The following information was provided by Manchester Parks and Recreation

Big check moment thanks to Kiwanis of Manchester, NH! Courtesy Photo

Kiwanis Grant for recreational upgrades

Manchester Parks, Recreation & Cemeteries has been awarded the Major Emphasis Grant by the Kiwanis Club of Manchester. Over the next three years, the division will receive $75,000 designated to renovate basketball, tennis and pickle ball courts in the city. Sites on the top of the list are the basketball courts at Pulaski Park and Sweeney Park. Other courts in consideration are the pickle ball courts at Rock Rimmon and re-painting lines on the Derryfield tennis courts.

Memorial Day Flagpoles and Flags

Spring is an incredibly busy time for this division with so much needing to be ready in time for Memorial Day weekend. Five new flagpoles were installed in Veteran’s Park and a ceremony was held on Monday, May 28th to raise the flags of the 5 branches of military service for the first time. New circles of brick were also installed along with memorial granite benches.

At Pine Grove Cemetery, hundreds of flags were put next to graves in the Veteran’s section to honor those who served.

New brickwork at Veterans Park, courtesy of Parks and Rec.

Keep Walking

Walk for your Health is about halfway through the spring session. It has been great and our new walkers are enjoying it. To sign up, attend any of the walks and look for Mary or Deb. All walks start at 9AM .

Upcoming Walks:

6/1 Stark Park

6/4 Comcast

6/6 River Walk

6/8 Pine Grove Cemetery

6/11 Memorial High School.

Free Fun in the Sun Program for Kiddos

Our free summer camp is in its 48th year. Fun in the Sun is a six-week program for Manchester residents only who are 6-12 years old. It runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays. There is no before or after care. Activities include playground games, reading lessons, tennis lessons, swim lessons, free swim, and arts and crafts. Signups are July 3 at 8 a.m. at the site you want your child to attend. The three sites are the JFK Coliseum, Livingston Park, and Piscataquog River Park. Camp starts on July 9 and runs through August 17.

Sam Carey Summer League

The Sam Carey Summer Basketball League will begin its second year on the outdoor courts in Manchester. We are hopeful that we will be able to add teams this year, in addition to the skills and drills sessions we initiated last year. We are looking for coaching volunteers if you are interested or know someone who is please let us know.

For more information on any of the above recreation programs, email Erik at ebukowski@manchesternh.gov.

UNH students in the limelight, hard at work, learning new skills at Parks and Rec. Courtesy Photo

Engineering Students Hard at Work

Five engineering students at UNH Durham worked withParks to obtain real work experience as part of their curriculum. The students met with members of the department to understand the needs of “their client”. With that information the set out to redesign the Hunt Pool/ Sheehan Basquil Park area They presented a preliminary design, received feedback from the city, and eventually created a final presentation complete with drone footage of the area, preliminary design, final design and an estimated budget. Their design is included as we look at renovating this area in the future.

July Fourth fireworks on July 3, of course. (It’s a Manchester thing).

Go Fourth on July 3

The Independence Day Celebration will take place on Tuesday, July 3 at Arms Park starting at 6 p.m. Vendors will be on hand so you can grab a delicious dinner or snack as you listen to the 39th Army Band all leading up to the amazing fireworks display over the Bridge Street Bridge!

Summer Splash

The first official splash of 2018 seen here was on Saturday, May 26 just after 11 a.m.. The Dupont Splash Pad will be open on weekends until mid-June, and daily sometime after school ends in the city. Lots of preparation goes into making sure all is set for the opening of the pools. Cleaning the pool and the buildings at Livingston Pool was happening today, June 1 as seen here. Pools are inspected by Health Department prior to opening day, and licenses are issued. As of now, the pools are scheduled to open on Monday, June 25 at 1 p.m. Lifeguards and pool checkers are being interviewed, hired, and hiring paperwork is in various stages of completion. Crystal Lake also opened with lifeguards on duty as of last weekend. We are looking forward to a safe season!