News Releases
Thursday, June 28, 2012 News from the City of Lawrence
(Sent: 2012-06-28 07:01:19)NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Thursday, June 28, 2012 News from the City of Lawrence
1) Lawrence City Band July 4 concert approaching
2) Let’s Play Grant awarded to city
3) Ribbon-cutting ceremony set for skateparks for re-opening
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Prepared by: Andrew Ruszczyk, (785) 832-3458
(Lawrence, Kan.) - Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department’s summer concert series will continue on Tuesday, July 3 instead of their regular Wednesday night performances.
Due to the 4th of July holiday, The Lawrence City Band’s Summer Concert Series will commence 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 3, at the William Kelly Bandstand located in historic South Park, 1141 Massachusetts St. The band will be performing its own 4th of July concert, Veteran’s Salute. In case of inclement weather, the concert will be moved to Murphy Hall, Room 130, on the University of Kansas Campus.
This concert is a great way to celebrate being an American, and is free and open to the public.
For more information regarding the concerts, contact Duane Peterson, special events supervisor, at (785) 832-7940.
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Prepared by: Roger Steinbrock, (785) 832-3458
(Lawrence, Kan.) - The City of Lawrence has received a $20,000 Let’s Play City Construction Grant from the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and the national non-profit KaBOOM!.
The City of Lawrence applied for 2012 Playful City USA recognition and also submitted a Let’s Play grant application to the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM!. Lawrence was selected as one of 25 Playful City USA communities to receive a Let’s Play City Construction Grant among the 213 communities that earned Playful City USA status in 2012.
Lawrence joins these other communities in receiving the grant: Alexandria, Va.; Beattyville, Ky.; Brisbane, Calif.; Buckeye, Ariz; China Spring, Texas; Cocoa, Fla.; Geneva, N.Y.; Greenfield, Mass.; Hammond, La.; Hopewell, Va.; Keyser, W.Va.; Kissimmee, Fla.; Mont Holly, N.C.; North Port, Fla.; Parkland, Wash.; Riverdale, Ga.; Spanish Fort, Ala.; Spartanburg, S.C.; Starkville, Miss.; Sweetwater, Tenn.; The Colony, Texas; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Winter Park, Fla. And Yuma, Ariz.
The grant is part of Let’s Play, a community partnership led by the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group to get kids and families active nationwide. In 2011, as part of Let’s Play, Dr Pepper Snapple Group made a $15 million, three-year commitment to KaBOOM!, the national non-profit saving play by ensuring there is a great place to play within walking distance of every child. Together through Let’s Play, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM! will build or fix up 2,000 playgrounds by the end of 2013, benefiting an estimated five million children across North America.
Playful City USA is a national program advocating for local policies that increase play opportunities for children. KaBOOM! created Playful City USA in 2007 to help local governments address the play deficit among children and it is through mayors, city council members, parks and recreation departments, school districts and community leaders that the program succeeds in benefitting children.
Unstructured, child-directed play has been proven to help kids develop physically, socially and cognitively, yet today’s kids have less time and fewer opportunities to play than any previous generation. Through Let’s Play grants and projects in 2011, the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM! built or improved 528 playgrounds, benefitting an estimated 1.3 million children during the lifetime of the playgrounds. People are encouraged to visit Let’s Play at www.LetsPlay.com to join the conversation and learn how to apply for the various available grants to make their communities more active and playful.
About Let’s Play
Let’s Play is a community partnership led by the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group to get kids and families active nationwide. The first Let’s Play initiative is a $15 million, three-year commitment to KaBOOM!, the national non-profit that’s saving play. Together, through Let’s Play, DPS and KaBOOM! will build or fix up 2,000 playgrounds by the end of 2013, benefiting an estimated five million children across North America. For more information, visit LetsPlay.com or Facebook.com/LetsPlay.
Let’s Play is a community partnership led by the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group to get kids and families active nationwide. The first Let’s Play initiative is a $15 million, three-year commitment to KaBOOM!, the national non-profit that’s saving play. Together, through Let’s Play, DPS and KaBOOM! will build or fix up 2,000 playgrounds by the end of 2013, benefiting an estimated five million children across North America. For more information, visit LetsPlay.com or Facebook.com/LetsPlay.
About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to saving play. Children today spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation, a fact that is having disastrous consequences on their health, achievement levels, and overall well-being. To fight this play deficit, social entrepreneur Darell Hammond founded non-profit KaBOOM! in 1996 in Washington, D.C. with a vision of creating a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since then, KaBOOM! has mapped over 89,000 places to play, built more than 2,000 playgrounds, and successfully advocated for play policies in hundreds of cities across the country. KaBOOM! also provides communities with online tools to self-organize and take action to support play on both a local and national level. Hammond chronicles the founding of the organization and the importance of the cause of play in his The New York Times Best Seller KaBOOM!: How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play. The book details how businesses and communities can work together to save play for children across the country. All author proceeds support KaBOOM!. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.
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Prepared by: Roger Steinbrock, (785) 832-3458
(Lawrence, Kan.) – The City of Lawrence, Parks and Recreation Department will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the re-opening of the Lawrence skateparks in Centennial and Deerfield parks 5:30 p.m. Monday, July 2 at the Skatepark in Centennial Park, 600 Rockledge Rd. The public is invited to attend.
A short ceremony will be held to highlight the processes of re-developing of the skateparks.
Both skateparks redesign were discussed at public meetings earlier this year. The Skatepark in Centennial Park was originally created in 1998 and designed as a “street” course. The Skatepark at Deerfield, 2901 Princeton Blvd., was developed in 2003.
For questions regarding the ceremony, please contact the Parks and Recreation Administrative Office at (785) 832-3450.
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