This weekend kicks off summer, and Karla Schreffler, program coordinator for Alamo Parks and Recreation Department, is ready. Karla was eloquent on the importance of recreation and pointed out the meaning of the word: “Re-creating – it’s resetting our clock so we can move on.” She noted that a lot of people in this area are “product-orientated,” which is what makes them successful. Her job is to help them to be “process orientated,” so they will enjoy the ride.
Karla works for the Mt. Diablo Region YMCA , which contracts with the county for Alamo recreation programs, out of the Cottage at Hap Magee Ranch Park, the center for many of the activities. One especially popular program, which requires no signup and sounds like a lot of good, old-fashioned fun, is Tuesdays at the Ranch. This is a family night, from 6:30-8:30 p.m., a chance for families to wander on down to the ranch and enjoy the lovely summer evening and each other. Karla plans to have equipment for folks to check out – Frisbees, balls, etc. “I’m the facilitator,” she said. “I want to help you learn how to play with your kids.”
The events last year attracted a lot of older kids from the nearby neighborhood who arrived on their bikes. They interacted well with the toddlers who came with their parents, Karla said. I remember those synergies from my own family, since my son Pepe is eight years older than my daughter Zoe. When she was a toddler, he was in middle school. We had a huge sandbox in our back yard at the time, and they would spend hours in it together, tunneling roads and making sand castles. It was a good way for him to decompress after a day of navigating the minefields of middle school, to escape the pressures of adolescence and relax with his little sister. She and her friends loved any time he would give them and, with them, he could be a carefree kid again. The same thing happens at Hap Magee Ranch, Karla said. “There’s a magic between those ages, toddler and adolescents.”
This year’s Tuesdays at the Ranch will be June 21 and 28; July 12, 19 and 26; and Aug. 2, 9 and 16. Somores will be on the menu as the evenings feature family campfires in the new picnic area behind the cottage. Karla also said folks should feel free to bring their guitars and bongos and who knows what kind of sing-along might take place?
Alamo Parks and Recreation (886-4716) is also sponsoring Wizard Camp, Camp for the Crafty, and Berkeley Chess School’s third annual summer camp at Hap Magee. For a complete list of Y camps, call the Summer Camp Hotline at 609-9622. The recreation department is also sponsoring a “Paint-In” for artists June 25, Adult Yoga Classes at the Cottage, and Friday night concerts at Livorna Park on June 17, July 15, Aug. 12 and Sept. 16. These concerts are scheduled for alternate weekends from the Danville concerts on Sundays at Oak Hill Park. Karla likes the idea of concerts on Fridays, pointing out that if you do something on a Friday night, your weekend seems longer. So true!
If you haven’t been there lately, check out Hap Magee Ranch at 1029 La Gonda Way on the Alamo-Danville border. With its new kiddie corral playground, dog parks for small and large pets to be off-leash, and lots on the agenda, it’s a great place to welcome summer and re-create yourself.
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