Monument Square Holiday Tree
Our Forestry crew will be installing our Holiday Tree in Monument Square on the morning of Thursday, November 15th, in between 9am and 10:30am, depending on traffic. It's quite a sight to see, with a giant tree on a large tractor trailer bed, a big crane to lift it into place, and bucket trucks to assist with cabling it to nearby buildings. Come check it out -- but leave plenty of room for the crew to do their jobs please! Thanks to the City of South Portland for donating this beautiful tree.
USM and Evergreen Cemetery Recently, 14 USM volunteer students worked on a veteran identification project. Their mission was to read every monument in certain sections of the cemetery, looking for and identifying veterans' graves, which will allow us to properly mark the graves of former service members each Memorial Day. Thiswas the second year working on this project, and it will take another three or four years to fully complete it. View the news report from last year.
The Birds & Bees of Riverside Golf
Earlier this year, City Council mandated that Riverside Golf achieve Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Certification by 2021 in order to be exempt from the pesticide ordinance. In order to make this happen, several projects were completed this year, including placing 48 nesting boxes (constructed by staff) throughout the course in key areas identified by a bird expert in the hopes of increasing the habitat for several bird species. The boxes were monitored from early spring until July when the birds departed for southern climates -- virtually all boxes were inhabited with a variety of eastern bluebirds, house wrens, tree swallows and chickadees. In addition to this, four honey bee hives were installed in key areas of the course (with plans for 2-6 more hives to come in the future). This year, an amazing 80 pounds of honey was extracted from the hives! A grant called Feed A Bee was awarded to Riverside Golf and recently used to purchase and plant 99 plants consisting of trees, shrubs and perennials that are deemed pollinator friendly.
Teen Gym at Riverton
Are you between 13 and 17 years old and looking for a place to play a little basketball? Maybe some indoor soccer? Just want to shoot around or hang out with friends and throw a football? Come by yourself or bring some friends and check out Teen Gym at Riverton every Friday evening where you can have some fun in a safe, friendly, indoor environment. No drama please! Dates: Fridays through May, 2019 Times: 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm Ages: 13-17 Location: Riverton Community Center Fee: $1 Resident, $2 Non-res Min/Max: 6/20 FMI: Contact the Riverton Community Center: 874-8455
Please bring comfortable clothing, sneakers, a water bottle and a willingness to have a good time!
Lincoln Park Lights
Comejoin Parks, Recreation & Facilities along with the Friends of Lincoln Park for the 2nd Annual lighting of Pandora's Lights on First Friday, Dec. 7th from 4:30 to 5:30 pm at Lincoln Park. The display will be even bigger and better this year, and the event will feature live music, hot cocoa, treats and more!
Adult Drop-in Sports
Adult Indoor Soccer Drop-in @ Reiche
Come get some exercise playing pick-up soccer games. This open drop-in soccer program is well attended and well loved by the community. We welcome players of all skill levels, so come on down!
Mondays & Wednesdays, 8:30pm-10:30pm
Fee: $3/Resident $4/Non-resident
FMI: Contact Jon Call @ 874-8873
Drop-In Sports at East End Community Center Wednesdays, $3/Resident, $4/Non-resident, 18+ Table Tennis 6:00 pm-9:00 pm Volleyball 5:45 pm-7:45 pm Basketball 8:00 pm-10:00 pm
FMI: Contact Pete Gerard @ 773-8222
Jacob Cousins Memorial Re-dedication Last week, the Friends of the Eastern Promenade (FoEP) and the City of Portland’s Parks, Recreation & Facilities Dept. celebrated the re-dedication of the historic Jacob Cousins Memorial on the Eastern Promenade. This public ribbon-cutting ceremony honored Corporal Jacob Cousins, who was the first soldier of Jewish faith from Portland to be killed in World War I 100 years ago. Over 2,000 people attended the first Memorial dedication on September 22, 1935. The granite boulder and plaque were sponsored by Jacob Cousins Post No. 99 of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States. The Jacob Cousins Memorial honors one man who died in the line of duty, but also serves as a reminder of the patriotism and sacrifices that Jewish Americans have made for their country.
Holiday Exhibition Join us for our annual Holiday Exhibition!
Sunday, December 16, 3:15-5:15 pm Entrance is FREE for this exhibition showcasing
skaters who have been working hard all year in
lessons, in addition to our local competitive skaters. Enjoy a cup of hot cocoa, sit back, relax and prepare to be amazed!
Winter ISI Skating & Hockey Skills Lessons Lessons for Tots, Youth, Adults & Seniors, from beginners to experienced skaters
ALL LEVELS WELCOME!
Session starts the first week in January, registration opens Monday, Nov. 26th
Fees $3.00 – Up to 17 years old / 60+ years old / Veterans
$5.00 – 18-59 years old
$2.00 – Skate Rentals
Pick-Up Hockey Hours Mondays, Tuesdays & Fridays: 1:30-2:30 pm
$5.00 – 18+ years old
Curling & Brews Start your Brew Bus tour at Troubh! One Friday a month, the bus starts at Troubh where folks learn how to curl before they head out on their brewery tour. For more information, visit the Maine Brew Bus website.
Birthdays/Special Events Planning a group event of birthday celebration and wondering what to do? Try something different and plan a skating party!
FMI: vla@portlandmaine.gov/207.774.8553
Documentary on the Missing Family of Longfellow The Bangor Daily News recently presented this short documentary by award-winning journalist Troy R. Bennett about the missing family of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In 1986, the city of Portland went to brick up the Longfellow family tomb in its historic Western Cemetery to protect it from vandals. But when they did so, they discovered the tomb completely empty — no sign of the six family members, including Henry’s parents, who were interred there in the late 19th century. Our Cemeteries Superintendent, Joe Dumais makes an appearance in this documentary, as he helped Troy in his search to uncover more clues to this mystery.
Rowe School Playground
Work is just wrapping up on a new school and city playground at the new Rowe School. This playground is open to the public and features some really great landscape and equipment: lots of slides, tunnels, hills — all surrounded by native plants and trees. Many thanks to our playground design committee that included teachers, kids, Portland Trails, City Park staff and others. The installation looks great and will be ready for play soon!
Deering Oaks Net Climber
Thanks to a generous donation from the Bug Light Foundation and the Friends of Deering Oaks, along with in-kind labor and support from the Parks, Recreation & Facilities Department, we have installed a brand new 21' net climber at Deering Oaks Park, along with a new walkway and safety surfacing. Have fun on this epic new piece of play equipment!
Jobs with Parks, Recreation & Facilities Throughout the year, we have many open positions within the Department:check current openings.
Happy Trails,
Your Parks, Recreation & Facilities Team
