Help a Child Fall in Love with Tennis

Would you like to engage your child in an activity that will help keep them active and healthy, and that they may enjoy for a lifetime?  If so, the City’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities and the Healthy Richmond Campaign has the program for you. And best of all it’s free!  

     This Saturday, July 28, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the department will teach the exciting new QuickStart Tennis program at the Byrd Park Tennis Complex, located at South Boulevard and Blanton Avenue. This program will demonstrate to adults how they can teach tennis to children younger than age 10.

     QuickStart Tennis, developed by the United States Tennis Association, is a new way to teach children the game of tennis and to get them involved and enjoying the sport from the start. In Saturday’s program, expert instructors with the Richmond and U.S. Tennis Associations and the department’s athletic staff will teach you the skills you need to engage children in tennis using the QuickStart program. This program is perfect for parents, tennis instructors, tennis coaches or anyone who wants to share their love of tennis with children age 10 and younger.

     Space in Saturday’s free workshop is limited, so call 901-5237 to reserve your spot today or for more information.

Veterans Day Program Scheduled at Byrd Park Carillon

The city of Richmond will host a Veterans Day Ceremony on Friday, November 11, at 4 p.m. at the World War I Memorial Carillon in Byrd Park. “The city of Richmond is proud to honor the men and women who have served our country in the armed forces, and we will never forget their courage and commitment to protecting our freedom and fighting for the rights of the oppressed,” said Mayor Dwight C. Jones.

     

     Among the selections to be performed by the widely-praised Cantare Choir will be an Algonquin prayer written by Kenneth Swift Eagle Custalow of the Mattaponi Native American Tribe and A Prayer of Desmond Tutu by British Composer and Conductor James Whitbourn.

     For more information, call (804) 646-1031.

###

The City’s department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities is organizing the event which will include an invocation from Reverend Angelyn Poe, a concert on the Carillon bells by City carillonneur Larry Robinson, vocal selections by the Cantare Choir of the Greater Richmond Children’s Choir, and the presentation of a memorial wreath in honor of the Nation’s veterans.

Free Family Fishing Fair set for June 4

The department will hold a Family Fishing Fair on Saturday, June 4, from 9 a.m. to noon at Shield’s Lake in Byrd Park. The event will be free and open to anyone five years old and older. No fishing license is required because it’s Virginia’s annual Free Fishing Weekend.
Local fishing experts will be on hand to teach basic freshwater catch-and-release fishing.
If you plan to attend, the department recommends that you bring water to drink and a folding chair. Also bring your own fishing poles and tackle if you have them. The department will have some poles and tackle available for use, but these will be limited to two per family.
Co-sponsoring the event with the department are Region 3 Bassmasters, Trout Unlimited, Virginia Fishing Adventures, Green Top Hunting & Fishing, Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, and Chesterfield County.

View the Night Sky in Bryan Park

The department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, the Friends of Bryan Park and the Richmond Astronomical Society present a night of gazing at the stars in Bryan Park tonight, Thursday, April 14, at 8 p.m. This is a free family event, featuring an expert who will be on hand to explain the view. High-powered telescopes will be set up, and Virgo, Ursa Major, the double stars in Leo, and the big cluster in Cancer, recognized in ancient times and known today as the Beehive or M44, should be visible. In addition, the moon, Saturn and the Big Dipper should be visible to the naked eye. This is a weather permitting event. No pets are allowed due to the delicate nature of the equipment used. Follow the sings to Shelter #3 for parking. The viewing will be acroos the street on the soccer field.

Day of Service Project Scheduled in Bryan Park

Please join the Friends of Bryan Park and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities in celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and the National Day of Service by volunteering for a Bryan Park environmental cleanup project. The work will take place on January 17 from 9:30 a.m. to noon in Bryan Park. This ’Day On, Not A Day Off’ project is endorsed by Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ Neighbor-to-Neighbor initiative, which encourages Richmond residents to get involved to help “Build a Better Richmond.”
Volunteers are needed to help cleanup the park’s floodplains and remove trash and debris from areas along the park’s creek beds and lake. This is an opportunity to give something back to the city, as well as to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and would be a great activity for individuals, service groups or teens.
All volunteers should wear heavy shoes or work boots, bring their own work gloves if possible, and meet at the park’s Shelter #1 at 9:30 a.m. to receive trash bags, assignments and instructions.
Bryan Park is located at 4308 Hermitage Road. The entrance to the park is just north of the I-95 entrance ramp. Park signs will provide directions to Shelter #1.
For more information and to register, call (804) 646-5454, visit http://www.richmondgov.com/ and click on the ‘Day On, Not A Day Off’ link, or e-mail Carla.Childs@RichmondGov.com.