7639

Adult Volleyball: Grass Volleyball spring league will begin next Tuesday on April 14th. Games will be played at Nevins Park starting at 6:30pm on Tuesdays. There is a total of 10 teams participating in the league this season. For more information on adult leagues please visit our website at www.parkandrec.com, or call us at 704-4323095 or 704-336-7639

Adult Flag Football: Flag Football will be starting their spring season on April 14th. Games will be played at Nevin Park. Fee for the men’s league is $425 and fee for the co-rec league is $400.

Registration is now available.

For more information on adult leagues please visit our website at www.parkandrec.com, or call us at 704-432-3095 or 704-336-7639

Adult Basketball: Men’s 30 & over and Women basketball spring leagues will be starting on April 26th. Men’s games will be played at Bette Rae Rec Center and Women’s games will be played at Tom Sykes Rec Center.

For more information on adult leagues please visit our website at www.parkandrec.com, or call us at 704-432-3095 or 704-336-7639

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 Please submit all news for the Friday Letter to your Division Director for review and routing.

Park Partners may contact The Friday Letter Team at Richard . McNeill @MecklenburgCountyNC.gov for publication assistance.

The Friday Letter Volume 3 • Issue 62 • April 10, 2015

CHARMECK ALERTS The CharMeck Alerts Notification System relays accurate and timely emergency notifications. You control how you’re contacted— whether it’s on your cell, work or home phone, via text, email or voice message. You can receive up-to-the-minute notifications about events and emergencies that may affect your home, workplace or other points of interest—anywhere in Mecklenburg County. Sign up here or call CharMeck 311. To receive CDOT-specific alerts, you must sign up for that item in the list.

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 Terri Stowers, Community and Recreation Center Services Jeff Robinson, Park Operations Chris Matthews, Nature Preserves and Natural Resources