It’s a busy, hectic time of year for Chuck Barone, but it’s the good kind of hectic that invigorates the long-time director of the Weehawken Parks and Recreation.
“It’s the peak time of the year for us, and we’re constantly on the go,” Barone said. “It’s a pretty active season.”
Sure looks that way, as Barone’s department kicked off their summer recreation program for kids and adults alike throughout the township last Thursday. The summer recreation program will continue through the third week of August.
On a daily basis, Barone has staff at all four of the township’s parks, namely Louisa, Gregory, Pizzuta and the Tot Lot on Highwood Avenue, to offer children a host of activities from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“All the park sites will have open showers for the kids to use and play in,” Barone explained. “There will be arts and crafts and games. It all depends upon the day of the week, what games are scheduled for which park. But we have a number of counselors and recreation staff assigned to each park.”
The Weehawken Recreation department mailed out a 16-page brochure, informing residents of all the available activities planned, for both children and parents alike. And as Barone quickly pointed out, most of the Weehawken Recreation programs are free of charge.
“I don’t know of many towns that offer everything at no cost,” Barone said. “That’s something that we take a lot of pride in.”
With the exception of a handful of bus trips that require a small payment to defray either travel or ticket costs, the rest of the programs are all part of the township budget, something that Mayor Richard Turner has insisted upon throughout his tenure.
“We have at least 10 free field trips planned for the summer,” Barone said. “At least two trips per week.”
There are also the old favorites, like the watermelon and pie-eating contests, held at Weehawken Stadium. Those contests usually draw the biggest crowds of the summer.
Some of the other basic programs include basketball, baseball and softball, the traditional recreation fare.
However, there are other contests on tap, like the model-making contest, a photo contest, and this year, Barone is initiating a jigsaw puzzle contest for youngsters to compete in, with trophies and prizes to be awarded.
There will also be a dance contest later in the summer.
Children will be transported daily to the West New York township pool for swimming. Other programs include laser-light bowling at Wallington Lanes, where children are able to bowl, have pizza and soda and watch a laser show all during the course of the day.
“We basically tried to keep the programs that worked and weeded out the ones where the interest waned,” Barone said. “I think we’ve come up with a lot of activities that will excite the youngsters, constantly giving them something to do.”
Of course, there are activities for the adults as well, like yoga and tai chi classes.
“Some places charge $40 per class for yoga and tai chi,” Barone said. “It’s all free of charge with us.”
The summer activities will culminate on August 15, with the Summer of the Century Field Day, where hundreds of children and their parents participate in a host of fun activities at Weehawken Stadium. With games like water balloon tosses, football and baseball tosses, water gun shooting and other games of chance, there is fun for all. Last year was the first time that the Field Day was offered and even with a light rain beforehand, more than 250 residents attended.
“We had quite a big crowd, so we decided to hold it again,” Barone said. “It’s a fun night to like bring everything together. We give out hot dogs and watermelon and everyone really has a nice time.”
There will also be a bevy of baseball tournaments on tap this summer at Weehawken Stadium. The New Jersey Babe Ruth baseball championships will be played there, beginning next weekend, with several of the best 15-year-old teams in the state coming to Weehawken for the tournament.
Weehawken has five teams, ages 9 through 15, participating in a variety of baseball tournaments, all under the auspices of Weehawken Recreation.
“We definitely keep busy, as you can see,” Barone said. “But it’s a good busy.”
To find out specifics on this summer’s upcoming recreational programs, call 319-6061.