Washtenaw County Health Department Hosting Block Party to Celebrate New Play Space
YPSILANTI, Mich., Aug. 20, 2019 – The Washtenaw County Health Department will be throwing a community block party Wednesday, August 28, 4 to 7 p.m. at its 555 Towner, Ypsilanti location. The party will have a ribbon cutting for the department’s brand new play space, as well as food trucks, vaccines, education, and activities for the whole family.
“We created this playground to make our public space more welcoming,” says Susan Ringler-Cerniglia, Community Health Promotion Administrator at the Washtenaw County Health Department. “We’re so excited to open our space up to the whole community with this block party. Residents will be able to learn about what our department has to offer, and have a ton of fun along the way.”
Block party festivities will include:
· Food: free food trucks and a grocery distribution
· Activities: DJ, face painting, balloon twisting, photo booth, tour a fire truck, playground ribbon cutting
· Vaccines for the whole family: adults can protect themselves against the current hepatitis A outbreak, kids can get their back-to-school vaccine checks
· Getting to know Health Department staff and programs: medical marijuana education, help with health care access, healthy food programs, learn about ticks and mosquitos, meet the #StopHepA poop emoji in real life, and much more.
· Meet local elected officials and representatives of community organizations
· Prizes: win prizes and giveaways by getting stamps in your Health Department “passport.” Prize drawings every half hour. Prizes include gift cards, Washtenaw County water park passes, blenders, and more.
To ensure there are enough goodies and food for everyone, attendees are encouraged to RSVP atbit.ly/WCHDBlockParty. The event is free and open to the public.
The Health Department’s new play space includes interactive sidewalks and play equipment, including a play farm stand, musical instruments, and an accessible four-person seesaw. It was created through the KaBOOM! Play Everywhere Challenge, supported by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to ensuring all kids have access to great, safe places to play.The Play Everywhere Challenge is one of their initiatives that transforms public spaces and creates opportunities for active play where kids need it most.
