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“The Valdese Parks and Recreation Department is excited for this summer! June always brings people to the pool and the parks, and pick up ball games abound in the Wayne Owens Gymnasium. Here are a few ways you can stay cool this summer!
Our parks also offer a lot of shaded areas for a picnic, and if you want to use a shelter for a family reunion or a birthday party, reach out to the staff at 828-879-2132 to reserve a shelter for your special event.
In youth athletics, we will be hosting our league 8U baseball and 13U softball tournaments the first week of June at Fletcher Fields. Our summer swim team, the Valdese Torpedo, is also kicking off its season with home meets on Saturday mornings in June and one in July on July 6. We are also offering a week-long tennis camp with our partners in racquet and paddle sports, TennisBloc. Tennis and Swim Camp is from June 3 – June 7 for 7-12 year olds, and includes morning tennis instruction followed by lunch and pool time. Pickleball camp is July 8-12. Registration is currently open for both camps.
A great way to stay cool is to take advantage of our three month aquatics memberships. Join us in the pool whenever it is open for lap swim, or during our open swim to relax with the family. We are expanding our open swim hours to cover weekday mid-day and Sundays, and the memberships are a great deal for bringing the whole family along for some fun. Don’t forget that aquatics memberships give you 50% off of our swim lessons if the participant is in the household. If you’d rather splash about, the Splash Pad is operable from 8am-8pm Monday-Saturday, and from 1pm-5pm Sundays. Just remember to push the button, and if thunder roars, staff will turn the water off for safety.
When those thunderstorms do hit, come inside and check out the concession stand and bowling alley. The new scoring system just installed at the end of May is fantastic, and we are expanding our open bowling hours, as well. There will be more hours during the week and on Sundays, so come down and rent a lane for an hour or two with some friends and see how you do.
Starting on July 1, the Valdese Parks and Recreation Department and the Western Piedmont Council of Government will be releasing a survey as a part of our 10 year comprehensive plan. This is the first of many ways you can make your voices heard during this process with regards to the priorities and direction of the parks and recreation department over the next decade. What type of facilities do we need to focus on? What are some programming options we should continue with, and what are things you’d like to see offered? This will be an incredibly powerful tool for leading us into the mid-2030s, and we want our citizens and patrons to play a very active role in providing their feedback.
Finally, at Valdese Lakeside Park, construction will be starting on the Pavilion on the Green, and we encourage visitors to please obey any barriers around the work zone. This is going to be a wonderful amenity and addition to the park. Similarly, volunteers and a professional trail builder have been hard at work the past few months to create amazing mountain bike trails out at Valdese Lakeside Park. The finishing touches are being worked on now, but when the trails do open, they will be an amazing attraction for any off-road, fat-tire enthusiasts. Thanks to the donors, volunteers, and the Friends of the Valdese Rec for their hard work!
We encourage you to come check out all the amazing things here at YOUR Valdese Parks and Recreation Department! Have a safe summer, and we hope to see you soon!”
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