Take a look at all the Iowa City Recreation Division can offer you and your family this season by checking out the Fall 2016 Activity Guide. It's now viewable online at www.icgov.org/activityguide and will be available in hard copy at several City facilities the week of Aug. 8, including: Robert A. Lee Community Recreation Center, 220 S. Gilbert Street; Mercer Aquatic Center/Scanlon Gymnasium, 2701 Bradford Drive; Iowa City Public Library, 123 S. Linn Street; and City Hall, 410 E. Washington Street.

We are excited to offer a host of new programming opportunities on the east side of Iowa City. This fall, instructional wrestling, a pre-school fitness program, and youth martial arts will be offered in the recently converted Mercer Wellness Room. The Parks and Recreation Department has also contracted with Got Strength to offer youth weight training, three days a week. Additional programming may be added through the fall, so keep your eyes peeled for new class announcements on the youth sports page of the Iowa City Parks and Recreation website.

Registration for fall 2016 classes and programs gets underway on Wednesday, Aug. 17.

How to register:

ActiveNet Online: Online registration begins just after midnight, at 12:01 a.m., on the established registration date. To set up your new ActiveNet account or log in to your existing account to register and pay for classes online, visit https://apm.activecommunities.com/iowacityrecreation/Home or click on the "Online registration" link at www.icgov.org/pr.

In-person registration: Stop by the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center at 220 S. Gilbert Street or the Mercer Park Aquatic Center / Scanlon Gym at 2701 Bradford Drive to register in person. Registration gets underway at 8 a.m. on the established registration date. To mitigate errors, registration will not be taken over the phone.

On Thursday, August 18, 2016 the City of Iowa City, in partnership with the Downtown District, Field to Family and Johnson County, will hold the first annual Farm to Street Dinner on North Linn Street in Iowa City. This 200-guest, sold out event includes a 6-course meal prepared by Iowa City Downtown District chefs with food sourced from local producers. The goal of the Farm to Street Dinner is to bring together members of Iowa City’s diverse, vibrant community to share a table, a story, and a meal, while supporting local food systems. This year, a portion of the net proceeds will go to the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Foundation to support local food efforts, and a portion will go to the Iowa City Community School District Farm to School program, which procures fresh, locally grown foods for school meals and snacks, as well as provides students with hands-on opportunities to learn about healthy food habits.

Click here to read on.

This summer, Iowa City’s Parks and Recreation Department introduced a new program called “Youth Summer Fun” (YSF) to local junior high through high school men and women. The program’s objective was to provide teens with opportunities for positive interaction, education, relationship building, and fun during the summer break from school in a structured and friendly environment. The program began in early June and will end August 19. Activities are held each evening from 5-9 p.m. at the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center in downtown Iowa City. There is no fee to participate and enrollment has been open throughout the program, offering as much flexibility as possible to keep youth engaged and able to attend as often as they can. Besides providing transportation to and from offsite activities, such as trips to City Park Pool, bus passes have been made available at no cost to participants who face transportation challenges.  

The program has been staffed by Parks and Recreation Department staff with help from volunteers throughout the area who offered their expertise in activities such as basketball, volleyball, double-dutch, crafts, gardening and more.

To wrap up the YSF program, the Iowa City Police Department (ICPD) invited participants to two opportunities for friendly engagement and competition as part of their “Do You See Me Now?” challenge. These events were aimed at building relationships between participants and Officers in a comfortable environment. On Wednesday, July 27, Officers and YSF will participated in a basketball game at the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center, 200 S. Gilbert Street. The fun begins at 5 p.m. with dinner and dialogue with the ICPD, followed by the competition from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, July 30, Summer Fun youth took on ICPD officers and their families in a soccer game at 2:30 p.m. at the Grant Wood Elementary soccer field, 1930 Lakeside Drive.

View coverage of the basketball event here.

The Mercer Park Aquatic Center pool will be closed for scheduled maintenance the month of August 2016. During the closure, the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center as well as City Park pools, will be available. To view pool hours, visit the Parks and Recreation Department website general pool information page at www.icgov.org/pools.

Local entertainers Kalimbaman and the Yahoo Drummers will be the featured musicians for the season finale Party in the Park event, scheduled Thursday, August 11, 2016 at Mercer Park, 2701 Bradford Drive. Festivities are scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m. with a special appearance by the Eulenspiegel Puppets at 5:30 p.m., prior to the start of Party in the Park.

In addition to live music, there will be games, arts and crafts projects, and frozen treats. This is a no-fee event and is open to the public. Bring your lawn chairs or blankets and join other neighbors for the fun!

Party in the Park is sponsored annually by the City of Iowa City. A party is scheduled in a different Iowa City park each Thursday throughout the summer until August 11, giving residents a chance to enjoy their summer evenings outdoors with friends and family while exploring the City’s many beautiful natural spaces and neighborhoods.

For more information, contact Joyce Carroll, Parks and Recreation Department Arts Supervisor, at joyce-carroll@iowa-city.org or 319-356-5100, or Marcia Bollinger, Neighborhood Outreach Coordinator, at marcia-bollinger@iowa-city.org or 319-356-5237.

The Market Music line-up for July will bring many favorite local performers to the Downtown Iowa City Farmers Markets. Stop by the Wednesday evening and Saturday morning markets each week at Chauncey Swan Parking Ramp in the 400-block of Washington Street (across from City Hall) for fresh foods, homemade baked goods and other items, and great live music by some of the area’s best musicians. Market Music is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturdays.

The musical line-up for August is as follows:

• Wednesday, Aug. 3: Sweet Cacophony
• Saturday, Aug. 6: Nick Stika
• Wednesday, Aug. 10: Pennies on the Rail
• Saturday, Aug. 13: The Tornadoes
• Wednesday, Aug. 17: Ryne Doughty
• Saturday, Aug. 20: Larry Mossman & Kathy Maxey
• Wednesday, Aug. 24: Young Ramblers
• Saturday, Aug. 27: Jeff Stagg
• Wednesday, Aug. 31: The Snake Chasers

Hours for the Iowa City Farmers Markets are: Tuesdays from 3-6 p.m. at Mercer Park, 1317 Dover Street; Wednesdays from 5-7 p.m. at Chauncey Swan Ramp; and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to noon at Chauncey Swan. The Mercer Market operates through Aug. 30 and the Chauncey Swan Market operates through the end of October.

Market Music is co-sponsored by the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department and the University of Iowa Community Credit Union.