Each month, Parks & Rec receives media coverage of our programs, projects, and sites. Here are some highlights from the past month.

Sept. 27, 2018: Parks & Rec’s Bill Salvatore was praised as “…the guy running the most unique tourney around” [the Philadelphia International Unity Cup, that is] on The Philly Soccer Page. Bill was featured as part of the website’s annual “Rave” series. “What Bill and his team are doing for soccer in the city is just mind blowing,” wrote guest columnist Guido Gaeffke. The piece commends the overall event, the block party, and the Unity Cup website. It also includes a link to a 2017 interview with Bill. Congrats to the entire Unity Cup team!

Sept. 26-28. 2018: In advance of its opening, the Discovery Center received extensive coverage and many accolades:

  • Philly.com quoted Dan Hoffman of the Philadelphia Outward Bound School who said, “This creates a space where we can build trust with kids who’ve often never been exposed to nature…they’re going to come from North Philly, but they’re going to feel like it’s northern Maine.”
  • KYW interviewed Audubon Society executive director David Yarnall who praised the center as “a dream come true.”
  • In a piece titled “Building for Discovery,” posted on PlanPhilly.com and WHYY.org, Ashley Hahn noted that Discovery Center is “unlike anything else in Fairmount Park.” She explored the site’s development and design.

Oct. 3, 2018: Parks & Rec partnered with the Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs to host “Out in LOVE” on National Coming Out Day. The event invited LGBTQ couples to marry or renew vows in LOVE Park. KYW and PhillyVoice reported on the event which, due to inclement weather, was moved inside to City Hall.

Oct. 2, 2018: The return of The Glow: A Jack O’Lantern Experience to West Fairmount Park with lighted displays featuring 5,000 carved pumpkins received glowing reports from a number of sources:

  • PennLive‘s Julia Hatmaker hailed the “pumpkin wonderland” as “all-ages fun.” She also noted that amateur pumpkin carvers can learn tips from “the expert carvers onsite demonstrating their artistic talent.”
  • KYW‘s Andrew Kramer said the display “is more likely to dazzle you, than startle you.” 6abc highlighted the “Philly themed displays, including a Patriots graveyard!” Yes, the Patriots of football infamy.
  • Philadelphia Weekly called the event a “a kid-friendly event that goes light on the spook factor.”
  • MetroUS described the “year round effort” by a team of more than 15 artists, carvers, and producers who strive to “create this magical event sure to captivate audiences of all ages.”

Oct. 4, 2018: KYW reported that Shofuso, the Japanese house and garden in Fairmount Park, will host an art installation, tea demonstration, and concerts to mark the building’s 60th anniversary.

Oct. 9, 2018: Parks & Rec in the national tabloids?! Yes indeed. Tabloid news website TMZ.com reported on Meek Mill’s donation to fund basketball court renovations in East Fairmount Park. Mill told TMZ, “North Philly will always be home. When kids go to East Fairmount Park, they deserve to ball in the best conditions possible, so I’m glad they’ll have that opportunity now.” Hotnewhiphop.com also reported the news.

Oct. 10, 2018: USAToday’s 10 Best blog reported the “10 reasons why West Philadelphia is the coolest neighborhood in the city.”  In addition to the bar scene, international cuisine, and architecture, Parks & Rec sites took FIVE of the ten spots including:

  • #3 Clark Park
  • #6 Fairmount Park
  • #7 Philadelphia Zoo
  • #8 Bartram’s Garden
  • #9 Mann Center

Oct. 10, 2018: “Flying Carpet,” a new artwork installed at Martin Luther King Older Adult Center, was featured on www.broadwayworld.com. Ava Blitz’s site-specific artwork, comprised of glass mosaic tiles, was installed in the recently-completed building as part of the One Percent for Art program.

Oct. 10, 2018: The Finger Lakes Times, a newspaper in upstate New York, gave a shout-out to our TreePhilly program. In an editorial on the United Nation’s climate change report, the paper listed changes that can be taken to protect the environment: “Even small steps matter, including using mass transit, trading in plastic bags for reusable sacks, and supporting tree planting programs, such as Philadelphia’s treephilly.org.”

Oct. 10, 2018: The South Philly Review profiled artist Nicole Donnelly who was recently selected to install a temporary artwork in FDR Park. Donnelly’s work will feature eight maps dating from the 1600s through today that will chart the site’s evolution and explore how climate change and sea level rise will affect the site in the future. The installation will help viewers “really see our effect on the land… to see the green space go from everywhere to virtually nowhere. It’s really shocking.” The month-long installation opens Saturday, Oct. 20.

Oct. 16, 2018: The opening of the Fairmount Water Works Trail & Boardwalk, after more than 10 years of planning and two years of construction, was heralded in the press:

  • Philly.com‘s Frank Kummer quoted Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell who called the site, “Philadelphia’s most beautiful new public space,” and Mayor Kenney who called it a “historic renovation.”
  • CBS3 and MSN.com noted that the $4 million project “succeeded in highlighting the beauty of Fairmount Park and the Schuylkill River” and “protected over 200 turtles from eight different species that live at the site.”
  • 6abc praised the creation of “an urban oasis in the heart of Philadelphia.”
Use the Finder to learn more about the sites listed above.
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