parks
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via google maps
“Dear PoPville,
Hi everyone, not sure what my goal is in posting this, except to maybe warn other families. Today [Friday] I was at the Florida Ave park [1st and R and Florida Ave, NW] with my daughter. Right around 6:30pm the park cleared out and my daughter and I were the only family left. As we were just sitting on the green having a mini picnic three teenage girls (~16-19) approached us while we were eating, first just asking for food, then money. I felt mildly uncomfortable and respectfully said no. They proceeded to ask if the sand buckets next to us were ours, then stomped on them and said “Oops, someone broke them!” I replied, “Not someone, you.” I packed up my things and my daughter got on her bike to leave when they started asking me if my wedding ring was real. At this point I was feeling threatened, and quickly left this park as my husband was just arriving, right outside the entrance.
As we walked adjacent to the park, by the gate on Florida Ave, I explained to him what happened and why I decided to leave. The girls must have sensed that I was talking about the incident, and came up to the gate, yelling about how this is their “hood.” My husband who almost never loses his cool, started yelling at them for breaking his daughter’s toys and for their inappropriate behavior. They called my husband a “bitch” said “f*** you” and threatened to “go get the guy we are with” and reiterated that this is THEIR park. And then they threw two fist-sized rocks AT my daughter, which my husband was able to swat away. My daughter started hysterically crying and was yelling “those bad people throw rocks at my knee!” We had a separate witness who stayed as we walked away to make sure they weren’t actually going to get the “guy they were with.” But in any case, we are all a bit shaken up. This is NOT ok in a park for kids. Or anywhere. I am still in shock that anyone would throw a pretty good sized rock at a less than 3 year old.”
Photo by Jennifer Riddell
The Great Fountain Drought of ’16 is finally over! Thanks to Jennifer for sending word on Friday:
“Meridian Hill Park fountain is ON!”
Most years the fountains stay filled until around mid-November – so a couple more months to enjoy them this year!
Photo by PoPville flickr user Joseph Leonardo
Been getting tons of queries about the Meridian Hill Park fountain status – here’s an update from the National Park Service:
“We had to turn off the fountain over the weekend while we worked to repair a water main pipe that burst last week.
We also discovered an electronic issue is causing the fountain not to function properly – it isn’t regulating the incoming water quite right, and the automatic mechanism that shuts the pump down isn’t working, so if we let the fountain run unattended, there’s a chance it could pump itself dry.
The good news is, the pump is running properly, and we can separate the upper section from the lower cascades, so we’ve turned off the upper section and are running the lower section during the day while we work on fixing the issue. You will probably see National Park Service staff and the fountain specialists we’ve brought in working on the fountain if you’re in the park. We hope to get the cascades up and running this week.“
From a press release:
“In the spirit of bringing people together outside, REI is offering free REI Outdoor School classes and outings the weekend of July 30-31st. There are opportunities for beginners and seasoned adventurers to rekindle a connection to the outdoors. Residents are encouraged to bring old friends, make new ones and be reminded of the power of getting outdoors together.
REI is hosting its most popular classes for the free weekend of adventures, including: (more…)
Photo by PoPville flickr user Erin
From the National Park Service:
“July 16, 2016 – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Find Your Park in the wild wetlands of Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens at the annual Lotus and Water Lily Festival! Celebrate the National Park Service Centennial and global culture with FREE activities for the whole family:
See a spectacular display of lotus and water lilies in full bloom!
Enjoy gardening workshops & traditional Asian & African dancing performances!
Hands-on activities including face painting, lotus tea tasting, and painting demonstrations!
Visit educational and cultural exhibitors and much more!
Public transportation is the best way to get to the Lotus and Water Lily Festival. Satellite parking is available at Kenilworth Park and at the Kenilworth-Parkside Recreation Center, and a free shuttle service will run between those parking areas, the Minnesota Ave Metro Station, and Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. Accessible parking is available at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. [1550 Anacostia Ave NE]”
Photo by PoPville flickr user Erin
“Dear PoPville,
Any word on whats going on at Meridian Hill Park. For weeks no landscaping was done, there was trash everywhere and the grass was overgrown. They have since mowed but there is still no water in the fountains? Will the fountains be turned on at all this summer?”
Photo by PoPville flickr user Joseph Leonardo
From the National Park Service:
“Meridian Hill Park’s fountain is the longest cascading fountain in North America, and it has a specialized pump motor. When we de-winterized the fountain, we discovered that the pump motor needed repairing, and because it’s so specialized, it needed more work than anticipated. We just awarded a contract this week to complete the repair of the pump motor. We expect the work to be completed and the pump installed within the next 6 weeks. We know how much the community loves this fountain, and we’re working to get it up and running as soon as possible.”
Been getting lots of emails and tweets about this over the last week or so, most recently Jonathan Padget writes last night:
“Okay this deal where everything around the fountain is soaked and water’s flowing into #DupontCircle itself is cray.”
Cray indeed, cray indeed. C’mon National Parks Service!!
Been getting a bunch of emails and tweets about this – are you noticing overgrown pocket parks near you? Think the mowing scheduled got delayed because of all the rain? The grass grew faster than anticipated because of all the rain? Over/under, let’s say June 15th, for when they get cut?
