Friday, August 19, 2011

Talent Show - Last Day at the Park

Jill and her partner sang and danced to "Can't Touch This" by M C Hammer







The judges liked it!




Jill and her partner won second place.


Good bye. Last day of 2011 park summer program. After more than 30 years of talent shows, there may not be a summer program at our park next year. The after school care program has already been cancelled.


For the last few years, Jonah and Jill have gone to the park after school and in the summer. They have gone skating, swimming, bowling, played basketball and football and taken cheerleading lessons. They have had art projects, dinners, dances, Halloween parties and all sorts of other activities. Today they had a talent show. Russell, the recreation program director, has become a friend of our family. He and my son have played golf several times. He announced today that there has been a talent show at this park almost every year since the 1970's. But now the county government has decided the program is too expensive. The staff have been given their notices. A few Tampa parks will continue offering after school and summer programs, but not our park. It is a shame. I'm not sure what all these kids are going to do after school now. I know that Jill and Jonah and their parents and their grandma will never forget the friends they made here and all the fun they had here.

2 comments:

  1. This is too sad, and an example of what's going on in our country right now. Lots of excellent programs are being squeezed or eliminated. Cutting the fat is one thing, but cutting out programs for families is quite another. I for one am quite willing to face a tax increase if it means more money for education and families.

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