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At Home in Edmond Summer 2020
Get outdoors with Edmond Parks & Rec By Rose Drebes Residents of Edmond are again enjoying the great outdoors and taking part in a variety of classes in the wake of the COVID pandemic. Diane Self is the city’s recreation program manager. “People are back out on the golf course, enjoying the lake, playing tennis and giving their dogs some exercise at the dog park,” she said. “The public has continued to use
the green space and trails in the park throughout the entire time. “And we do have people registering for classes.” When the virus first hit Edmond, Self said her department hit the ground running – virtually. “We worked to have a virtual presence,” she said. “My coordinator would do ‘Live @11’ and update residents every Monday on what was going on -- what was open, what was closed, if there were any regulations, etc.” On other days, the Recreation Department would offer some type of class or informative live video on Facebook. “We did a lot of art, we had coffee making with Wilder Coffee, we had a photography video, etc.,” Self said. “We also would set up a kayak in different parks with a fabulous view and posted those on Instagram.
“We would have anywhere from 1-2k views of our videos.” The city hosted a movie night in June. “It was well-attended with 200 -250 in attendance,” she said. “We have had some good sized (meaning not too big) crowds, keeping distance, at our Concerts in the Park on Thursdays.” There has also been some distanced group exercise in the parks, Self said. People are enjoying the Farmers Market as it opened in early May. “We encourage social distancing and offer hand sanitizing stations,” Self said. Play has resumed at Kickingbird Golf Club. Masks are required in the clubhouse and one person per cart is allowed. The park playgrounds are back open, but pavilion reservations are accepted by taking group sizes into account, Self said. Dogs are running around the Dog Park again, while the pond there remains closed due to algae which is harmful to pets. Tennis is being played at the city’s Tennis Center and people are enjoying the sun and water this summer at the Pelican Bay Aquatic Center. Arcadia Lake has operated as normal all along, although people are asked to follow CDC guidelines.
