Durham Parks and Recreation: Play More!

Kick off the holiday season at the Durham Holiday Parade and Fun Fest on Saturday, December 8, 2018 starting at 10 a.m.! Join us for the Holiday Parade as dynamic floats, hometown bands, drill teams, schools and community groups make their way down Main Street. The parade will conclude with a special guest appearance by Santa.  Seating will not be provided. Spectators are encouraged to bring their own chairs and blankets. Designated performance areas will be located near the following intersections: Mangum and Main streets, Chapel Hill and Main streets, and Duke and Main streets.The parade will start at the Health Department (Main and Dillard Streets) and end near Duke University East Campus (Main Street and Buchanan Boulevard). Temporary restroom stations will be located near the following intersections: S. Elizabeth/Commerce and Main streets, Chapel Hill and Main streets, and Duke and Main streets. Please note: There will be no parking on Main Street on December 8 beginnin...

Happy Thanksgiving from the Durham Parks Foundation! The Durham Parks Foundation is grateful to our city and county government departments that maintain and create programs for over 70 parks, trails, greenways and recreation centers in Durham. They ensure we have safe, innovative, fun spaces to #PlayMore! You may say: Our taxes support these efforts - so why do we need a parks foundation, anyway!? Well, because there are parks systems, and then there are Parks Systems! Those that enhance the day to day infrastructure of how we live, often without our notice. Those that create safe and vibrant spaces that we all feel like we belong to. Those that become a reason why we live where we do, in a community connected by green spaces and healthy activity. As is true of many municipal departments, the staff who steward our parks system are constrained by many asterisks: Half-penny tax money can only be used on maintenance and infrastructure.Federal dollars requested this year are for proje...

Looking for a way to get involved in your community? Sign up to volunteer with Durham Parks and Recreation! We rely strongly on our amazing volunteer base to help provide programs and services to the residents and visitors of Durham. Our volunteer opportunities fall into a few categories including Special Events, Specialized Skills, Tutors/Mentors, Internships/Practicums, Service and Durham Community Trail Watch. For detailed information on each of these areas of volunteering, visit our website . Enjoy sports and teaching youth? Our Athletics Department is in need of a few great coaches who are willing to invest in the next generation! Several of our athletic programs rely on volunteer assistance including Little Tykes Basketball and Soccer, Co-Ed Soccer Academy, Junior Team Tennis, Durham Girls Soccer and more! If you are a group or organization looking to partner with DPR on a special project, we have plenty of ways you can help keep our parks and trails clean and attractive. Che...

By: Matthew Sprouse, Senior Aquatics Specialist at Campus Hills Pool Once a year at Campus Hills Pool, Durham Parks and Recreation puts on a unique and challenging event for those willing to take on a challenge of craftsmanship and creativity. The Cardboard Boat Race has participants construct a boat of only two supplies: cardboard and duct tape and then see how far across the twenty-five yard pool a boat can last. Two participants between the ages of 6 and 15 are given canoe paddles to power their boat across the pool. Awards are given out for the event for the boat that makes it across the quickest with the participants still above the water. Prizes are also given out for the most creatively-designed boat, the pair that shows the best teamwork, and even an award for the boat that sinks the quickest after being pushed off (the Titanic award). This year, the event will be held at Campus Hills Pool from 3pm-5pm on Saturday, November 17. Only one participant needs to register for...