The Hempfield recCenter Summer Playground Program is celebrating 40 years of fun, fresh air, friends and play!
Since its inception in 1978, Summer Playground has encouraged its participants to enjoy the outdoors; to stay active and participate in games and activities that the virtual world simply cannot provide. Sitting inside, playing video games or lounging on the couch with heads buried in cell phones is replaced by fun in the sun.
In many ways, it is a throwback to a time when playing on a playground or assembling a group of classmates or close buddies for a game of kickball led to lifetime friendships and comradery. The nostalgia of a summer spent playing, joking, laughing and bonding in the bright summer sun is something that has stuck, and will continue to stick, with those who have experienced the program.
Summer Playground is the longest-running and largest program the Hempfield recCenter has to offer. Each year, over 600 children in the community spend their time at local parks playing field games, making crafts, jumping rope, and participating in knock hockey, cards and board games.
That the core of the program has remained the same for the last four decades is a testament to the memories its participants have created from generation to generation.
The program also offers optional field trips, including such trips as the Laserdome, Zoo America, SkyZone, Goin’ Bananas and the East Pete Pool. Every Tuesday and Thursday, the children have the opportunity to purchase an ice cream treat for just $1.
The best part of the program is the price!
The fee for a Hempfield resident is $139 for the entire eight weeks, Monday- Friday, 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. There is no minimum or maximum attendance required. Your child(ren) may attend as little as one day a week or all five.
Weather can, of course, be unpredictable so in the event that Mother Nature decides to bear down on us with rain or severe weather, precautions are in-place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of your child. If it rains, we take cover, but in the event of severe weather we do dismiss the participants for safety.
The staff is made up of trained, CPR and First Aid-certified adults. Some were even playgrounders themselves.
Registration will open on April 1, registration forms will be available on our website at hempfieldrec.com or at our facility, 950 Church Street, Landisville, PA. For more information contact Cristine Maser, cmaser@hempfieldrec.com or 717-898-3102x39.
