Providence’s first Pop-Up Play Day takes place at India Point Park on Saturday, May 11 from 12 to 5 PM, presented by the Partnership for Providence Parks, Providence Children’s Museum, the City of Providence, Kidoinfo and other partners.
The event is a free public celebration of child-directed free play that kicks off Playful Providence 2013 — a citywide celebration of play. It will feature a Pop-Up Adventure Playground — an interesting assortment of everyday “loose parts” like sticks and branches, cardboard boxes, fabric and other open-ended materials, which kids and families can use to build forts, design structures, invent imaginative playthings and more. The celebration also includes playful activity stations like weaving, wood working and instrument making, plus lively music and a short speaking program at 3:30 PM featuring Mayor Angel Taveras and Janice O’Donnell, Providence Children’s Museum director.
Pop-Up Play Day and Playful Providence are planned to highlight the critical importance of children’s unstructured, self-directed play for their healthy development. Research shows that play is essential for social, emotional, cognitive and physical growth, yet kids’ time and opportunities for play are increasingly limited.
The second annual Playful Providence is a 5-month citywide celebration of play commemorating Providence’s status as a Playful City. This recognition from KaBOOM! <http://kaboom.org/>, a national non-profit dedicated to saving play for America’s children, honors cities and towns that make play a priority. The celebration has expanded from 2012, which featured 32 play events presented by 35 park groups and community partners and enjoyed by 1,800 participants over a single weekend. Â Playful Providence events held from May through September 2013 will engage kids and families across the city in play, plus promote the Partnership for Providence Parks and draw attention to the important role that volunteer parks groups and community partners have in making great places to play.
To learn more about Pop-Up Play Day:
- Visit www.providenceparks.org
- Download a flyer
- Join the Facebook event
Pop-Up Play Day is planned by the Partnership for Providence Parks in collaboration with Providence Children’s Museum, the City of Providence (Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Art, Culture + Tourism, Healthy Communities Office and Office of Sustainability), Pop-Up Adventure Play, Friends of India Point Park, Mental Health Association of Rhode Island.
photo credit: Pop-Up Adventure Play
