Parkways Seattle Parks and Recreation

Openings in our Pathway program through the Seattle Preschool Program are available at the Ballard Community Center, Alki Community Center and Queen Anne Community Center. Please see information below and contact the community center to apply.

The Pathway program offers the following: teachers with degrees in Early Childhood Education; small class size; enriched classroom environments; continuing education required for teachers; help with kindergarten enrollment and transition; bilingual programs and teaching staff.

This Week at Ballard Commons Park: August 2  – August 8

All events are free, fun, and family-friendly. Go to www.VisitBallard.com/SummerinPark for a complete listing.

Friday, August 2:

Park in the Heart Kids Art Booth 11 am – 5 pm. Drop by and make fun creative projects with local artist Blanca Santander.

Busker in the park: musician from noon – 2 pm.

Saturday, August 3:

Fitness in the Park 9 am – 10 am. Join local gym Strive and Uplift. All ability levels welcome. Bring a yoga mat if you can, and water.

Yoga for Every Body 10 am – 11 am. Join Ballard Health Club for weekly yoga in the park. Bring a yoga mat if you can, and water.

Busker in the park: musician from noon – 2 pm.

Sunday, August 4:

Busker in the park: musician from noon – 2 pm.

Kids Pop Up Carnival: 2 pm – 4 pm. Come play at the park and enjoy different fun activities each session. This week will be face painting, balloon animals, an interactive musician and a fairy godmother. Find us near the spray feature.

Tuesday, August 6:

Concerts at the Commons 6:30 pm – 8 pm. Come listen to the Speakeasy Jazz Cats as they bring the New Orleans-style sounds to Ballard. www.facebook.com/TheSpeakeasyJazzCats.  Some seating provided. Bring your own lawn chair if you can.

Thursday, August 8:

Movies in the Park – Up. Join in with the Ballard Alliance and SoSo Good food truck (fine authentic New Mexican food) for the second of this 5-week movie series. Bring your own blanket or lawn chair to sit on. www.VisitBallard.com/SummerinPark

This summer, Seattle Parks and Recreation and partners are offering a variety of free, family friendly events open to all at Ballard Commons Park (5701 22nd Ave. NW).

See the 2019 Ballard Commons Park event schedule here: bit.ly/ballard-events-spr  

Highlights this week include the following:

Friday, July 26:

• Park in the Heart Kids Art Booth, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Drop by and make fun creative projects with local artist Blanca Santander.
  
• Busker in the park from noon – 2 pm.
  

Saturday, July 27:

• Fitness in the Park, 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. Join local gym Strive and Uplift. All ability levels welcome. Bring a yoga mat if you can, and water.

• Yoga for Every Body, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. Join Ballard Health Club for weekly yoga in the park. Bring a yoga mat if you can, and water.
  

• Busker in the park from noon – 2 pm.

Sunday, July 28:

• Busker in the park from noon – 2 pm.

Tuesday, July 30:

• Concerts at the Commons, 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. Come listen to the Speakeasy Jazz Cats as they bring New Orleans-style sounds to Ballard. Some seating provided. Bring your own lawn chair if you can.

Thursday, August 1:

• Movies in the Park – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Join the Ballard Alliance and Lil J’s Super Dawgs food truck to kick off this 5-week movie series. Bring your own blanket or lawn chair to sit on.

Seattle Parks and Recreation’s biggest day of free community recreational play is right around the corner.  Get ready for the Big Day of Play on Saturday, August 17th from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at Rainier Community Center and Playfields.

Big Day of Play is a celebration of our City’s diversity and it encourages neighbors, communities and families to have fun, build relationships and be active together.  For more information about the event please visit https://www.bigdayofplay.org/

This huge event cannot happen without the support of our fantastic Seattle Parks and Recreation Volunteers.

Please consider volunteering 2-4 hours of your time to helping kids and families be active together through games, dancing, field sports, aquatics, obstacle courses and so much more. This is the perfect opportunity for groups or families who want to volunteer together doing something that is both fun and meaningful to our community.

Check out the opportunities listed below and see how you can be a part of an event that attracts thousands of families from all over the City. As a “thank you” for your time you’ll get free swag, snacks, and a pass for a free swim at Seattle Parks and Recreation pools.

Volunteers are needed for:

• Greeting guests
• Monitoring activities
• Surveying guests
• Helping the main stage performers
• Handing out water
• Photography/videography
• and much more!

Shifts are available throughout the day! Register for a 2-hour or 4-hour shift between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and spend the rest of your day at play. If you can help by volunteering, please register here. 

For more information about volunteering or sign up, contact Jennifer.Romo@seattle.gov.

Thanks for being a part of the Seattle Parks and Recreation volunteer community!

“We acknowledge that we make our lives here on Coast Salish land & water and want to honor Coast Salish people who have stewarded this land for thousands of years and are still here.”

Every year, United Indians of All Tribes hosts its annual Powwow at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center. “Love is Sacred” was the theme of the 32nd annual powwow held on July 19-21, honoring Two-Spirit (LGBTQIA+) family, friends and loved ones.

This was the second year in which Seattle Parks and Recreation supported the event with Environmental Education activities and interpretation for all ages. Seattle Parks and Recreation provided native bird mounts, salmon ecology information, native plants guides, observation activities with microscopes, and nature-based art activities for youth.

We also offered four different opportunities for nature walks along the Wolf Tree Nature Trail immersing families in a positive, educational outdoor experience.

Today, Seattle City Council voted to authorize Seattle Parks and Recreation to acquire a property on NE 125^th St. (known as the Red House property) which includes a portion of Thornton Creek. This acquisition would support an ongoing partnership between SPR and Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) to restore and enhance Thornton Creek. 

“This property acquisition represents a unique opportunity to protect the North Fork of Thornton Creek, a gem of District 5 and North Seattle,” said Councilmember Debora Juarez. “In protecting a pristine acre of salmon-bearing stream, we will also boost the flood retention ability of District 5’s main watershed. I would like to thank Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle Parks and Recreation, Thornton Creek Alliance, King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski, and the 46th Legislative District delegation for coming together to get this done.”

The beach at Matthews Beach Park (5100 NE 93rd St.) is currently closed for wading/swimming after water quality monitoring results showed high bacteria levels. King County will be retesting the water and the beach will be closed through at least the weekend. More information and updates available here: https://green2.kingcounty.gov/swimbeach/

The north and south beaches at Discovery Park are currently closed due to a sewage spill at the King County West Point Treatment Plant. Updates on the beach closure are available here: https://ecology.wa.gov/Water-Shorelines/Water-quality/Saltwater/BEACH-program

Seattle Parks and Recreation strongly recommends swimming only where lifeguards are present. See a list of lifeguarded beaches here: www.seattle.gov/parks/find/swimming-beaches

Do you want to be part of the 3-on-3 basketball tournament that will be happening at the Big Day of Play on Aug. 17 at Rainier Playfields? If so, we encourage you to register now by clicking here! This 3-on-3 tournament will be for ages 14+ (we have many other activities for the younger youth!). Please register your team to play a minimum of 1 game, participants will have the opportunity to participate in a skills challenge and teams that win their first game will be placed into bracket play!

There will be prizes for the winning teams and runners up! Grand prize for the winning team is a pair of Washington Men’s Basketball tickets for 2019-20 (Game TBD, it will be a good conference game!).

Teams may consist of up to 4 players, you will receive matching t-shirts when you check in.

This week, the Environmental Education section of Seattle Parks and Recreation started their sixth year of offering environmental education activities for youth attending our Free Summer Meals and Recreation Activities program in Seattle parks. Programming staff and volunteers spend two hours at a site engaging participants in activities such as catching and studying insects, learning how to use scientific equipment such as hand lenses and dissecting scopes, participating in art activities such as leaf rubbings and sun prints, learning what plants need by planting seeds, and exposure to reading through nature-based storybooks.

This program is designed to engage folks in their communities in environmental learning, provide activities for those attending the food service program, and aid in bridging the gap between summer and the school year for Seattle youth.

Staff are offering activities at four different sites this summer from 1:30-3 p.m.: Highland Park on Wednesdays, Powell-Barnett on Thursdays, Roxhill on Thursdays, and Othello on Fridays.

In the first week, approximately 60 people participated in environmental learning.

The program will continue through the third week in August.

Learn more about the Free Summer Meals and Recreation Activities program here.

The Outdoors for All Foundation transforms lives through outdoor recreation. Founded in 1979 in the Pacific Northwest, Outdoors for All is a national leader in delivering adaptive and therapeutic recreation for children and adults with disabilities. Each year, more than 2,900 individuals exercise their abilities thanks to the training and support of more than 800 volunteers. Outdoors for All enriches the lives of individuals with disabilities and families and helps them to get out and enjoy the great outdoors. Outdoors for All’s programs includes snowboarding, snowshoeing, cross country and downhill skiing, cycling, mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, rock climbing, youth and adult day camps, yoga, military programs, weekend excursions and custom events.

Public Benefits:

Outdoors for All provides adaptive outdoor recreation programs for children and adults with disabilities. Their Adaptive Cycling Center (located in Magnuson Park) is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. from May 1- September 30 and offers FREE adaptive cycle rentals for people with disabilities and a family member or friend. Outdoors for All offers seasonal programs year-round. These programs include kayaking, rock climbing, cycling, mountain biking, youth and adult summer camps, weekend camping excursions, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing. Outdoors for All also offers financial aid for programs on a first come, first-served basis. Outdoors for All serves people with disabilities and their families, recovering veterans, and injured active duty military

For more information, visit https://outdoorsforall.org/

Accessing public benefits: Please call 206-838-6030 ext. 200 for information on how to access these public benefits.