Play for all seasons: helping people discover the benefits.

In November, people prepare to be thankful, as their thoughts turn to turkey and cranberries. On Memorial Day, Americans get ready to celebrate the kick-off of the summer season, just as Labor Day signals the end of the summer and the start of another school year. Everything has a season, and that holds true for parks and recreation as well. Consider for a moment the "unwritten" calendar of play and leisure that infuses itself into people's psyches and way of life. Play does indeed hold a particular spot within the seasons of the year.

Play makes a big splash right at the beginning of the new calendar year. Playful notions and options, especially those that are "good for you," appear in full force in New Year's resolutions. These assorted good intentions result in people seeking options for health, happiness and a general overall better quality of life. Thus, it's also a great time to help your citizens find a new physical activity, discover a new activity or hobby, or find ways to spend positive time with friends and family members.

Spring brings the return of longer days and returns a focus on play and the new or renewed ways of living that playful pursuits provide. In nature, spring is a time of rebirth and new beginnings, and for people, the same types of tendencies surface. Spring can be a second rebirth for lapsed New Year's resolutions and the desire to try new things or assume a new more, positive lifestyle. The arrival of spring serves as another starting signal for exploring new leisure activities.

And then, of course, comes summer. Summer equates with play and recreation. This is the time of the year when what recreation professionals do deeply resonates with our communities. The days are longer. The spirit is more playful, and for many people--children and adults alike--summer translates into the "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" that we celebrate on each Independence Day. The summer season assumes a definitive mindset with play and good times as the central components.

Labor Day signals the end of the summer and the beginning of yet another and different season for play and leisure. September usually coincides with the traditional back-to-school season, and as such, almost serves as another "new year" on the calendar. People readily incorporate more structure and purpose in daily living. People of all ages and life stages prepare to get ready to learn new things. Enrollment in adult education and leisure-learning activities soar. Children are enrolled in scores of different classes and lessons. All types of activity, from aerobic classes and bowling leagues to yoga and Zen meditation lessons, take center stage in this "new year." Fall is the time for purposeful learning activities for almost everyone. Before we know it, fall leads to winter, and another new year and the place of play in people's lives (re)enters yet another seasonal cycle.

Making the Most of Play's Seasons

Because people automatically consider various aspects and elements of play throughout the calendar year, parks and recreation professionals should make the most of this natural pattern of play. Departments have long been organized in a seasonal fashion. Summer programs feature camps and outdoor concerts. Fall brochures hit the street in time for the back-to-school rush of September.

The rest of the world makes the most of seasonal changes and preferences as well. Fitness centers have long celebrated these seasons. They have a big kickoff and push in January related to New Year's resolutions. They come back in April with a reminder that bathing-suit weather is upon us, and they offer discounts that coincide with the arrival of summer as a means for luring people from the play and fun long associated with summer days and vacations.

How, then, can parks, recreation and leisure providers make the most of the seasons of play within their usual course of programming? What are some of the more innovative ways that you can help people to realize the important role that play and leisure make in individual health and well-being? Make the most of those seasonal patterns and preferences, and highlight or celebrate play, recreation and leisure in different ways throughout the seasonal cycles of the calendar. Our profession has opportunities at four times of the year.

Come Out and Play First Week[TM]

The New Year's Resolution Connection--Reposition P.L.A.Y. as Positive Lifelong Alternatives for You

The first week of a new calendar year, or even the second week, brings with it a flurry of good intentions and fresh starts for new or renewed activity. Take advantage of this heightened interest by holding a Come Out and Play First Week Celebration, as a number of departments have done in past years. Consider holding open houses at your facilities so people can drop by. What about a pre-registration party for individuals to meet with class instructors and participate in a mini-lesson in ceramics or yoga? Put together your own team and timetable. If you're a small agency--like Nancy Kaiser, who's a department of one in a new city in northern California--you might be it. So join forces with other local facilities and providers to make things happen. If you're a larger agency, such as the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, you might just want to celebrate for the entire month, as the commission has done for the past two years.

Take advantage of the priorities for enjoyable leisure-time physical activity by reminding people of this message from the U.S. Surgeon General:

   Life is short. So is so minutes. Thirty
   minutes of moderate physical activity a
   day. A brisk walk. A romp with the kids.
   A dance break. Hard to believe that so
   much fun can dramatically reduce your
   risk of serious disease and early death.
   Even if it's done 10 minutes at a time.
   And considering that it decreases stress
   and increases your energy, you may not
   only live longer, you'll probably enjoy it
   more. Physical activity--a little goes a
   long way.

Play Fest

Spring Leap into New Activities and Adventures--Position P.L.A.Y. as Potential Leisure Adventures for You

Parents are looking for camps and structured leisure activities for children during the summer months and other non-school hours. Outdoor sporting specialists stand at the ready to advise people on the basics of hiking, canoeing, kayaking and other such pursuits. The spring season turns people's attention to physical activities that help them become more active. Make a list of the local providers, such as walking clubs and tai chi instructors, who can get people started in the right direction.

Leisure service providers--public, nonprofit or commercial--are looking for ways to spread the word about the opportunities they have for kids, families and adults. A Spring Play Fest with informative displays and hands-on demonstrations is sure to be a success in supporting residents as they get ready to try out new activities or make plans for the upcoming summer.

The late Charles Schulz reminds all of us that there are plenty of new ventures and adventures out there with this quote from "Peanuts": "Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we haven't tried yet." So leap into spring, and get ready for a summer Play Fest.

July is Recreation & Parks Month

Position P.L.A.Y. as Pleasurable Living Attitudes for You

In parks and recreation, we have long known the values of play and recreation. Good times that are good for people incorporate pleasure and fun into ongoing living activities and attitudes for individuals, families and the entire community. Consider all the ways in which your department may reach out to people and help them more fully understand and value the myriad of promise and potential that play and recreation hold for them.

This year, as part of the July celebration, the fifty Hearts N' Parks magnet center departments in 11 states held FunFit Festivals as a way to boost their communities' understanding that physical activity can be fun and good for you simultaneously. These festivals varied in length from one hour to two or three days, and included activities such as health screenings, fitness demonstrations, healthy eating options, line dancing and traditional games that are fun for the entire family. These activities and options were incorporated into ongoing 4th of July festivities, summer day camps and community concerts.

There's likely no better time than July for parks and recreation to take center stage and immerse the community in activities that are pleasurable and positive and set the stage for "recreated attitudes" throughout the year.

Leisure Learning Workshop

Back to School Season--Position P.L.A.Y. as Purposeful Learning Activities for You

There aren't a lot of people who can resist the lure of lunch boxes, backpacks and new shoes in September. It's this same seasonal feeling that rekindles your interest in learning new things and taking on new projects. And yes, leisure and learning are two concepts that work well together. We need to take a lesson in life from the ancient Greeks and Romans. The word "leisure" comes from the Latin licere, which means "to be permitted." The modern word for "school" comes from the Greek word skole and the Latin word schola. But did you know that in translation, both of these words mean "leisure" rather than "school"?

Why not support ways for people to learn new things as a way to celebrate the arrival of fall? As Gandhi put it, "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." That's a good adage for the everchanging world in which we live.

Gandhi's insights, when linked with the ever-emerging studies that suggest lifelong learning contributes to overall health and well-being, underscore the many reasons why people desire and should continue to learn. However, the preference for such learning is more leisurely and less structured than traditional approaches.

Opportunities and Alternatives

There's a wide variety of activities that park and recreation service providers already sponsor that can be transformed into Play Fests or July Celebrations with little effort. In fact, many of the suggestions listed below can serve as opportunities for all four seasons with slight adjustments. Take a look at just some of the ideas that surfaced as part of Come Out and Play First Week celebrations over the past two years.

Highlight Hobbies: Colchester (Conn.) Parks and Recreation offered an array of "starting the New Year off right" opportunities, including a Show 'N' Tell Hobby Day. With so many hobbies and so little time to sample all of them, they invited local hobbyist groups as well as the florist (flower arranging), pet store (aquariums) and others to share with people as they dropped by to check out new areas of interest.

Take A Taste: The El Segundo (Calif.) Recreation and Park Department went with an open house-like activity as part of registration for its January classes. Contact some of your best instructors and ask them to offer an introductory activity or class, so that people can give them a try without making an initial time commitment. Think cooking demo at a local grocery store or restaurant, or an hour of swing lessons at your local dance studio. Taking a taste of something you haven't sampled before can lead to new participation and business.

Open the Doors: Your park areas and facilities are usually open most of the time. Why not offer a special invitation to get people out of their houses and over to your place? Consider creating special activities within the visit; that is, have visitors move from room to room or space to space and shoot a basket or make a mobile. Or consider a scavenger hunt and have people wander through your space identifying five activities you offer that would make them healthier. Or place a mini golf hole in various places throughout your facility.

Getting Started: Hold a series of "Getting Started" clinics for people to come in and find out what equipment they need or where they can go to learn new activities. It shouldn't matter what you offer them, as long as it's a good time and it's good for them. This could even become a service project of local stores that could offer such clinics based on their expertise, such as photography basics with a local studio or vendor, strength training at home with a local sporting goods store, how to choose a running shoe, etc.

Reach Out: Think mobile recreation beyond activities just for kids. Take a popular program or mini event out to a neighborhood or apartment complex. Market research reveals that 80 percent of all participation and involvement includes only 20 percent of the population. So rather than assuming that fully enrolled programs and standing-room-only facilities mean that you're reaching everyone, try a different approach.

Create "Real" Connections: On the surface, there seems to be many opportunities for people to connect with one another; community special events are one such example. But think of ways you can really help people connect with one another. Hold a Family Fun Night, at which family members don't just show up to the same site, but where you carefully create activities and ways for them to interact with one another in meaningful ways. Or hold neighborhood block parties, at which you serve as the catalyst for people who may live close by and wave to one another when they're out and about, but really aren't genuinely connected to one another. And don't forget the large number of people who are single. Real connection opportunities that don't involve night clubs or speed lunches would be most welcome.

Leisure Awareness and Facilitation Workshop for Adults: Because you offer workshops and how-to lessons for just about everything, why not a class on how to play? So many adults don't play. They've either forgotten how much fun it can be or can't figure out how to make it a priority in their busy lives. Support adults in your community as they make a date to recreate or identify their fun focus. Help people develop their play prescription, because play and recreation is so good for overall health and well-being.

Take It Outside: It doesn't matter where you live--winter tends to keep us inside. Even the Ormond Beach (Fla.) Leisure Services Department has sponsored a winter walk. The Colchester Parks and Recreation Department's creative team also suggests local history tours and hikes, community-wide scavenger hunts to reacquaint people with places to visit in their hometown, winter sky watch complete with bonfire, and partnering with the local Audubon Society to participate in their New Year's Day Bird Count as part of 1st Week[TM]. Don't forget about taking it outside in the summer. The temperatures and increasing reliance upon air conditioning tend to keep people inside, yet some evening or early morning activities would be an option.

Discovering fond Delivering) the Benefits of the Seasons

Retail outlets have a firm grip on the benefits of seasonal patterns and preferences. Most service providers do as well. Why not parks and recreation? The somewhat hidden benefits of infusing the values and benefits of play and recreation into every season is two-fold. People need to connect with opportunities and alternatives that fill their needs before they can discover the benefits of parks and recreation. And such values and benefits need to be reintroduced and reinforced repeatedly.

Your playful approach for each season of the calendar year may be just the introduction and reinforcement that works well for you and the people you serve. We've known about this challenge for more than 40 years. As a profession we need to help people discover the benefits of parks and recreation and support ways to better deliver these benefits as well.

Ellen O'Sullivan, Ph.D., is president of Leisure Lifestyles Consulting, in Glastonbury, Conn. She is former member of the NRPA Board of Trustees and has developed numerous programs for parks and recreation professionals. She can be reached at [e-mail].