City of San Jose, CA
03/25/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 03/25/2024 12:32
#BuildingCommunityThroughFun PRNS Recreation’s Easter Eggs-travaganza
#BuildingCommunityThroughFun PRNS Recreation's Easter Eggs-travaganza
WILLOW GLEN COMMUNITY CENTER STAYS EGGS-TRA PREPARED
*This is a special feature from the City of San José, Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services
Post Date:03/25/2024 10:00 AM
*This is a special feature from the City of San José, Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services
With spring in the air, flowers blooming, and clocks leaping forward, San José's Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) cracked open their first Easter event to eggshell-ent reception!
On March 15, Willow Glen Community Center (WGCC) was t the first to be visited by the Easter Bunny, with decorated eggs lying across the garden, games and craft booths lining the yard, and even a bouncy castle set up to hop with the Bunny.
By sunset, the recreation center was sprawling with families enjoying the festivities, hatching fun memories for the children running around.
"We love putting on these events for people to come enjoy holidays with us," said Recreation Program Specialist Thao Le. "It's also a great way of opening ourselves to the community."
Not many may be aware of our recreation centers and the services they provide. According to Le, this is why events such as these can help raise awareness and welcome new community members.
"We had to consider things like 'what kind of crafts do we want' and 'where do we buy materials for that?'" Le said recounting the budgeting process.
If an activity was too expensive or too complicated, the staff voted against it and opted for more manageable and affordable ones. Through many planning meetings and various test trials, the staff was able to narrow down their list of activities.
Decorations such as the inflatables could be severely impacted by weather. The Egg Hunt could be a mess. Even the Easter Bunny could catch a cold! It's no yolk-ing matter according to staff.
"Last year during our 'October Spooky Egg Hunt,' it was super windy, and we did not expect that," Le recalled. "Now we watch the weather every single day."
It's a good thing they did. The day before this year's event was concerning with as high winds blew across the City. The staff was quick to draft an alternative plan if they needed to move indoors.
Luckily the weather cleared. WGCC did not need to move to Plan B and the Easter event went ahead as planned. In fact, Le reported more people showed up for this event than the previous October event thanks to careful planning.
"In addition to the better weather, we took the community feedback from last year and used it to produce a better event," she said.
Whether positive or negative feedback, it is important to listen to community members to understand how to adjust, changes and improve.
A good example of a change by staff was ordering a smaller bouncy castle that used less space, as opposed to a much larger, "harder-to-put-away" bouncy they used last year. The result was a more spacious lawn that allowed for more activities and running room for the kids to play.
Because the center carefully planned this Easter, they were able to successfully provide memorable experiences for the crowds of happy residents, young and old.
"At the end of the day, we just love doing this for the community, and after all, PRNS is all about Building Community Through Fun!" Le said.
Are you egg-cited for Easter? PRNS has more activities coming up. Keep an eye out for the rest of our upcoming Easter events below:
If you would like to learn more about PRNS, please visit sanjoseca.gov/prns. The ActivateSJ Strategic Plan is the City of San José's Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) plan to maintain, improve and expand our facilities, programs, and services. The plan guides how we care for and develop a diverse park system and an abundance of recreation programs and services for all in San José.
ActivateSJ's mission is to connect people through parks, recreation, and neighborhood services for an active San José. To learn more about our department's plan and vision to move forward, visit activatesj.org.
Return to full list >>With spring in the air, flowers blooming, and clocks leaping forward, San José's Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) cracked open their first Easter event to eggshell-ent reception!
On March 15, Willow Glen Community Center (WGCC) was t the first to be visited by the Easter Bunny, with decorated eggs lying across the garden, games and craft booths lining the yard, and even a bouncy castle set up to hop with the Bunny.
By sunset, the recreation center was sprawling with families enjoying the festivities, hatching fun memories for the children running around.
"We love putting on these events for people to come enjoy holidays with us," said Recreation Program Specialist Thao Le. "It's also a great way of opening ourselves to the community."
Not many may be aware of our recreation centers and the services they provide. According to Le, this is why events such as these can help raise awareness and welcome new community members.
The Easter Bunny hopped egg-citedly as families enjoyed gathering its Easter eggs.
"We had to consider things like 'what kind of crafts do we want' and 'where do we buy materials for that?'" Le said recounting the budgeting process.
If an activity was too expensive or too complicated, the staff voted against it and opted for more manageable and affordable ones. Through many planning meetings and various test trials, the staff was able to narrow down their list of activities.
Although the Easter Bunny has good ears, staff act as its extra eyes for safety.
Decorations such as the inflatables could be severely impacted by weather. The Egg Hunt could be a mess. Even the Easter Bunny could catch a cold! It's no yolk-ing matter according to staff.
"Last year during our 'October Spooky Egg Hunt,' it was super windy, and we did not expect that," Le recalled. "Now we watch the weather every single day."
It's a good thing they did. The day before this year's event was concerning with as high winds blew across the City. The staff was quick to draft an alternative plan if they needed to move indoors.
Luckily the weather cleared. WGCC did not need to move to Plan B and the Easter event went ahead as planned. In fact, Le reported more people showed up for this event than the previous October event thanks to careful planning.
"In addition to the better weather, we took the community feedback from last year and used it to produce a better event," she said.
Whether positive or negative feedback, it is important to listen to community members to understand how to adjust, changes and improve.
A good example of a change by staff was ordering a smaller bouncy castle that used less space, as opposed to a much larger, "harder-to-put-away" bouncy they used last year. The result was a more spacious lawn that allowed for more activities and running room for the kids to play.
Because the center carefully planned this Easter, they were able to successfully provide memorable experiences for the crowds of happy residents, young and old.
"At the end of the day, we just love doing this for the community, and after all, PRNS is all about Building Community Through Fun!" Le said.
Are you egg-cited for Easter? PRNS has more activities coming up. Keep an eye out for the rest of our upcoming Easter events below:
There's still plenty of time to hop on over to one of our Easter events throughout the month!
If you would like to learn more about PRNS, please visit sanjoseca.gov/prns. The ActivateSJ Strategic Plan is the City of San José's Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) plan to maintain, improve and expand our facilities, programs, and services. The plan guides how we care for and develop a diverse park system and an abundance of recreation programs and services for all in San José.
ActivateSJ's mission is to connect people through parks, recreation, and neighborhood services for an active San José. To learn more about our department's plan and vision to move forward, visit activatesj.org.