Champaign Park District News Releases

Hazel Park Get a New Playground

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:24:49 -0500

Kraft Foods Foundation and KaBOOM! to Build New Playground at Hazel Park in Champaign
Local Kids to Create Dream Playground Design

September 1 Event Part of National Initiative by Kraft Foods Foundation and KaBOOM! to Promote Play and Fight Hunger

Monkey bars? Swings? Spiral slide? These will be among the considerations of dozens of Champaign-area children when they get together on September 1, 2010 to discuss, plan and help design their DREAM playground. The "Design Day" will take place at Columbia School at 4 p.m.

The design they conceive will serve as the basis for a new playground at Hazel Park to be built in conjunction with the Champaign Park District and the Champaign Parks Foundation. Hazel Park serves more than 500 children annually, but the current playground is more than 20 years old and in need of replacement. The new playground will also benefit students at Columbia and Stratton Elementary Schools, who use Hazel Park for physical education classes. Through a partnership with KaBOOM!, a national non-profi t that builds playgrounds and promotes play in communities that lack adequate play areas, Kraft Foods Foundation is providing the major funding for the new playground. On October 8, as part of their global week of community service-Kraft Foods employee volunteers and volunteers from the Champaign Rotary Club will build the new playground at Hazel Park.

This will be one of 13 playgrounds Kraft Foods Foundation and KaBOOM! will build across the country that week as part of a broader volunteer effort to promote play and fi ght hunger. Eating well and playing are both essential for childhood development. Sadly, however, many of the same children who don't have enough to eat also don't have enough places to play.

As a way to promote how these two key ingredients for happy, healthy kids go hand in hand, Kraft Foods is launching a Facebook page in September in which parents can upload photos of their children playing. For each photo uploaded, Kraft Foods Foundation will donate one meal to the United Nations World Food Program, up to 500,000 meals.

The initiative is the cornerstone of Kraft Foods Foundations' annual global week of service - Delicious Difference Week. From Oct. 4-9, more than 14,000 employees in 50 countries around the world will volunteer time to support their communities.

Who: Children of all ages - from 5 years to teens
What: Drawing their vision of their dream playgrounds
When: September 1, 2010 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Where: Stratton Elementary School, 902 North Randolph, Champaign, IL 61820

Changes to the Douglass Select Basketball Team

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:05:26 -0500

Some of the information for the Douglass Select Basketball Team has been changed from what was printed in the 2010 Fall/Winter Funformation Guide. Below is the updated information for the program.
The Champaign Park District is looking for 5th and 6th graders in the Garden Hills and Douglass Park areas to try out for the Douglass Select and Garden Hills Select Basketball Teams. Tryouts are next week, don't miss this opportunity to play basketball this winter. This program is free for participants.

TRYOUTS
The tryouts will be held on two days, August 31 and September 1, from 5-7pm at the Douglass Community Center. Players only need to attend one of the two tryouts.
PARENT MEETING
For those players that make the team there will be a Parent Meeting at 6pm on September 7 at the Douglass Community Center.
PRACTICES
Practices will start on September 7 and take place on Tues\Wed through November 2. Once games begin on November 3, practice will only be on Tuesdays. Coaches will inform you of other practice days/times in late Oct. All practices will be held at Douglass Community Center from 5-7pm.
GAMES
Games start November 3 and will be played on Wednesday evenings, Sunday afternoons, and possibly Monday evenings. Games will be played at the Douglass Community Center.
QUESTIONS
If you have questions about the program contact Jameel Jones at 819-3907 or Charles Burton at 819-3972.

This program is sponsored by the Champaign Park District, CommUnity Matters, City of Champaign, and United Way of Champaign County.

Youth Sports Offers Variety this Fall and Winter

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:43:08 -0500

Fall and winter are great times to get involved in sports. The Champaign Park District offers several great opportunities for youth sports! Registration for Fall/Winter sports starts today ~ Monday, July 12!

Youth Hoops Basketball League - 1st - 8th graders. We emphasize the fundamentals of basketball while having fun and learning sportsmanship.
Youth Soccer League - 1st - 8th graders. Focus is on fun, sportsmanship, instruction and opportunity. The Youth Soccer Leagues have two sessions: Fall (Sept - Oct) and Spring (April - May). Participants registering in the Fall are considered registered for the Spring as well.
Dodds Select Soccer Teams - Ages 9-12. All players must be enrolled in the Champaign Park District Youth Soccer League Fall season. This program is intended to supplement, not replace, the Youth Soccer Leagues.
Pee Wee Volleyball - Ages 5-7. Develop basic ball handling skills that will get them on their way to playing "real" volleyball one day.
Junior Volleyball Clinic - Ages 8-14. Have fun and learn to play the game! We will concentrate on developing the abilities to pass, set, spike, and serve the ball.
Mini Dribblers Basketball Clinic - Ages 3-6. Designed to practice basic dribbling, passing and shooting skills with our mini basketball hoops. Just the right size when you're starting out.
Short Shooters Basketball Clinic - Ages 6-8. Join the fun! This is your chance to shoot at the big hoops. Learn the fundamentals of basketball including dribbling, passing, defense and shooting.
Punt, Pass & Kick - Ages 8-15. Here is your chance to show off your football skills. Participants compete for distance and accuracy in each of three categories. Age guidelines as of 12/31/10.

For more information or to register for classes go to www.champaignparkdistrict.com.

Virginia Theatre Marquee

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:25:00 -0600

Many of you have probably heard the recent buzz surrounding the upcoming construction project for the Virginia Theatre, in particular the replacement of the marquee. We thought it would be helpful to provide you with the facts.

One of our top priorities for the historic Virginia Theatre is to restore it, as best as possible, to its original glory of the 1920's when it first opened. The current marquee is not original to the building, in fact it was not placed on the building until the 1950's and does not fit with the original style and design of the theatre. If you look closely you'll notice that the current marquee blocks much of the beautiful Italian Renaissance Revival style detail of the upper floors of the building, which the original style did not.

The new marquee will NOT have an LED reader board. Like the original, the letters on the new marquee will still have to be hand placed to promote upcoming shows and it will visually look more like that of the original, but the back lighting and undercarriage lighting will be greener in overall energy efficiency. The current marquee is not energy efficient, is no longer operating as it should and would be costly to repair. In addition, replacement of the marquee to one more fitting of the original, has been a component of the overall restoration master plan since that plan was adopted in 2000.

The architectural firm of Westlake Reed and Leskosky, known for their historic restoration projects including historical theatres, has designed the next phase of the restoration and bids are currently being accepted for this project which, along with the marquee, includes replacement of the outer and inner doors, renovation of the entire lobby from floor to ceiling, repairing the lost plaster, the concession stand as well as replacement of the west storefront windows, preserving the copper trim as was done two years ago in the east lobby. The Champaign Park District will consider the result of the bids in April. Construction is scheduled to begin in June and continue through the fall.

The Virginia Theatre was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in October of 2003 as a property of local (not national) significance. According to National Register personnel and the National Register website, National Register listing places no restrictions on the use or renovation of the property as long as there are no federal monies attached to the property, which for the Virginia, there are not.

For more information, please contact Bobbie Herakovich at 819-3819 or stop by the Bresnan Meeting Center at 706 Kenwood in Champaign to review the plans.

Champaign Park District Honored

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:54:35 -0600

The Champaign Park District was honored as part of the "Agency Showcase Awards" at the Illinois Parks and Recreation Association's annual meeting in Chicago last month.
The District received first place for their entry in the "Print Advertisement" division with their ad for the 9th Annual Parade of Lights. The objective of this advertisement was to promote the Parade of Lights in downtown Champaign on Friday, December 4. The ad ran in several issues of the local newspapers over Thanksgiving weekend and the week of the event. There were twenty entries in this category.
The Agency Showcase awards is a spirited competition spotlighting bright ideas exhibited by park, recreation and conservation agencies from throughout Illinois. Over fifty-eight agencies showcased their work in twelve categories at this year's competition. The Showcase was sponsored by the Illinois Park and Recreation Association and the Illinois Association of Park Districts.