Rockville Named One of USA’s Most Playful Cities

Get playful! Rockville has just been named one of the most playful and family-friendly cities in the United States by KaBOOM!

James Siegal, executive vice president and chief operating officer of KaBOOM! visited Rockville Monday to present the 2014 Playful City USA award to Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton and council members Tom Moore, Beryl Feinberg, Virginia Onley and Julie Palakavoich Carr.

Playful City USA is a national recognition sponsored by the Humana Foundation. This is Rockville’s first time being honored as a city that take steps to ensure that children receive the balanced and active play they need.

Rockville’s accomplishments in 2013 included summer camps, fitness-related classes, playgrounds and youth sports and programs that engaged more than 1,700 teens in recreation programs at local Rockville facilities and schools.

Rockville also boasted supervised and affordable neighborhood programs for children ages 6-12 and after-school programs for children of all ages.

Another part of the criteria that had to be met was using play as a solution for social problems the city faced. One of the ways Rockville addressed this was getting kids active and providing outdoor recreation opportunities and a greater community role for children to prevent juvenile crime -- give the kids an opportunity to play to stay active and stay out of trouble.

KaBOOM! is a non-profit organization that promotes playtime for children, envisioning a “play place within walking distance for every child in America.”

Other Maryland cities were also among the 212 recognized. Greenbelt is an eight-time recipient; Laurel and Takoma Park have both received the award six times.