2nd Annual Fishing Derby

On Saturday, May 9th, from 9 to 11 am, Longmont Recreation Services will host their second annual fishing derby. For $5, youth 15 and under will receive entry into door prize drawings and be able to attend one of five 10 minute clinics. The kids will then fish at the pond outside the Longmont Rec Center and judging for largest fish will begin at 11 am. Hot dogs, chips and soda will be available for sale too. Register today - the first 50 registrants get a fishing pole!

Longmont Rec Center Summer Camps

Registration for Summer Camps offered through the Longmont Recreation Center begins February 23rd! See this page for the schedule and pricing. Have any of you sent your children to this camp? Post a comment or send me an email with your opinions!

34th Annual Turkey Trot!

I completely spaced posting about the Turkey Trot! It's next Saturday, November 8th, at Westview Middle School. The 10K run starts at 9 am and the 2 mile Fun Run starts at 9:15. Unfortunately it's too late to register by mail but you can register at Centennial Pool through the 5th and also at the race on Saturday. See more info on this City of Longmont page. Happy running!

Winter Wonderland Play Day

From a City of Longmont webpage:
"Moms and dads here is your chance to get a few things done before the holiday. Drop your child off to play with all the fund toys in our preschool. Your child can enjoy making arts and crafts, sculpting with play dough, reading books, putting puzzles together and more. Enjoy this opportunity for a couple of hours of free time while your child is entertained by our Recreation Staff.
Ages - 3-5,
December 23, 9am-11:30am
Resident $18.00, Non-resident $23.00"

Sounds fun! The page I linked to above has more info about other programs the Rec Center offers for preschoolers too - check it out!

Halloween!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and it's just around the corner! Have you or your children already decided what they should wear this year? We've been talking about it but really need to get busy since we like to make costumes! Last year was so easy as there was only one thing our oldest asked to be over and over and over again but this year he's gone through 4 or 5 things in just the last week! :)

The City of Longmont sponsors three great Halloween events:

Halloween Costume Parade
Saturday, October 25th, 10 am
Line up in front of the St Vrain Memorial Building at 9:30.
This is probably my favorite event in Longmont (I know, I say that for a lot of things...). But what's cuter than a zillion kids dressed up in their favorite costumes all walking down the middle of Main Street? There are babies in strollers (some with creative parents who incorporate the into the costume!), kids in wagons, and toddlers on up to adults with adorable, creative, scary, and/or funny costumes! The parade route goes down Main Street to 3rd and then turns back up Main and breaks up as kids trick-or-treat at many of the businesses on Main. It's a really fun morning! For additional information contact 303-651-8404.

Pumpkin Dunk
Saturday, October 25th, 5-7 pm
Centennial Pool, 1201 Alpine
We've never been to this but it sounds so fun! All ages are welcome to swim and somehow retrieve candy in the pool. There will also be crafts and apple bobbing! Cost is $3 per person, or $10 per family. For additional information contact 303-651-8406.

Safe Halloween Night
Friday, October 31st, 6-8:30 pm
Longmont Recreation Center, 310 Quail Road
Free admission!
A fun-filled evening with carnival games, cake walk, petting zoo, glow in the dark boat rides in the pool, and much more! For additional information contact 303-774-4800.

Longmont Walking Challenge

Registration began today for the Longmont Walking Challenge! Register at the YMCA, Longmont Rec Center, St Vrain Memorial Building, Longmont Senior Center or the Salud Family Health Center. Be one of the first 1500 to register and receive a free pedometer! Track your steps from September 20th to 27th and help Longmont reach 135 million steps that week!

The best part? Registration is free AND you can work out for free at the Longmont Rec Center or the YMCA that week! Yes, for free! And if you join the YMCA that week your $50 registration fee will be waived. All exercise counts (not just walking) so get out there and get moving! There will also be a drawing for a one year membership to the YMCA or Longmont Rec Center.

For more information see this flier or call 303-776-0370.

Rec Center events

Just a couple of notes about upcoming events at the Longmont Recreation Center:

- They're hosting a Father/Daughter Dance on Saturday, September 6th from 6 to 9 pm. Dads, Grandpas, Uncles bring your special girl to the Rec Center that night for a meal and dancing! Each daughter will receive a corsage as well as 2 5x7 pictures to remember the evening. Register now and you might be one of ten lucky winners of a limo ride to and from the event! Call the Rec Center at 303-774-4800 for more info.

- The Longmont Rec Center is closed September 8th through the 14th for maintenance!

- The Fall Brochure of classes and events came out a few weeks ago. You can always view it online at http://www.ci.longmont.co.us/rec/activities/brochure.htm! It's really easy to see how full classes are or register for them online too! There are way too many cool things to do to list in this post so go check out the brochure and find something great for you and/or your child - dance or swim classes, sports, tumbling and more!

Itty Bitty City

Itty Bitty City starts up again on Friday, September 5th! Itty Bitty City is a drop-in open gym time for preschoolers (5 and under) at the St. Vrain Memorial Building (700 Longs Peak Avenue). They provide scooters, jump ropes, floor mats, bean bags, tricycles and rollerskates for kids and adults to play with. It costs $2 per child and is open each Friday between September and May from 9 to 11 am. It's a great way to burn off some energy especially in the winter!

Dog Swims

Kanemoto and Roosevelt Pools will host dog swims after the pools close for the season! Bring your friendly dogs to the pool for some fun splashing and ball chasing in the activity pools.

Kanemoto Pool - August 19th from 4 to 7 pm
Roosevelt Pool - August 20th from 4 to 7 pm

No people will be allowed to swim and the cost is $2 per dog :)

Outdoor pool closing dates

We've spent many hours this summer at Longmont's great outdoor pools so it makes me a little sad to type their closing dates for the season! It seems like they just opened yesterday...

Kanemoto and Roosevelt Activity Pools close Sunday, August 17th, 2008. Kanemoto usually has a couple "dog swim" days after the official closing of the pool - I'll update when I know more.

Sunset Pool closes Sunday, September 7th, 2008.
Edited 8/27/08 - I just looked at the website again and now Sunset Pool closes 9/1...

Enjoy those last few summer pool days - especially in this 100 degree heat!

Family Field Day

Sorry for the lack of posting lately - our family's crazy busy schedule has me feeling a bit overwhelmed! I'm so looking forward to back to school time and being on more of a routine again! :)

Before that, though, you should check out the Rec Center's Family Field Day! It will be held on Sunday, August 10th, from 9 am to 3 pm at the Longmont Recreation Center.

Fishing Derby - 9 am to noon - $5/child

Picnic Time - Noon - 1 pm

Field Day Events - 1 pm - 3 pm - There will be a Potato Sack Race, Three Legged Race, 50-yard-dash, Ring Toss, Dunk Tank, Arm Wrestling, Tug o' Rope, Seed Spitting Contest, Water Balloon Toss and More! The Field Day portion of the schedule has been cancelled!

Homemade salsa contest - 11 am - $5 per entry

For more information call the Longmont Recreation Center at 303-774-8400.

No...wait...already?!

TWO DAYS of school left?? That's it? Where did the last 9 months go? I'd love to hear what fun, exciting, local plans you have for your kids this summer. Will you spend lazy afternoons at the pool, frolic in the park, keep up on that summer reading at the library, or send the kids off to a summer camp? Whatever you do I hope you come here to find out the latest local kid-friendly events! Post a comment or send me an email if you have any suggestions! :)

By the way, I've really been struggling with "advertising" on this site. Several people have emailed asking for me to post about them (with and without offers of trying their services first) and I don't know what to do! On the one hand, I frequently post about events that I have never attended before and know I'm not going to attend but posting about a public event feels different than posting basically an endorsement of a local business. Know what I mean? I'd love to hear your feedback. Would you like to know about these small, usually mom-owned businesses here in Longmont? Any suggestions on criteria I should use to decide which businesses to post about? What do YOU want when you come here?

Edited to add: Yes, I have that silly Google ad banner in the right hand column but I think I've made a whopping $1.43 off it (and they don't mail you a check until you reach $100 - haha!) so I'm not exactly doing this for the money or looking to get free stuff for myself (for you, yes! Always on the lookout for that!) :) Just wanted to clarify...

Mud Hen Run

From the Spring 2008 Longmont Recreation brochure:

3rd Annual Mud Hen Run
5K Run/Walk at Lake MacIntosh
Saturday, April 26th at 10 am

Youth/Senior registration fee: $10 early bird / $15 after 4/18
Adult registration fee: $13 early bird / $18 after 4/18
Early bird deadline ends Friday, April 18th

Registration forms are available March 3rd at the St. Vrain Memorial Building, Longmont Rec Center and Centennial Pool.

Underwater Easter Egg Hunt

From the Spring 2008 Longmont Recreation brochure:

Underwater Easter Egg Hunt
Saturday, March 15th, 1 pm to 3 pm
If you think the Easter Bunny's eggs are hard to find, wait until you have to retrieve them from the bottom of Centennial pool! Geared for 3 to 12 year olds, cost is $2 per swimmers, $1 per on-deck spectator.

Sounds fun :)