Since the first day of summer, I’ve found myself walking around Warner Park daily to take in the sights and sounds of children and families at the recreation center and the park. I’ve seen children enjoying nature adventures with Paul Noeldner, seniors working on crafts with our Kids Kamp, NESCO hosting concerts, baseballs cracking at Mallards games, and young families enjoying Lake Mendota at Warner Beach.

These sights and sounds bring back many memories of my youth. Speaking of youth, this summer I had the pleasure of mentoring a young intern, Maryah, who is a student at East High School and a Northside resident. She participated in the Wanda Fullmore Internship Program through the City of Madison. That program placed 32 high school students in city departments to learn about city jobs, gain valuable work experience, and make some summer money. Maryah worked the front desk at the recreation center, taught art classes for Kids Kamp, helped supervise a stargazing event, and went on field trips through various Madison Parks facilities. She did an excellent job.

School will soon be starting and children will be wrapping up their summer of fun. We want to make sure the fun doesn’t go away. That’s why we are continuing the Warner Family Fun Nights at the WPCRC. Family Fun Nights will be on the second Friday of each month throughout the school year. The entire WPCRC will be open for a variety of activities. We are looking for local organizations to organize the art project each month and business partners to sponsor the nights. We are trying to keep the cost per family to a bare minimum. Volunteers and sponsorships will help us achieve that goal.

I want to send a big thank you to the wonderful MSCR Warner Park Kids Kamp. Janet Dyer and her camp staff have done a great job helping young children have a fun-filled summer of memories. Bart, Maggie, Pat, Eboni, Josh, Makayla, JaVanna, Tyran, Morgan, Eli, Tia, Dakota, Sara, Rachel and Troy all did a great job with the campers. 

As we look forward to fall, don’t forget to check out the programs at WPCRC. Tell us if you think of something we could be doing to better serve the Northside. I’ll see you at Warner Park, where everyone is welcome.