Getting Outside
While events were being canceled left and right last summer, leaving residents to find amusement in their homes and backyards, the county Parks and Recreation Department remained hard at work to provide as many of its regular programs as possible.
Lance Welliver, county parks and recreation director, said the programs that were conducted at Alameda Park started in late May rather than during the typical time in April, because coronavirus cases were down. “We wanted to keep everyone as safe as possible, and with COVID being at the state it was, we wanted to be cautious,” Welliver said.
The county's Outdoor Discovery and Camp Alameda programs, as well as the Summer Concert Series, were conducted in 2020 with various safety protocol measures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in place, he said.
The Camp Alameda program, which offers themed, weekly camps from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for children ages 5 to 12 during temperate months, was relocated to the area of the Odd Fellows pavilion to provide more space for the participants.
Welliver said instead of one big group of children, attendees were broken into smaller groups and activities were held away from one another in the Odd Fellows area.
Staff members were required to wear a mask for all programs, and those attending were encouraged to do the same, he said.
He said no camps were canceled because of the pandemic.
“We just made some adjustments,” Welliver said.
He said sign-ups for summer camps this year, which begin June 7 and run through Aug. 20, are available online.Early drop-off and late pickup are available at no additional charge, Welliver said.Tanya Lewis, an instructional literacy coach in the Butler Area School District, said Camp Alameda partnered with the school district last summer to embed an academic component in the existing program.Along with learning activities, donations by Butler BookStop allowed campers to take a book.“The students were excited about this opportunity, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the latest adventures in their books each time we met at camp,” Lewis said.She said COVID-19 restrictions did not impede learning at the camps, as children engaged in all activities while practicing social distancing and other safety protocols.Lewis said Camp Alameda's impact on many area children could not have happened without the collaboration between the county Parks and Recreation Department and the school district.“Through this camp, the students were engaged in experiences that nurtured and enriched the whole child,” she said.Welliver said Alameda Waterpark did not open until July 1, instead of Memorial Day weekend, and capacity restrictions recommended by the CDC at the time were followed.The water park closed at the end of August, as usual.
Rental of Alameda Park's 14 pavilions started two months late last year, but rentals picked up in late summer and fall, Welliver said.“It usually starts quieting down at the end of the year, but with a lot of indoor places not able to hold their events, we saw more rentals,” he said.The increased rentals in late summer and fall partially made up for the money lost when rentals were not available for the season's first two months, Welliver said.The most popular reasons for renting a shelter, he said, are graduation parties, family reunions and birthday parties.Many wedding receptions and even some wedding ceremonies are conducted in the Alameda pavilions each season as well, Welliver said.Shelter rental for the 2021 season opened last week, and Welliver said turnout was lighter than usual.Online pavilion rental is being offered for the first time this year. That process started Friday.“It's going pretty well,” Welliver said.He said this year's pavilion rental is down slightly, but he hopes it will pick up as county residents are vaccinated.“It depends on how the (CDC) guidelines go,” Welliver said. “We'll see where that leaves us.”He said many pavilions remain available for the season, which lasts through Oct. 31.
The annual Monster Mile walk saw increased participation in October, and plans are afoot to again hold the event on the park's trail this year, Welliver said.The only programs canceled because of the pandemic in 2020 were the Easter event and the Spring Garden Market.Santa's Workshop was changed to a drive-thru at Christmastime and saw higher attendance than the in-person versions of the past, Welliver said.The 2021 Spring Garden Market will be conducted, but scaled back to include a virtual plant sale during which buyers can pick up their plants on the day of the event.Food trucks will be available at the event, but no crafters will sell their wares as in the past.A variety of concerts, the Outdoor Discovery programs and games and practices for many sports leagues will be held this year, Welliver said.He appreciates the support shown by the county commissioners as decisions were made on conducting or canceling parks and recreation programs.“We tried to offer modified events to make (programs) safer,” Welliver said. “We really wanted to keep people outside and keep them active and busy.”
