Photo: Pop-Up Adventure Play
Pop-Up Play Day!
Saturday, May 11 | India Point Park
PROVIDENCE, RI – Providence’s first Pop-Up Play Day takes place at India Point Park on Saturday, May 11 from 12 to 5 PM, presented by the Partnership for Providence Parks, Providence Children’s Museum, the City of Providence, Kidoinfo and other partners.
The event is a free public celebration of child-directed free play that kicks off Playful Providence 2013 – a citywide celebration of play. It will feature a Pop-Up Adventure Playground – an interesting assortment of everyday “loose parts” like sticks and branches, cardboard boxes, fabric and other open-ended materials, with which kids and families can build forts, design structures, invent imaginative playthings and more. The celebration also includes playful activity stations like weaving, wood working and instrument making, plus lively music and a short speaking program at 3:30 PM, featuring Mayor Angel Taveras and Janice O’Donnell, executive director, Providence Children’s Museum.
Playful Providence and Pop-Up Play Day are planned to highlight the critical importance of children’s unstructured, self-directed play for their healthy development. Research shows that play is essential for social, emotional, cognitive and physical growth, yet kids’ time and opportunities for play are increasingly limited.
The second annual Playful Providence is a 5-month citywide celebration of play commemorating Providence’s status as a Playful City. This recognition from KaBOOM!, a national non-profit dedicated to saving play for America’s children, honors cities and towns that make play a priority. The celebration has expanded from 2012, which featured 32 play events presented by 35 park groups and community partners and enjoyed by 1,800 participants over a single weekend.
Playful Providence events held from May through September 2013 will engage kids and families across the city in play, plus promote the Partnership for Providence Parks and draw attention to the important role that volunteer parks groups and community partners have in making great places to play. To learn more about the Partnership for Providence Parks and for announcements of other events, visit ProvidenceParks.org.
Pop-Up Play Day and Playful Providence 2013 are planned by the Partnership for Providence Parks in collaboration with Providence Children’s Museum, the City of Providence (Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Art, Culture + Tourism, Healthy Communities Office and Office of Sustainability) Mental Health Association of Rhode Island, Friends of India Point Park and other partners.
The Civil Rights movement comes to life in provocative performances of “M.L.K: Amazing Grace” at 11:30 AM, 1:00 PM and 2:30 PM. Actors Rochel Coleman, Jackie Davis and Rafini portray Civil Rights activists Ralph Abernathy, Rosa Parks and more in this moving show. Coleman wrote and directs the show and has performed it at schools and other venues throughout the country. He emphasizes that, despite its serious subject, “M.L.K.” is not all grave and solemn; the production includes a number of light moments of repartee and song with its important message.
Providence Children’s Museum is the BEST place for school vacation fun! The Museum is open during vacation, Wednesday, December 26 – Tuesday, January 1, from 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Families can explore ThinkSpace, a major new exhibit exploring spatial thinking, and enjoy these special programs and performances:
→ Where Things Are, From Near to Far: A Children’s Book About Planning [
