Annual Celebration of Spring at Springhill Lake Recreation Center

The Springhill Lake Recreation Center brought springtime fun indoors during its annual Celebration of Spring on Saturday.

Although it was raining outside, the sounds of laughter and a steel drum band echoed from the recreation center. Families enjoyed moon bounces and inflatable obstacles courses, played basketball with a clown on stilts, made paper beads, played Just Dance or Wii Sports in the outdoor gaming trailer or just simply enjoyed the music with free snow cones and popcorn.

Panmasters, a steel drum group from North Brentwood, Md., provided the soundtrack and reminded attendees that summer is close.

The City of Greenbelt collaborated with Campfire USA and Franklin Park at Greenbelt Station, the housing complex, to put on the event. An annual celebration that was started around 15 years ago by Julie McHale, director of recreation for the City of Greenbelt, the event has always been a great success and brought the community closer. This year's event was coordinated by Kayode Lewis, who has been working with the department since 2004.

"We're really greatful to everyone who helped put this together," Lewis said. "It's a great means for the community to pull together, and everyone's been very supportive in encouraging these events."

Sharee Koenig, resident relations manager at Franklin Park at Greenbelt Station, said the company is using this opportunity to be a bigger part of the community by encouraging residents to attend the event.

“A lot of the people who live in this area are unaware of the programs we have available,” Lewis said.

Many city departments were present during the event to increase awareness of their availability. According to Lewis, the city's fire, police and recreation departments, as well as Greenbelt CARES and the Department of Public Works were all present to answer questions from residents. 

The area around the recreation center is a high-crime area, and all the organizations are doing their utmost to combat it.

“We’ve given our police officers golf carts,” said Koenig. “And crime has been down 30 percent since Franklin Park has taken over management.”

The recreation center itself wants residents to utilize its facilities as a constructive recreation opportunity for kids.

“We want to be a safe haven for your children and encourage them to engage in a positive outlet,” Lewis said.

Also helping to put on the event was Campfire USA that also has an office in the recreation center. Campfire USA offers coed summer camps and service learning programs for children.

“So many parents don’t have time for their kids. We want to engage children with their families,” said Rosemary Pezzuto, CEO of the Patuxent Area Campfire USA Council.  

The event was a success with around 300 attendees, Lewis said. "We've been seeing a lot of new faces today," he said with a smile.