Movies in the Park 2014

Join the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities our 2014 Movies in the Park series!

Our first movie of the year will begin on Friday, June 20 at Byrd Park, 600 S. Boulevard, 23221.

For more information or updates, please visit our Facebook page.

Free 'Eggstravaganza' Set for March 24

The Department has partnered with Radio One to hold a free spring “Eggstravaganza” for children age 12 and younger on Saturday, March 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Forest Hill Park, 4021 Forest Hill Ave. The event will feature two egg hunts at 12:30 p.m., one for ages 5 through 8 and another for ages 9 through 12. A total of 25,000 candy-prize filled eggs will be up for grabs in the two egg hunts.

     The event will also include music by DJ Milli, hula hoop demonstrations by RVA Hoop House, arts and crafts, a petting zoo, a balloon artist, free give-away’s, opportunity to purchase photos with Mr. Bunny, children’s fingerprinting provided by the Richmond Sherriff’s Office, and vendors selling a variety of foods.  In addition, children age 4 and younger can enjoy story telling every 30-minutes and other activities in “Bunny Town.”

     Children who want to participate in the egg hunts should bring their own basket. In the event of rain, the Eggstravaganza will be held on Sunday, March 25, from 1 to 4 p.m.  

Department Wins Awards

The department was recognized with four awards at the 56th Annual Conference of the Virginia Recreation and Park Society held at the Hampton Roads Convention Center earlier this month. The society’s statewide awards program honors individuals, agencies and organizations throughout Virginia that have demonstrated excellence in 17 different categories during the previous year.

Richmond was recognized with a Best New Renovation/Addition Award for its restoration of the lake in Forest Hill Park. Through the years the lake had been neglected and become so overgrown that many people did not know it existed. The department restored it to its original historic appearance while working closely with the neighborhood to preserve the wetland environment. The project came in under budget and was finished ahead of schedule.

The department also won an award for Best Promotional Effort for a Specialty Piece for its note cards featuring the artwork of children attending the department's summer camps. The note cards were used by the children to send thank you notes to people who made donations in the Send-a-Kid-to-Camp campaign. they are also available for the public to purchase at community centers and City Hall.

Also at the conference, CarMax, the nation’s largest retailer of used cars, was recognized with a Distinguished Private Sector Service Award for its support of the summer basketball league. Since 2007, CarMax and its foundation have given $229,000 to improve the basketball courts at Pine Camp Arts and Community Center and to provide uniforms, equipment and staff for the league.

Sureatha McGhee, an employee since 1974, was also recognized at the conference with a Distinguished Service Award. She has been a member of VRPS since 1985 and served on many of the society’s committees.

“We would like to congratulate all of our award winners for their outstanding entries into this year’s competition,” said VRPS President Lakita Frazier. “Entries from around the state in every population category allow us to recognize the best in our business while raising the standards and quality of media promotions and events across the board.”

“As a department, and with assistance from corporate partners like CarMax, we work hard to provide excellent parks and recreation services and facilities to the residents of Richmond and visitors to our city, and we are honored to receive this statewide recognition from our peers,” said J. R. Pope, director of the department.

More than 700 professionals in the park and recreation field attended the conference. The mission of the society is to unite all professionals, students, and interested lay persons engaged in the field of recreation, parks, and other leisure services in the Commonwealth of Virginia. For more information on the society, contact the state office at (804) 730-9447 or visit www.vrps.com.

Outdoor movie, costume contest at Forest Hill Park

The department will show the Disney movie “The Princess and the Frog” on Friday, August 27, in Forest Hill Park. Forest Hill Park is located at 4021 Forest Hill Ave. The movie is the final installment of the season in the department’s free outdoor family entertainment series, Friday Pictures in the Park.

The movie will begin at 8:30 p.m., and will be preceded by a prince and princess costume contest for children 12 years old and younger which will begin at 7:30 p.m. Prizes will be awarded to the first, second and third place winners of the contest.

Both the contest and the movie are free, and free popcorn will be provided while supplies last.

Those planning to attend are reminded to bring blankets or chairs to sit on and their own water or soft drinks to go with the free popcorn.

Free Park Festival July 18

July 16, 2010 What could be better than spending a Sunday afternoon in the park with family and friends? Mayor Dwight C. Jones, City Council President Kathy Graziano, Friends of Forest Hill Park and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities invite you to do just that on Sunday, July 18, from noon until 4 p.m., in Forest Hill Park at the annual Sunday in the Park with Friends.

This free family festival will explode with balloons, bubbles, bounces, bands and bikes, as families are encouraged to bring a picnic and enjoy the park. Dogs are welcome, but they must be leashed at all times.

Free snow cones, ice cream, watermelon and water will be provided, as well as fun, park games and activities for both children and adults, including face painting, clowns, an inflated carousel bounce, sack races, carnival games, and a corn pool.

A new addition to the festival this year is a bike rodeo sponsored by the Richmond Police Department, RA-MORE off-road bike enthusiasts, and several local businesses. The bike rodeo is designed to teach young people and first time bicycle riders safety and riding skills.

The rodeo is for children ages 5 to 12, and written parental permission is required. Participants should bring their own bicycles and register at Shelter #2 by noon Sunday. The park’s bicycle patrol officer Stacy Rogers will donate as many as 200 bike helmets, provide bicycle inspections and safety checks, and will use several bike courses to teach riding and safety skills.

Tours of the historic Stone House and the newly-restored lake are scheduled, and a golf cart shuttle will make the lake accessible to everyone. Visitors will also be able to view displays about the park’s history, the environment, conservation, and the lake renovation project. The Richmond Police Department, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, and the Sheriff’s Departments will all be on hand.

Sponsors for the festival include the city of Richmond, Dominion Virginia Power, Mead Westvaco, Forest Hill and Westover Hills neighborhood associations, WalMart, Sheriff C. T. Woody, Good Shepherd Elementary School, Westover Hills Library Assistance Group, Riverside Outfitters-True Timber, Central Virginia Waste Management Authority, Clown Alley #3, and the South of the James Market.


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Mayor Announces Public Boating on Several City Lakes

July 1, 2010 - Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced today an enhancement to several city parks by allowing non-powered watercraft on three city park lakes. Beginning today, visitors will be allowed to boat on Shields Lake and Swan Lake in William Byrd Park and on Forest Hill Lake in Forest Hill Park.

“I believe residents will enjoy boating on these city lakes as it highlights the aesthetic beauty of our city parks as well as aids in promoting fitness in our city,” said Mayor Jones. “A city’s greatness cannot be measured without including its parks and green spaces, and this added activity highlights the numerous amenities of the already great park system we have here in the city of Richmond. I would like to thank the city’s department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities for implementing this initiative which allows residents and visitors to our city, enhanced access to the city’s parks and lakes.”

The use of non-powered watercraft provides park boaters the opportunity to view the beauty of city’s parks from a different perspective. Paddling and rowing are activities that require the engagement of multiple muscle groups and which helps tone muscles and reduce body weight.

Boaters should use caution as they enter their boats into the water and adhere to the following rules when boating in city lakes:

- Non-powered watercraft only (examples include canoes, row boats, sailfish boats, dinghies and kayaks).
- Inflated tubes are not allowed.
- Powered watercraft (jet skis, wave runners, electric motors, outboards, etc) are not allowed.
- No boats over 13 feet in length.
- No glass containers allowed.
- Lakes close at sunset and open at sunrise daily from April 1 to Nov.30. Lakes are closed at all other times.
- Persons under age 13 must wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved personal flotation device.
- Watercraft must be carried to the shore or may be launched from designated areas. No vehicle trailers allowed.
- No diving or swimming is allowed.
- Boaters and passengers assume all risk.

City Celebrates Re-Opening of Forest Hill Lake

Celebration to Feature First Annual Regatta on Restored Lake

May 18, 2010
City Celebrates the Re-Opening of Forest Hill Lake

Richmond, VA - The city of Richmond and the Forest Hill Neighborhood Association will hold a ribbon-cutting and a regatta on Saturday, May 22, to celebrate the re-opening of the restored lake in Forest Hill Park. The event will kick off at the lake’s gazebo at 2:30 p.m. with remarks from Mayor Dwight C. Jones, City Council President Kathy Graziano, and J. R. Pope, director of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities.

The lake restoration, which began in May 2009, was completed ahead of schedule and came in under budget at $1.4 million. Once a site that attracted visitors, the lake had become overgrown with vegetation and clogged with silt washed downstream by Reedy Creek. Now dredged and restored to its original beauty, it is once again attracting many to fish, stroll and jog along its shore line.

“I am very proud of the fact that we were able to restore one of Richmond’s forgotten treasures,” said Mayor Jones. “Bringing the lake back to its original beauty gives the city of Richmond a park setting that any tier one city would be proud of.”

“This was a project the department really wanted to undertake,” said Pope, “Great parks make great neighborhoods. They bring people together, they give us a place to exercise, a place to have fun, and a place where we can interact with and enjoy nature.”

Following the ceremony, the newly-formed Forest Hill Yacht Club, the only neighborhood yacht club in the city, will hold its first annual regatta. The event will include a solo kayak/canoe race, a dual kayak/canoe race and a youth boat race.

Also included in the day’s fun will be a dog swim, a best decorated boat contest, a remote-control model boat competition, and a no paddles neighborhood vs. neighborhood six-person canoe race.

For more information or to register in advance for one of the races, visit www.foresthillneighborhood.com or call (804) 233-3748.

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