Summer Activities Abound in East Pierce

Representatives from local schools, churches and city filled the Sumner School District Board Room on Thursday afternoon for the last Communities for Families meeting of the school year. They shared information about summer programs and resources, as well as news about the progress of the Sumner YMCA.

They met “in the spirit of celebrating what’s good,” said STARR Project Director Marilee Hill-Anderson.

Here's a rundown of big family summer events happening in the local community:

Bonney Lake

The City of Bonney Lake will sponsor more than 35 events this summer, including the annual activities in .

Bonney Lake Days will happen Saturday, August 20 with a Fun Run that starts at 9:30 a.m. and ends with fireworks at 9:00 p.m.

Wells also announced that the city will launch its own Facebook page before on June 25. It includes a six-legged, six kilometer fun run/walk in support of Relay for Life.

Find all events here: http://www.ci.bonney-lake.wa.us/section_community/parks_recreation/special_events.shtml

The Sumner-Bonney Lake Recreation Department will host sports programs for kids aged three to 15, drama classes, dance camp, day camp, zumba, martial arts, turbo kick and adult sports, including beach volleyball and softball. The Sumner High School pool will be offering

“We depend largely on what we hear from people,” said Hanson, “Maybe six, seven years ago yoga was huge, and now I can’t fill a class.”

Hanson said the most popular parks and rec class is , which attracts 50 to 80 people per class.

The Rec Department offers some scholarships for summer programs, depending on the donations that they receive. For more information about those, contact director Rebecca Giles.

Find more information about Sumner Parks and Recreation programs at http://www.sumner.wednet.edu/studentfamilyservices/parksrecreation/.

YMCA

Michelle LaRue gave an update on the YMCA virtual outreach program and updated the community on the status of the Sumner YMCA project.

“We are hoping to break ground in 2012, with a 2013 opening, if all goes well,” said LaRue.

At the Puyallup YMCA, Teen Late Night is free, even to non-members. On Friday nights from 8:30 to 11 p.m., teens age 13 to 19 just have to show a school ID and check their cell phones at the door. 80 to 150 teens participate every week.

LaRue also mentioned kids can connect to community service projects through the YMCA. She mentioned a farm in downtown Puyallup and a community garden in Lakewood that provide safe summer activities. 

At the end of the meeting, everyone had a turn to share summer opportunities with the rest of the room:

• All Pierce County libraries, including Bonney Lake and Sumner, are hosting a summer reading program, with prizes for participants.
• Sumner is hosting a number of summer activities, like Music on Main series. Check out the city's event calendar for more information: http://www.ci.sumner.wa.us/Calendar.htm
• is having a Kid’s Night Out on July 20.
• will host several summer programs, including Nutrition, Track, Math for Fun, Soccer and Multicultural Fun for grades K-5.
• Safe St.’s National Night Out is scheduled for Tuesday, August 2. http://www.safest.org/

Check out the Patch Events Calendar for more.