The Friends of Sand Point Magnuson Park Historic District invite community members to hear remembrances from six elders, three women and three men, about Pearl Harbor Day and its impact on their lives. Four are local community members: Marie Cribley-Horsley who was at Pearl Harbor; JW Roundhill and Jerry Sheller who were in WWII; and Mary Johnson who was a UW student at the time.
12:00 p.m.: Flag changing ceremony at the flag pole inside the main entry of Magnuson Park
12:30 p.m.: Cookies and coffee at Sand Point Methodist Church
Join RBCA, King County In Motion, and Friends of Seattle’s Olmstead Park for a midday history walk and field game extravaganza! Learn the secrets of Ravenna and Cowen Parks with historian Jennifer Ott during a 30 minute walking tour. Afterwards, hop, jump, and toss your way through field games at Ravenna Park.
Meet near the play area off on NE 55th Street starting at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 16.
This Saturday, June 20th 10am-noon at Seattle Center’s Fisher Pavilion (305 Harrison Street) the city’s Parks and Recreation Department will host a mini-summit to guide their citywide Community Center Strategic Plan. The agenda will be a short presentation followed by small break-out discussion groups.
We love playing at our local community center!
The endeavor is the beginning of a broader analysis called for in the 2014 Parks Legacy Plan, which lays out two goals for the city’s community centers:
Ensure community centers are focal points in our neighborhoods for connecting, building community and offering health and activity programming
Ensure community centers are physically emotionally safe and welcoming for all individuals
Seattle has 26 community centers with an operating budget of more than $11million annually. Each center has its own operating hours, activity and service offering, with programs and staffing often operated by the Associated Recreation Council.
The next steps after the June 20th meeting include an internal evaluation of the current staffing and programming followed by a draft plan for the future of facility and program planning. The process is scheduled to complete by the end of 2015. Read more about the process here.
Here at home in Ravenna Bryant, we’re fortunate to have nearby our own Ravenna Eckstein Community Center. RBCA board member David Ward sits on its Advisory Council. Ravenna Eckstein CC is also one of the busiest in the entire city, and yet we hear comments at the RBCA frequently that it isn’t meeting the needs of many would-be users.
So, whether or not you can attend the mini-summit this weekend, as the city’s planning process unfolds, now is a good time to begin thinking about what would help make Ravenna Eckstein CC a go-to place for you or your family. Here are some questions worth exploring:
Does the programming meeting my needs? Is there are variety of activities and programs for all ages, at times that make sense for me? What programs would draw me in to visit the CC more often?
Facility use. Would I use the CC for more passive uses such as internet or computer work? (PS – they just launched wireless internet!) Is it comfortable and safe? Do the tennis courts, the play ground, the fields have what I or my family are looking for?
Hours of operation. The overall CC hours across the city have declined in the last 5 years. What times of day would be most useful to you and your family and increase the likelihood that you might visit?
Is there the right balance between free and for-pay services? Many of the CC’s uses are free, but many programs have a fee in order to remain operable. What suggestions do you have about fees, and are there programs you’d like to see where you would be willing to pay for the fees to operate?
What’s the best part of our community center that you simply couldn’t live without?
Join RBCA, King County In Motion, and Friends of Seattle’s Olmstead Park for a midday history walk and field game extravaganza! Learn the secrets of Ravenna and Cowen Parks with historian Jennifer Ott during a 30 minute walking tour. Afterwards, hop, jump, and toss your way through field games at Ravenna Park.