The Friday Letter | May 6, 2016

The

Mecklenburg Master Gardeners Perennial Plant Sale and Ask an EMG Garden Tour May 7th from 9 to noon North Carolina Extension office, 1418 Armory Road, Charlotte, NC First annual perennial plant sale. Master Gardeners will be present to show you our raised bed exhibits, how to garden in a limited space, show you various perennials for shade, sun and answer any questions you might have Credit cards, cash and checks are accepted.

Nature Preserves and Natural Resources

Nature Preserves and Natural Resources Nature Preserve Operations: Little Libraries a Bit Hit Nature Preserve Operations staff have created several “Little Free Libraries” for the nature preserves. This is part of a nation-wide movement to provide places for people to share and exchange books -helping to continue the useful life of reading material. Little Libraries are now at McDowell Nature Preserve, McDowell Campground, Reedy Creek Nature Preserve and Clarks Creek Nature Preserve. We have “seeded” these miniature libraries with nature books.

To learn more about Little Free Libraries, go https://littlefreelibrary.org/

Community & Recreation Centers Ray’s Splash Planet New Coordinator/Supervisor Michael Johnson, MCPRD’s newest Aquatic Coordinator is originally from Charlotte, NC and recently relocated from New York City. Michael likes to watch movies, workout, play basketball and read. He has 2 children (8,6). Michael is recently engaged and will be getting married Spring of 2017. He has traveled all over the world playing basketball, and is ready to take on any challengers. Michael loves to be around pools and help train and mentor lifeguards and swim instructors. Join us in welcoming Michael back home!

Community & Recreation Centers Bette Rae Thomas Recreation Center: Junior Master Gardener Program On April 28, the Junior Master Gardener Program participants learned which foods are considered a “Go” “Slow” or “Whoa food. “Go” foods you can eat almost anytime, most often they are the lowest in fat, added sugar and calories.

Examples are fruits and vegetables. “Slow” foods you can eat sometimes, they are higher in fat added sugar and/or calories. Examples are cheese and peanut butter. “Whoa” foods you can eat every once in a while, they are the highest in fat and calories. Examples of ‘Whoa” food would be fries and pizza. Afterwards the students left to cultivate their garden. The students have been planting spinach, collard greens, rice, and more while assisting with potatoes. Later the junior gardeners, along with volunteers got a chance to taste some of the fruit from the garden.

For more information regarding the gardening and or other programs, contact us at 980-314-1111 or via email BetteRaeThomasRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

Community & Recreation Centers Bette Rae Thomas/Tuckaseegee Recreation Center: Open Streets 704 On May 1, Bette Rae Thomas and Tuckaseegee Recreation Centers hosted an arts and crafts and scavenger hunt table at the Open Streets 704. The event took place from 12:00-4:00pm with multiples activities for families and individuals to enjoy. Participants had the opportunity to flaunt their artistic and creative juices as they made necklaces and colored their favorite animals. As families toured the open streets, they had a chance to partake in a scavenger hunt which consisted of 6 landmarks along the event course. If a landmark was found, the participants had to take a picture and capture themselves with the landmark. After all landmarks were found the participants would have completed two-miles of cycling or walking.

For more information on programs, contact 980-314-1111 Bette Rae Thomas Recreation Center or 980-314-1115 Tuckaseegee Recreation Center.

Community & Recreation Centers Albemarle Road Recreation Center: Open Streets Like many other recreation centers, Albemarle Road Rec participated in Charlotte’s first annual Open Streets Festival on May 1st. Having activities set up for the three-mile span, ARRC had ‘Blongo Ball’ for patrons to participate in as they strolled by. Along with ‘Blongo Ball’ ARRC also had promotional flyers and interest forms set up at their table to inform any patrons about upcoming programs and events held at the center.

For more information about the programs at Albemarle Road Recreation Center call at 980-314-1101 or email us at AlbemarleRoadRecreationCenter@mecklenburgcountync.gov

Community & Recreation Centers Ivory Baker Recreation Center: Gaming Fridays Gaming Fridays continues at Ivory Baker Recreation Center. Every Friday from 3:30pm-6:00 pm participants play NBA2K, Madden and Mario Kart. The program is Free for participants.

For more information, contact Ivory Baker Recreation Center at 980-314-1112 or via email at Ivorybakerrecreationcenter@mecklenburgcountync.gov

Community & Recreation Centers Mallard Creek Rec Center: National Arbor Day Celebration Celebration Arbor day, Friday April 29th, was a special day at MCRC. We had many guests, to help plant our new tree, but the photo opt favorite of the day was “Rootie the Tree”. After learning about the origins of Arbor Day and the benefits that trees and reforestation offer to us and the Earth, the Seniors helped plant a new tree on MCRC’s front lawn. It will be known as the Senior tree and it will help the Seniors feed the birds and welcome the changing seasons for many years to come. After the speeches and planting everyone enjoyed a healthy snack of cheese, veggies and an organic salad that was grown at MCRC. For more information: Call 980-314-1121 or e-mail mallardcreekrecreation@mecklenburgcountync.gov

Community & Recreation Centers Sugaw Creek Recreation Center: Giving Honor Giving Honor to Whom Honor is Due! On April 30th, dozens of people from across Mecklenburg County packed the gymnasium at Sugaw Creek Recreation Center for their inaugural Mother's Day Celebration. The event included a live performance from William Lee, a local saxophonist and a potential life changing message from Jessica Griffin, the founder and president of Virtuous Diamond. Ms. Delores Jones, Ms. Florence Walker, Ms. Amanda Sherman, Ms. Stephanie Newson, Ms. Dorothy Blackmon, Ms. Starr Holman-McCollum, Ms. Tanya Fillmore Scott, Ms. Julie O'Hara, and Ms. Gervonnie Ellerbee were recognized for their years of service at Sugaw Creek Recreation Center. With the assistance of several community partners, participants were even provided a catered light lunch.

For more information on adult and senior programming at Sugaw Creek Recreation Center, contact 980-314-1124.

Community & Recreation Centers Hickory Grove Recreation Center- Hickory Grove Invades Open Streets Hickory Grove Recreation Center along with several other Mecklenburg County Recreation Centers participated in the first of many Open streets on Sunday May 1st 2016. Open streets was an opportunity for the community to come together feel safe, ride a bike and gain valuable information on city and county services. Hickory Grove Recreation Center featured one of its popular and growing character programs. Hickory Grove Recreation center staff brings popular and favorite characters to life thru literacy and physical fitness fun. In addition our talented staff provided tunes for everyone to enjoy in the streets. Patrons danced and laughed all in the streets. Spotted along the bike route during Open Streets was the Mayor of Charlotte Jennifer Roberts who stopped to take a selfie with our Characters. Many families enjoyed Hickory Grove Staff activities ranging from jump ropes, art activities & life size connect four games. The weather was perfect for a day out in Open Streets. We enjoyed the day.

Community & Recreation Centers Naomi Drenan Recreation Center: Open Streets 704 Naomi Drenan Recreation Center helped to represent the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Department at Open Streets 704 on Sunday May 2nd. The event took place in downtown Charlotte where several stretches of streets were shut down to help turn the car traffic into “people traffic,” transforming the streets into “paved parks.” This event was made possible through the cooperation of partners for Parks, MCPRD, the Health Department, and the City of Charlotte. A huge turnout of people made their way down the closed streets to improve their mental, physical, and emotional health. Naomi Drenan set up included an opportunity for kids to do some art work on 2 blank board decks, get a short skate board lesson, and learn how to juggle! Participants had a blast leaving their mark on the boards and many of them walked away “Official Jugglers” after mastering 2 juggling balls.

For more information about our programs, events and outreach opportunities, contact NaomiDrenanRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 980.314.1100.

Community & Recreation Centers Elon Recreation Center: Jr. NBA Skills Challenge On Wednesday, April 27th Elon partnered with SEALPREP to host a local level Jr. NBA Skills Challenge free to the community. A total of 16 boys and girls ages 914 years participated in the competition, with the top girl and boy in each age group earning the right to move to the next round of Regional Competitions. The evening started out with some fun health & nutrition information and activities before playing ball. They worked on everything from ball handling and conditioning to offense and passing.

For more information about our programs, events and outreach opportunities, contact ElonRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 980-314-1103.

Sports & Fitness and GC/ALMS Roller Derby: Join us this Saturday, May 7th at the Grady Cole Center (301 N. Kings Drive) for an exciting match-up between the Charlotte Roller Girls All-Stars and the Maine Roller Girls All-Stars at 5:00PM immediately followed by CLTRG B-Dazzlers vs.

CQS Mis-behavers. Doors open at 4:30PM and the match begins at 5:00PM. Tickets are $12 adult/$7 child in advance and $16 adult/$9 child on the day of (Children 5 and under are free).

For more information visit http://www.charlotterollergirls.com/.

Sports & Fitness and GC/ALMS Women’s volleyball: The women’s volleyball leagues kicked off their spring season this Thursday, May 5th. This season's games will be played at Wallace Pruitt Recreation Center starting at 6:30pm. There are a total of five teams competing in the league this season to become the champion. For more information on adult leagues please visit our website at www.parkandrec.com, or call us at 980-314-1356.

Sports & Fitness and GC/ALMS Women’s Basketball: The Women’s Basketball league kicked off its spring season this past Sunday, May 1st. Games are being played on Sunday afternoons at the Tom Sykes Recreation Center starting at 2pm. There are a total of eight teams competing in the league this season to become the champion.

For more information on adult sports please visit our website at www.parkandrec.com, or call us at 980-314-1117.

Cooperative Extension Members of the Mecklenburg Cooperative Extension Advisory Council participated in the South Central District Extension Advisory Leadership Conference on Friday, April 29. The Conference was held in Albemarle at the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center. Members of Advisory Councils from all nineteen counties in the South Central District learned more about their roles in talks, workshops, and poster sessions.

Dr. Richard Bonanno, Associate Dean and Director of NC Cooperative Extension gave an update from NC State University and NC Cooperative Extension. Dr, Marshall Stewart, Assistant to the Dean of the College of Ag and Life Sciences spoke about serving as an advocate for Extension. He described ways to connect with the public and with decision makers.

Following lunch and tour of the program poster sessions, Advisory Council Members had a choice of workshop. They either participated in a workshop on "Advisory 101", outlining the role of advisory councils and their roles as members of a Council or "Guiding Service Project", where they learned about the roles of service dogs. In the Guiding Service Project, they helped make goodie bags and toys for service dogs with activities that can be replicated in their home countries.

Volunteer Services and Special Events Volunteers over the Weekend: Volunteer Services had a very busy weekend this past Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, April 30, we had over 50 volunteers who came out to volunteer for Bark in the Park. The volunteers helped with on stage contest, water stations, and at different booths. On Sunday, we had several volunteers to help with Open Streets 704. Volunteers were very helpful with giving patrons directions and information about the events. We also had volunteers helping to direct traffic, along with officers, and conduct surveys. We had a great time with all of our volunteers this weekend! So excited to have some many people volunteering to help with our events.

For more information on this program and others, contact Volunteer Services at VolunteerServices@Mecklenburgcountync.gov.

Martin De Jesus Manages day-to-day event operations at the Grady Cole Center and American Legion Memorial Stadium. Since joining the department in 2015, Martin’s focus is to showcase historic Grady Cole and Memorial Stadium as two of the premier venues in the Queen City. Prior to joining Mecklenburg County, Martin managed FIU Stadium in Miami, FL. A graduate of the Florida State University, Martin is an avid lacrosse player and enjoys spending his free time with his wife Cayla, daughter Charlotte, and his two dogs, Seminole and Penelope.

5841 Brookshire Blvd.

Charlotte, NC 28216 (980) 314-1000

Recreate All Year!

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

The Friday Letter Volume 6 • Issue 16 • May 6, 2016

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 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