Most college students home for summer start their day with sleeping until noon and then sit around the house while “looking” for a job. They live at home with their parents while trying to have fun on whatever money is available after a year at college. This might sound fun, but after a few weeks of this it gets old, I would know. Luckily, I am one of the college students who did not have to do this all summer. I found an internship that gives me a learning opportunity while being active in the community and gives me experience in a field that I am interested in while having fun all at the same time. I was asked to blog about events, what happens behind the scenes each week, what happens to get events ready, and anything that I think is interesting (and I hope everyone else does as well).
I have never written a blog so this is also another learning experience for the summer, so please bear with me while I learn how to make this as interesting for you to read as my actual experiences have been with the City of Bonney Lake.
This is the end of my third week at the City of Bonney Lake, and the end of the first week of events. My first day of work I was told that we would be pouring concrete for the new stage at Allan Yorke Park (have you seen it?) on Wednesday. This is something that I have never done, or seen done, but I can now tell you how to do it, and that I will be hiring someone to do it whenever my time comes to do something with concrete again. While putting up the stage I have learned how to use a compactor, seen how a back hoe and the other big machines are used, and the amount of people that are needed to do this job. The big tent over the stage was also another large project that needed to be done before the week started. This is needed to make sure bands don’t get wet in the odd case it does rain this summer (haha) and it looks complete with it. The stage and tent were put together with help from different City departments, and a few volunteers that helped finish this project. Kelley Blocks are the base of the stage, and filled with loads of dirt and gravel. To stop the concrete from pouring through the cracks of the form onto the blocks we spent a day filling each gap with foam. Lesson #1 of work: do not paint fingernails, lesson #2 is to always have an extra pair of shoes in the car, preferable work boots, dirty tennis shoes, etc. for whatever reason.
The stage is a great addition to Allan Yorke Park; it was intended for Tunes @ Tapps, but due to construction at Cedarview Park, it will also be used for Kids Club all summer as well. If you have not seen the stage, come out to an event and see how nice it looks and take in a great event Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday for Kids Club or Tunes @ Tapps. See the Special Events section of the website for a list of scheduled events and times.
I have also been working on Bonney Lake Days, which is the biggest two day event held all summer in Bonney Lake. As entries for vendors come in for the event I have been entering their information in a spread sheet, organizing, contacting, and getting ready to start mapping out their positions on the field. I have also been in contact with running clubs, getting more people involved in the 5K run; and car clubs around the area to bring in their cars for the car show.
I have also been the “shadow” of David Wells (Special Events Coordinator) learning about all the things and places in Bonney Lake I didn’t know about, and I have lived here for 10 years. My advice, take a drive that isn’t your usual route to work and home, you might find a new area of Bonney Lake you haven’t seen before.
I had my first experience sitting in police car to visit Lake Debra Jane to check out the location for National Night Out, hosted by the Bonney Lake Police Department. This trip was to see if the park has enough power to support a band, and then a movie for the night. Back of a police car….not fun for a claustrophobic person. My advice, stay away! (Hopefully no one really needs this advice.) I had always wanted to sit in the back of a police car, and now I can say that I have.
People have been asking if these weeks are what I expected, and my answer is “not really”. Each day I learn how to use a new tool, making my Dad proud each time I tell him I am even handier than the day before. From the compactor to a hand held grinder to flatten screws, a day in the park is always full of excitement!
Now to highlight the events this week - on Monday, the Not Its! preformed in front of about 200 dancing kids and parents. The band brought a lot of energy to the crowd performing in pink and black, including a few tutus. The songs were upbeat and had messages presented in a fun way. One song called Mathematics, included dancing with the minus, equals, multiply, and addition symbols; and another song was about the dog that ate Crisco and other foods. Although the band’s target audience is children they had parents rocking out too. Tuesday brought in C&C Fitness for kids. About 150 kids of all ages were up dancing, and moving with the Zumba leaders. Anyone could have joined in this dancing/workout session. Kids joined C&C on stage to show their moves before the heat moved in for the day. Wednesday night Tunes @ Tapps brought in the ever popular Great Pretenders; the band has been around since 1971 and they haven’t slowed down yet. For the past few years they have been kicking off the summer with hits like Sweet Home Alabama, Mustang Sally, Blue Suede Shoes, and Brown Eyed Girl. Last night, they brought in a crowd of about 500, mainly adults but there were a few kids up and dancing and playing. This was a great week to kick off the summer of events and we can only hope for more great crowds and great weather to go along with it.
A heads up for next week at Allan Yorke Park: Alex Zerbe will be at Kids Club on Monday at 6:30pm. The Reptileman will be on Tuesday at Allan Yorke Park at 11am, he is very popular so make sure to get there early for a good seat up close! Wednesday night the band Hook Me Up will be performing for the crowd at 6:30pm. This jazz band is coming out of Tacoma and plays songs like the Charlie Brown and I Love Lucy theme songs, Feel’s So Good, and some originals. The week is one not to miss and we hope to see you there.
These first few weeks have been the best work I have done since I started working at 16. I have learned that being out in the parks and working at a desk is a great balance and something that I enjoy. I get to do something different each day, which is one of my goals in my future career; and I also get to meet and work with many people each day.
In my future blogs I will add more about the behind the scenes at events but today I am just getting the hang of this whole blog thing. I am taking advice from friends who blog so if you have any suggestions send them my way!
