Ask Our Community: Ideas for Upcoming National Holiday Programming

It happens to the best of us: after a busy spring registration season, you blink and suddenly, it's almost summer. You realize, “Oh no! It’s nearly July and we have nothing planned for the holiday coming up!” Don't stress – the Amilia community is here to help!

Say hello to our new series – Ask Our Community – where we gather insight from our customers on topics that are relevant to the activity and recreation industry. This series will help us bring our community together, share knowledge and spark conversation.

In this first edition, we’re talking about ideas for fun activities and programs you can implement ahead of the busy summer season and upcoming National Holidays. From games to contests, we’ve got you covered! Let’s get into it...

Chelsea Moberg, Recreation Supervisor, City of Galesburg, IL

For the 4th of July, we host Games Days with a small crew of teens who run activities on our pool deck! These are essentially backyard games, but we also have a water balloon toss, hula hoop contest, and a raft race across the pool.

Amilia’s Take: When the weather is hot, there’s no better place to be than the pool deck – plus, a little friendly competition never hurt anyone!

Scott Sekulich, Registration and Customer Support Manager, Park District of Oak Park, IL

We often have benefit days for our passholders, which gives them exclusive access to the pool at certain times of the day. On the 4th of July, we have held a special BBQ as well as free concerts and movies in the park throughout the summer. Oak Park also hosts a parade with themed floats!

Amilia’s Take: We’re all about increasing community engagement via incentives like passes! Not to mention, who doesn’t love a free activity?

Tammy Martinez and Melanie Zavodny, Camp Kubena & SPJST, Ledbetter, TX

Every year for Flag Day we do an essay or poetry writing contest for four different age groups, with a different prompt each year. This year’s is “what does red, white and blue mean to you?” For the younger kids, we do a flag coloring contest.

Amilia’s Take: This ensures all age groups can participate in their own way, and it gives kids the chance to stretch their creative muscles!

Planning something interesting that wasn’t mentioned here? We want to hear about it! Tag us on social media with the hashtag #AmiliaInAction and let us know.