Tag Archives: splash pads

How to stay cool on these warm summer days

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By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org

Looking to cool off from a very hot, hot, hot weekend? Well the splash pads for the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood. are open.

City of Wyoming

The City of Wyoming has four splash pads located at:

Gezon Park, 5651 Gezon Court

Jackson Park, 3235 Robin SW

Lamar Park, 2561 Porter

Oriole Park, 1380 42nd St.SW

Wyoming’s splash pads, which are free, run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. everyday through Labor Day.

City of Kentwood

The City of Kentwood has two splash pads which are located at:

Pinewood Park, 1999 Wolfboro Dr. SE

Veterans Memorial Park, 355 48th St. SE

Kentwood’s splash pads, which are also free, are open from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. everyday through Labor Day.

Other communities

Millennium Park’s beach and splash pad is open until the fourth Sunday in August. Both are open at 10 a.m. daily with the beach closing at 7 p.m. for early and late summer and 8 p.m. mid-summer and the splash pad closing at 6 p.m. early and late summer and 7 p.m. mid-summer. The is a fee, $4 adults, $3 seniors 63 and older, $2 children ages 3-15, and free children 2 & under. For more, click here.

The City of Grand Rapids has splash pads which are free, and pools, which has a fe, of youth $1 for GR residents and $3 for non-residents; and adults $3 for GR residents and $5 for non-residents. Punchcards and season passes are available. For more on Grand Rapids pools and splash pads, click here.

 

Caledonia opened its Community Green Park Splash Pad and Spray Park on Friday, June 2. The Caledonia Community Green Space is located 9309 Dobber Wenger Memorial Drive.

Snapshots: Things to do this weekend

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, , , ,

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light.

J.K. Rowling


By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

Park Party

The new playground at Jackson Park. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)

This Saturday, the City of Wyoming will be hosting a reopening event for Jackson Park, located at 1331 33rd St. SW, right next to the Wyoming Intermediate School. The event will start at 10 a.m. and include the official opening of the park’s new splash pad. The park has a new playground, shelter area, bathrooms, and parking lot. Also taking place will be a free yoga class at 11:15 a.m.

Festival Returns

Festival of the Arts will be a little different this year.

The first weekend in June has always meant Festival of the Arts, which has returned this summer albeit a little different. Because of uncertainty in social distancing guidelines, the organization is offering Plein Air and performances this weekend. Artists will be out Friday, Saturday and Sunday with musicians performing on Saturday only on Monroe Center and Ottawa Avenue. Saturday is scheduled to be a beautiful day to walk around downtown Grand Rapids on Saturday and Sunday to soak it all in. Oh, and if you are out on Saturday, we recommend Total Eclipse of the Harp featuring Emily Smith, who will perform at 10 a.m., 3 and 6 p.m.

Splash Pads Now Open

The splash pad at Oriole Park.

Summer is here! How do we know? The splash pads in both the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood are now open. The City of Kentwood has two splash pads, one at Pinewood Park, 1999 Wolfboro Dr. SE, and Veterans Memorial Park, 355 48th St. SE. Both are open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The City of Wyoming has three splash pads,  Lamar Park, 2561 Porter St. SW; one at Oriole Park, 1380 42nd St. SW., and the third is at Southlawn Park, 4125 Jefferson SW. Wyoming’s splash pads are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. A fourth splash pad at Jackson Park is set to open on Saturday during the park’s reopening ceremony.

Fun Fact: I’m Your Venus

With NASA’s recent announcement that it is planning two missions to Earth’s other neighbor, Venus, we thought it might be fun to share a few facts about the second planet closest to the sun. Besides the fact that it is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty:

  1. Venus is hotter than Mercury despite the fact that Mercury is closer to the sun.

  2. A day on Venus is longer than a year on Earth.

  3. Venus has about 90 times the atmospheric pressure of Earth, which is the same pressure at about 1 km depth in the Earth’s oceans.

  4. It is believed that Venus had a celestial collision early in its history which caused the planet to get flipped upside down. This resulted in the planet rotating clockwise unlike the rest of the planets in our solar system which rotate anti-clockwise.

  5. Humans have been studying Venus since the second millennium BC because it is one of the brightest objects in the sky and easy to spot with the naked eye. In the upcoming Venus explorations, which are scheduled to launch in 2028-2030, NASA aims to understand how Venus became an inferno-like world when it has so many other characteristics similar to ours – and may have been the first habitable world in the solar system, complete with an ocean and Earth-like climate.

City of Wyoming makes it official: the splash pads are open

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As of June 1, the City of Wyoming’s three splash pads, located at Lamar Park (above), Oriole Park, and Southlawn, are officially open. (Supplied)

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

A sure sign of summer is when the City of Wyoming officially opens its splash pads, which is today.

As of June 1, the city’s three splash pads are open, according to city officials and the announcement made on the Wyoming Parks and Recreation Facebook page. The parks will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Wyoming has three splash pads, one at Lamar Park, 2561 Porter St. SW; one at Oriole Park, 1380 42nd St. SW., and the third is at Southlawn Park, 4125 Jefferson SW.

This weekend the city will open its fourth splash pad with a special reopening ceremony on Saturday at Jackson Park. One of the wishes of residents when discussing the redesign of the park was to include a splash pad, city officials said. The rededication is set for 10 a.m.

Current social distancing guidelines will be followed at all city splash pads.

Splash, splash: Wyoming set to open splash pads July 6

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, ,
The splash pad at Oriole Park will open July 6 along with the one at Lamar Park and the one at Oriole Park. (Supplied)

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

The weather has been hot which has begged the question from several people on Facebook about when the City of Wyoming’s splash pads will be open.

The City of Wyoming’s Park and Recreation Department has announced it will open its splash pads on July 6. Wyoming has three splash pads, one at Lamar Park, 2561 Porter St. SW; one at Oriole Park, 1380 42nd St. SW., and the third is at Southlawn Park, 4125 Jefferson SW.

The splash pads are open to the general public from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. There will be social distancing guidelines put in place for the splash pads. More information about those guidelines will be coming soon. For more information, visit wyomingmi.gov and click on Parks and Recreation.

The splash pads at Kentwood’s Pinewood Park and Veteran’s Park are now open. (Kentwood)

Kentwood is now open

The City of Kentwood’s splash pads are open. Kentwood has two splash pads, one at Pinewood Park, 1999 Wolfboro Dr. SE, and a new splash pad at Veteran’s Park, located next to the Kentwood Activities Center at 355 48th St. SE.

The splash pads are open to the public from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Participants are encouraged to follow CDC public health guidelines, including staying at least six feet away from others not in their household. For more about the parks in Kentwood, visit kentwood.us/exploreourparks and click on City Departments and then on Parks and Recreation.

Millennium Park splash pad is now open. (Kent County)

Millennium Park is open as well

Kent County also has opened the splash pad at Millennium Park, located behind Johnson Park at 1415 Maynard Ave. SW.

 

Due to COVID-19, the Millennium Park splash pad is limited to 50 percent capacity which is about 50 people. Currently the splash pad is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. with hours reducing after Aug. 4 to 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The splash pad is located next to the six-acre sand beach at Millennium Park.

Millennium Park does have an entrance fee which is $4/adults, $3/seniors (63 and older), $2 children (ages 3 – 15) and free for children two and under. For more information, visit kentcountyparks.org.

The splash pads are open! The splash pads are open!

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Just in time for the 80-degree weather, the City of Wyoming announced this morning that its splash pads will open today.

 

The splash pads are located at Lamar Park, 2561 Porter St SW; Oriole Park, 1380 42nd St. SW; and Southlawn Park, 4125 Jefferson SW. They are open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Labor Day.

 

The City of Wyoming’s splash pads are one of the many reasons that WOOD TV’s Maranada has kicked off her Park Parties at Wyoming’s Lamar Park for the past several years. According to Maranda, the park also offers excellent parking, wide open space with the park’s splash pad providing a place to help children and families cool off on hot summer days.

 

Maranda comes to Lamar Park on June 22. She will bring the Park Party to Kentwood July 13 at the East Kentwood High School, 6230 Kalamazoo Ave. SE. The Wyoming and Kentwood events are the only Park Parties scheduled this year for the Greater Grand Rapids area with the rest being in Muskegon, Kalamazoo, and Holland.

 

Once again, in working with USDA, Michigan Dept. of Ed and local school districts, free lunch will be served to anyone 18 and under starting at 11:30 a.m., while supplies last at all Park Party events. Maranda’s Park Parties have been recognized by the USDA as one of the nation’s largest summer feeding programs.

 

Park Parties run from noon – 2 p.m. at the dates listed above. Every Park Party also includes free activities, games, entertainment and, prizes.

 

For more on the Maranda Park Parties, click here. For more about the splash pads and other City of Wyoming Parks and Recreation activities and events, visit wyoming.gov and click the “Living in Wyoming” tab.