Cannon Beach Gazette: Stories

Though the sun has been elusive at the coast, one sure signal that summer really has arrived is the big group of children congregating daily at Cannon Beach City Park. Monday through Friday, as part of the Cannon Beach Summer Park Program, students are trading class time for recreation and can be found engaged in a variety of activities designed to keep them active and entertained.

The park program, back for the second year in a row sponsored by the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District and the city of Cannon Beach, is open to all children 6 years and older. Days are filled with activities, games, crafts, field trips and free time. And each week a new central theme is in place ranging from Harry Potter to Music & Dance.

For the first week, June 16-20, “Toys and Candy” was the theme. Students visited Geppetto’s Toy Shoppe, learned how to make taffy at Bruce’s Candy Kitchen, took a field trip to the new Voyages Toy Co. and designed their own comet ball from foil and curling ribbon. On Friday, students were running back and forth in the field, playing “English Bulldog,” an elaborate game of tag.

Suffice it to say, lots of energy was being used.

The councilors this year are all year-round SEPRD staff members. Lead councilor Rachael Bailey said her favorite part has been the fun she is having with the kids.

“Not everyone can say they get paid to play!” she said.

Mary Blake, SEPRD general manager, said the program is fun, yes, but it is also so much more.

“This is a really sustainable, high quality program,” she said. “We are working on youth development here. We are working on their ability to develop work skills, community awareness — those kinds of things. People come here to really enrich their lives.”

Two other councilors, Mara Gooch (back from last year’s camp) and Ron Bailey, make a core team of three responsible for keeping the participants safe and accounted for. Each councilor is trained in CPR and First Aid, as well as in early childhood development, leadership, emergency action plans and with a summer park orientation. Students, too, receive an orientation, ensuring they understand what is expected of them. Blake said the students must follow rules such as where “in bounds” and “out of bounds” are at the park. It’s all about safe fun, and lots of it.

“This is an outdoor camp so we want kids to be outdoors and have long stretches of physical activities. We use the buddy system when they go anywhere and the program is educational as well as safety conscious,” she said.

The summer park program is limited to 30 participants each day. So far, Blake said, 19 families have signed up but some students come just once or twice a week. Cost is $10 a day or $40 a week for residents of Cannon Beach or the district and $20 a day or $80 a week for guests. Registration and check-in is held at the chamber from 9:15 to 9:30 a.m. Monday through Friday.