Durham Parks and Recreation: Play More!

It's gonna be May...and that means another month of DPR activities for all ages! From Bike Rodeo and Tabata Training to Rock the Bell and Flower Moon Hike, we've prepared this monthly go-to guide highlighting what to mark on your calendar and make sure you're in attendance. For the most up-to-date information about our programs, make sure you regularly check  ActiveNet  as well as the calendar on our website! MAY 5 Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower : Join us in the meadow at the West Point on the Eno Environmental Education Pavilion as we watch the spectacle. The Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower is a meteor shower associated with Halley's Comet. Bring your own blankets or chairs and dress for the weather. Viewing session is 2 hours long and every person attending must be registered regardless of age. Youth under 16 must be accompanied by a registered adult. MAY 6 Rock the Bell: Challenge yourself and try something new, come Rock the Bell and see if kettlebell fitness is for you! R...

By: Mal Atkinson, Resource Coordinator Eugene “Coach Mo” Mosley has been volunteering with DPR’s Special Programs Unit for over 20 years. Not only does he volunteer as a coach for our programs, he also helps to organize DPR’s Summer Basketball league for people with special needs. Coach Mo also volunteers for the Special Olympics Durham County sport program which is run by DPR’s Special Programs Unit. He coaches soccer, basketball, unified basketball and track and field. Coach Mo is a stand out. He goes above and beyond the call of duty as a volunteer. Coach Mo cares about participants, making sure participants are doing well on and off the court or field. During these unprecedented times he has taken the time to reach out and ensure that the athletes stay engaged and know they are missed. Over the past 20 years, Coach Mo has created so many great memories. From winning state level Special Olympics gold medals to the final games in our summer basketball league. One moment in particular...

By: Annette Smith, Grants and Special Projects Analyst, Sr. Four years ago, Durham Parks and Recreation (DPR) staff began meeting with residents living near Lakeview Park (3500 Dearborn Dr.). We were invited by the neighborhood and the Duke Neighborhood Partnership to help re-vision the park. At that time the park was a sad remnant of its original design, with only one small slide left in the playground. Over the course of two years we developed a master plan for the park with the growing Braggtown Community Association. This plan included: A new playground A ground plain mural on the cement pad next to the playground A new picnic area below the playfield Native plants and trees A stage A new restroom That Master Plan served as the foundation for a proposed Participatory Budgeting project in 2019. While the project did not receive enough votes to receive PB funding, DPR was able to secure two grants, one from the National Recreation and Park Association and Disney, the other from the N...

Get your Green on! Join us Saturday, April 24 as we host a free, rain or shine celebration for Earth Day at the Durham County Memorial Stadium Parking Lot (located at 750 Stadium Drive) ! Enjoy concerts and conservation talks from the comfort of your vehicle or parking spot (you're welcome to bring your own chairs and sit in front of your vehicle). For a full schedule of the entertainment, visit our website . We're offering three timeslots to get in on the fun - 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m.-3 p.m., or 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m. Gates open one hour before event time. Preregistration is required and spots are limited! Cars are limited to 4 people, so please plan accordingly! Food trucks will also be available so be sure to bring your appetite, or feel free to pack your own picnic. Have some papers you want shredded? Along with your event registration, you have access to free paper shredding services! On your way into the event, drop off up to two boxes of paper that will fit in a standar...

We hope you've heard the great news by now (or you might be living under a rock)...but we have a new Director of Parks and Recreation, Wade Walcutt. Wade joined the team in October 2020 and has been learning the ropes ever since. He comes to Durham with excitement, experience and energy! If you seem him out and about, don't hesitate to stop and say hello! For now, here's a quick introduction with some get-to-know-you questions... How long have you been in the Parks and Recreation field? 20 years, (I started when I was 5) What is your favorite thing about working in Parks and Recreation? People. The people I work with and the people that make up the community. In my experience people who work in Parks and Recreation are typically people who are drawn or called to it, who want to serve the community, who believe that what they do matters and impacts people and changes lives and communities. I love building relationships, learning and helping others. Whether its working direct...

By: Katrina Wood, Master Program Specialist Learning to craft materials as a new hobby (or pandemic pastime) awaits you this Spring! Durham Parks and Recreation is offering a two-session workshop on weaving with a Drop Spindle, a wooden instrument with a weighted whorl and typically, a hook or notch. Join a spinner, weaver, knitter, and living history professional who can tell you all about the origins of materials and how different types of wool are used in one’s everyday life.  Hannah Smith will conduct a Drop Spindle workshop on April 10 and 24 via Zoom, and while she’s been knitting since her freshman year in college (and quickly finding that she couldn’t be without her wheel while her friends were attending parties), she does not expect workshop participants to arrive with as many years of experience. In speaking with Hannah, her enthusiasm for weaving with a variety of materials and her ability to share that enthusiasm with participants will appeal to weavers of all skil...

We're only a few months away from summer and you know what that means....Durham Park and Recreation Summer Camps are almost here! We're excited to announce that youth and teen summer camps will be held Monday, June 14 through Friday, August 13, 2021. Campers will enjoy a host of socially distant indoor and outdoor recreation activities including: fitness fun, arts and crafts, games, friendship building activities, and much more.  As always, our main goal is to provide our participants with a safe environment to play and have social experiences. During this time of concern with the COVID-19 pandemic there have been many discussions on how to make the Summer Camp experience safe, yet fun for our participants. Please know that every consideration has been made with the best possible safety practices in place to protect our participants, their families, and our staff. Youth & Teen Summer Camps Youth summer camps are open to ages 5-12. Child must have completed kindergarten and ...

By: Mal Atkinson, Resource Coordinator Durham Parks and Recreation has been extremely fortunate to have Tracey Taylor as one of our amazing volunteers. Tracey is a Durham native and grew up playing sports both in school and with DPR. Her parents insisted that she keep her grades up to participate in sports and she claims this incentive helped motivate her to “make it” through school. She is grateful for the sports programs offered in her youth and she said, “It feels good to give back to DPR”. For the past year, Tracey has been a driving force behind DPR’s pickleball tournaments and ladders. Tracey has worked tirelessly in helping promote pickleball within the Durham community. Not only does Tracey commit her time to volunteering with DPR’s pickleball program, she is an invaluable resource in helping recruit other volunteers to assist with our tournaments and ladders. She brings her dynamic personality and “can do” attitude to every event and has accumulated an extensive number of hour...