Last summer, an admirable grassroots initiative launched at a park on the city’s West Side. Called Blanket the Park, the idea was to literally take over an underutilized public park in a neighborhood where people living nearby felt that they were out of touch with the public amenity. Because no one played in or visited the park, it was used for criminal activity. So, neighbors got together to create a schedule of activities that residents could partake in, from yoga to clean ups to athletics.
The 2016 season was a success. Now, organizers are looking for more people, to do more things – perform, teach, lead, instruct, etc. If you have a weekly or monthly activity that you would like to pitch to the group, please contact Stephanie Cole at exlibriscole@gmail.com and visit their page. The Blanket the Park season starts on May 15 and end on October 31. In the meantime, the initial event is a Saturday morning clean-up, set to be held on Saturday, April 29 from 9am to 10am.
Join your neighbors for some conversation and exercise as we pick up trash and make things look spiffy. Bags provided (enough that you can use them as gloves, too). Small children welcome, but you might want to have them play while the grown-ups deal with broken glass, etc. If you want, we’ll do some gentle stretching and talk about our awesome neighborhood.
Stay tuned to all of the activities and events hosted by Blanket the Park at Massachusetts Avenue Park this summer, by tuning into their Facebook page.