The Friday Letter | July 27, 2018

The

Accounting Tips for the week:

Please provide Invoices in a timely manner.

Nature Preserves and Natural Resources Invasive Species Spotlight -- Japanese Stiltgrass This shade-tolerant grass is extremely common in woodlands and roadsides throughout parks and nature preserves in Mecklenburg County. This is not a plant that you would intentionally put in your landscape, it just shows up on its own. Originally from Asia, stiltgrass was originally brought to this country as packing material and started showing up in the early 1900’s. Good news: It’s easy to control by hand pulling, a weed torch, or light herbicide. Since it is an annual grass, it doesn’t permanently establish and if we can keep it from producing seed it won’t reproduce. The Bad news: it is a prolific seed producer and the seeds are viable for about seven years. To completely stop stiltgrass, we need to keep it from seeding for about 7 years. Then there is still the chance of seed being brought in, so follow-up is important.

Community & Recreation Centers Therapeutic and Inclusive Recreation Services: Northern Adventures - Youth We know how to keep our summer moving at Northern Adventures in Huntersville! Each week we incorporate all of our 7 senses in a variety of ways from playing, swimming, arts/crafts and TONS of hands on activities. We focus on exploring sensorimotor development and social skills. We’ve got a ton of energy and we don’t stop!

Danielle.Dobbs@MeckNC.gov

Community & Recreation Centers Tyvola Senior Center Day Trip-Chef Wars Hosted by Shepherd Center Participants travelled to Myers Park Presbyterian Church for the 8th Annual Chef Wars event. Chefs from selected senior living communities came together to compete for the “best entrée” and “best dessert” trophies. Participants joined the communities and local exhibitors for an exceptional lunch, door prizes, fellowship and much more!

For more information about upcoming programs, contact us at 980.314.1320 or TyvolaSeniorCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Community & Recreation Centers Wallace Recreation Center: STEAM Camp (Math Week) Wallace Pruitt Recreation Center is currently hosting its STEAM Summer Camp.

All though most run when they hear the word math, our campers stepped up to the challenge. Campers spent their week sharpening their math skills by solving math puzzles and competing in grade appropriate math challenges. Campers were also visited by Bankers from Well Fargo and Bank of America to learn about cool ways to save money and good spending habits. The most challenging part of the week was learning solve the Rubik’s cube by using algorithms.

STEAM camp was a major success at Wallace Pruitt going from 12 campers last year to 24 campers this year. We are looking forward to continuing to grow in Summer 2019!

For more information about our programs contact Wallace Pruitt Recreation Center at 980-314-1114 or email at WallacePruittRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

Community & Recreation Centers Wallace Recreation Center: STEAM Camp (Art Week) Wallace Pruitt Recreation Center is currently hosting its STEAM Summer Camp.

With full registration, Art week was a blast for the campers! Campers spent their week exploring different forms of art which included crafts, cultural, and performing arts. Campers did everything from creating vision boards, making pottery with Clayworks, acting out skits, to having a freestyle battle and a dance showcase.

For more information about our programs contact Wallace Pruitt Recreation Center at 980-314-1114 or email at WallacePruittRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

Community & Recreation Centers North Meck Senior Center: Nature Buddies This summer NMSC has partnered with the Huntersville Park and Recreation preschool camp. On select Wednesdays Recreation Assistant, Stacey Ulaszek, teaches a nature program related to the week’s theme. The program is open for seniors to attend and assist as a “nature buddy.” On Wednesday, July 18th the theme was Space so they learned a bit about moths with a focus on the Luna Moth. A few of the activities included singing a moth finger play, creating a Luna Moth collage, and going on a parade with their collages throughout the senior center.

For more information about our programs and trips, please contact the North Meck Senior Center at 980-314-1127 or northmeckseniorcenter@mecklenburgcountync.gov

Community & Recreation Centers Tyvola Senior Center: Day Trip-Color Purple Broadway Show It was a ladies’ night out as participants ate dinner at Kings Kitchen and visited the Belk Theatre to see the stunning re-imagining of an epic story about a young woman’s journey to love and triumph in the American South. With a soul -raising score of jazz, gospel, ragtime and blues, “The Color Purple” was a breath taking performance that motivated women to dream big and conquer the world.

For more information about upcoming programs, contact us at 980.314.1320 or TyvolaSeniorCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Community & Recreation Centers Naomi Drenan Recreation Center: Teen Summer Camp It's Meck Chef week! Our teens stepped in the kitchen and prepared different meals throughout the whole week. Each day the campers work together to create different dishes from different regions around America. We also looked up different recipes online for our healthy food project. The teens decided to dressed up for our field trip to Nakatos. We were able to experience a hibachi dinner cooked right in front of us. We ended our week with a good southern breakfast made by the campers for everyone in the center!

For more information about our programs and events, contact NaomiDrenanRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 980-314-1100.

Community & Recreation Centers Shamrock Senior Center: The Gabby Readers Club The Shamrock Gabby Readers Club has been meeting together every Monday afternoon for over 10 years! This diverse group of members has discovered the benefits of joining a book club. Most of the book club participants come to Shamrock for exercise, but they stay and enjoy social activities as well. Adding intellectual stimulation through reading for seniors is a great stress reducer, as well as a vocabulary expander, and improves memory. This book club gives our participants a sense of community and a break from everyday life. For some, after retirement there is a loss of accountability or commitment. We have found by holding a weekly book club, our seniors are more encouraged to be active in and outside of the center. The seniors do not always read the same book, but they discuss and learn from one another about the various topics and genres of their personal book selections.

For more information about upcoming programs and events, contact us at 704.531.9101 or ShamrockSeniorCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Community & Recreation Centers Elon Recreation Center: Extreme Heat or Ice Cold It might be hot outside but Elon Campers kept their cool when they had an opportunity to visit Extreme Ice Center and brush up on their ice skating skills.

They also warmed things up at the facility by playing pop-corn with the parachute in the heat. The object of the game is to switch places without crashing into someone on the opposite side. This was nothing but extraordinary. From one extreme to the other. These campers know how to keep it cool in the heat.

This was an experience that they will not forget!

For more information about our upcoming youth programs & youth sports programs, contact staff at ElonRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 980.314.1103.

Community & Recreation Centers Winget Recreation Center: Winget Goes Ice Skating The campers at Winget Recreation Center took a field trip to the Extreme Ice Center. Extreme Ice Center is an ice facility located in Indian Trail. For many of our campers, this was their first time experiencing an ice skating rink and ice related activities. During the trip, Winget campers learned a new fun game on ice called “Broom Ball.� Broom Ball is a modified version of ice hockey that gives our amateur players that professional feeling. It is safe and fun for the smaller ages. Although most of our campers were first-timers, we definitely have some future hockey players amongst us. Watch out Charlotte Checkers! While there was some falling and stumbling involved, campers enjoyed the field trip as they were able to cool down and experience a new and fun activities!

For more information regarding programs at Winget, contact us at 980-3141103 or email us at WingetRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Community & Recreation Centers Berewick Recreation Center: Berewick’s Camp Adventure Week 5 Our fifth week of camp had campers creating a book or comic book for their superhero’s from last week. Children got very creative as they wrote out the storylines and drew pictures of what their superhero was doing on any particular day: saving the world perhaps! Friday’s field trip was fun as campers played a round of putt-putt in the morning and then sailed the seas, or Lake Norman that is, as they sat back, relaxed, heard some fun facts while they rode the Lady of the Lake in the afternoon. A great way to end the week of camp.

For more information about our youth programs, contact BerewickRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 980.314.1102.

Community & Recreation Centers Tom Sykes Recreation Center: Summer Camp Acting Week Tom Sykes summer camp theme this week was acting! The entire week campers broke into groups to create plays to perform, complete with handmade props, self-written scripts, and an audience on Thursday! Throughout the week students learned about different genres, techniques for prop building, and even how to dance the Bachata. The highlight of the week was visiting the Charlotte Ballet, where we got a tour and inside look into the life of dancers and the work that goes into putting on a big production like Peter Pan in the costume shop.

Kids loved seeing the different things created by the talented staff there and left the ballet trying their best to replicate what they had seen the dancers do inside.

For more information about our programs here at Tom Sykes, call us at 980-3141113 or email us at Tomsykesrecreationcenter@mecklenburgcountync.gov.

Community & Recreation Centers Sugaw Creek Recreation Center: Safe Play at The Creek Campers between the ages of 5 – 12 gather every Monday – Friday during summer break to participate in Sugaw Creek’s Safe Play program. Safe Play is a free program that provides children from the community a safe environment to play in from 8:30 am – 12:00 pm. Campers are also provided breakfast and lunch. On Wednesday July 25th; Sugaw Creek’s mentees Justyce Purnell and Ja’ia McGee partnered to create “Bike World.” Which included structured biking activities, including teaching campers how to repair bikes. Safe Play will continue to run through August 10, 2018.

For more information regarding programs, events and outreach opportunities contact Sugaw Creek Recreation Center at (980) 314 – 1124 or email us at SugawCreekRecreationCenter@MeckNC.gov

Community & Recreation Centers West Charlotte: 2018 Xtreme Camp: Culture Week West Charlotte Recreation Center recently dove into their culture week for summer camp! Campers were experienced a variety food, games and traditions for cultures across the globe. Africa, south America, and European were among the cultures explored. They also enjoyed trips to the Schiele museum and the Charlotte ballet! The fun doesn’t stop as we enter the final weeks of camp.

For more information about our programs here at West Charlotte Recreation Center, call us at 980-314-1120 or email us at WestCharlotteRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

Grady Cole Center: Vegas Grand Boxing Promotions The Vegas Grand Boxing Promotions presents “Fight Night”. This is the second boxing showcase they have put on and it will be on Saturday, July 28th, 2018 at Grady Cole Center. Doors open at 6:00pm with the show starting at 7:00pm.

Vegas Grand Boxing Promotions (VGBP) is the newest elite team of professionals promoting upscale boxing entertainment in the Carolinas! General admission is $30 a ticket with VIP seats at $55 a ticket.

For more information on all things Fight Night, please visit “Vegas Grand Boxing Promotions” Facebook page for main event and featured professional boxers.

Grady Cole Center and American Legion Memorial Stadium For information on all upcoming events at the Grady Cole Center and American Legion Memorial Stadium, please visit us at: https://www.mecknc.gov/ParkandRec/Facilities/EventFacilities/Pages/ Events.aspx

Men’s A League Basketball Tournament Fresh off their Cinderella run at The Basketball Tournament (known to many as the “TBT”), Primetime pulled off a 82-69 victory over The Truth in the Men’s ALeague on Tuesday at Southview Recreation Center. Primetime, who is the 12th seed in the TBT, defeated the 4th and 5th seeds in that tournament and will face the top seed in the Midwest Region on ESPN at 9pm on Friday. If they win the tournament, Primetime can take home a grand prize of $2M.

Let’s root, root, root for the home team!

For more information on our Adult leagues, visit www.parkandrec.com or connect with us by email at AdultSports@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or by phone at (980) 314-1117.

5841 Brookshire Blvd.

Charlotte, NC 28216 (980) 314-1000

Recreate All Year!

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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 8 • Issue 28• July 27, 2018

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 Lee Jones, Director Vacant, Deputy Director Renea Barber, Human Resources Liz Morrell, Strategic Planning and Evaluation Lorraine Bias, Budget Administration Vacant, Capital Planning Terri Stowers, Community and Recreation Center Services Peter Cook, Park Operations Chris Matthews, Nature Preserves and Natural Resources