School's Out--Let's GO WilMa! Park Party @ Willistown Township's Greentree Park, Tuesday June 14, 5:30-7:30PM

Kick off summer with a sizzling Park Party! The kids will be elated having their faces painted, visiting the Sleepy Hollow Farms petting zoo, feeding the animals, taking pony rides, and dancing and prancing to the DJ’s tunes. Kids of kindergarten age through teens can also sign up for our GO WilMa! outdoor adventure program along with the summer reading programs of Malvern and Paoli Libraries while parents enjoy the lovely sense of community in Willistown. No entry fee. Featuring The Pizza Wagon and Whirled Peace Froyo to purchase dinner and desert. Chester County Food Bank donations welcomed.

GO WilMa! is an exciting and entertaining summer outdoor adventure program that encourages children in the Malvern region (no residency requirements) to explore the natural and historical treasures of our area through a series of scavenger hunts. Part of the beauty of this program is the ability for kids and their families participate on their own schedule throughout the summer. Children are automatically signed up for GO WilMa! when they register for the National Summer Reading Program at Malvern or Paoli Library. The 2016 summer reading themes are “On Your Mark, Get Set, Read!” for K-5th grade, “Get in the Game: Read!” for teens, and “Exercise Your Mind—Read!” for adults. This year’s GO WilMa! theme is “Be Well, Be Fit—Get Outside & Move It!”

Children who sign up for the summer reading program at Malvern or Paoli Library receive a GO WilMa! Field Guide—a passport of sorts. The Guide includes scavenger hunt clues leading to 15 hidden "Activation Stations" in our local landscape. Each Station is named after a fun activity including yoga poses and calisthenics. Program participants and their friends and families do the movements at each station and leave inspired to move more throughout the day! Participants "stamp" their field guides at the Activation Station rubbing post and return to the library for prize raffle tickets. Sign-up is ongoing throughout the summer. There is no participation fee. The program ends August 20, and a prize drawing will be held on August 23 at the Willistown Country Fair at Greentree Park.

Activation Station hosts include Willistown, East Goshen and East Whiteland Townships, and Malvern Borough; Natural Lands Trust and Willistown Conservation Trust; Historic Sugartown; Paoli Battlefield; and, Paoli Hospital Medical Library.

GO WilMa! combines parks and recreation, health and wellness, reading, and lots of fresh air fun. Exploring the natural and historical treasures of our area also brings families, friends, and our community together, lifting spirits and delivering smiles. Contact Mary Hundt, Director of Parks and Recreation at Willistown Township with any questions or ask the Malvern or Paoli Library staff the next time you see them. More information can be found at www.willistown.pa.us under the Parks and Recreation Department.

Funding is provided in large part by Willistown Township with assistance from Malvern Borough, East Whiteland Township, and East Goshen Township.

See you in the park!

Park photo courtesy of David Campli Photography