Winter Park launches family event program with BE Great Field Day.

Ready for some family fun? Winter Park has just what you need.

The city is launching its Family Fun Event Program with the BE Great Field Day Saturday, April 28, at Brookshire Elementary School. The program is the result of the city’s desire for a greater emphasis on fun family activities.

The field day for all ages will include contests such as sack races and giant Jenga, as well as an air-brush tattoo artist and bounce houses. 

The event is free and open to the public, and will hopefully help residents realize everything the city has available to them, Recreation and Family Services Manager Cathleen Daus said.

“Every month, we’re looking to do two events in different parks that maybe aren’t utilized as much to draw attention to the parks and to also make the parks more of a family-friendly atmosphere where you can come and participate in activities outside of just coming to the community center,” Daus said. “We started realizing that unless you came to the community center, you might not realize that parks and recreation was actually available in each of our parks.”

The field day was made possible by an agreement between the city and Orange County Public Schools last July to use the grounds at Brookshire and Lakemont Elementary Schools for events.

There’s also the aspect of getting children active, Winter Park Director of Communications Clarissa Howard said.

“These outdoor activities encourage families to step away from their devices, to step away from their PlayStations,” Howard said. “That’s what the parks are for — to be outdoors and to play and use your imagination and to be together. All of these activities allow for that to happen, and give more opportunities for families to grow.”

A Mother’s Day event called Blooming for Mothers also is coming up at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 12, at Ward Park. There, children can decorate a flower pot, fill it with seeds and soil, and have a special gift ready to go.