Welcoming Week
Happy Friday Kent!
This week starts Welcoming Week, this is where organizations and communities bring together neighbors of all backgrounds to build strong connections and affirm the importance of welcoming and inclusive places in achieving collective prosperity.
Visit the Welcoming Week website to find additional information about the event, access toolkits and register your event!
There's a lot of great information in this week's update, so I hope you enjoy it and have a great weekend!
Dana Ralph, Kent Mayor
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Shanah Tovah to all who celebrate Rosh Hashanah! #שנהטובה It's an occasion for reflection and introspection and marks the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah is often celebrated with prayer; symbolic foods and the blowing of a traditional horn called a shofar. |
Today marks the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which celebrates and honors the cultures and contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans. |
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Check out the Kent Valley Frog Loop, our September Ride of the Month! bit.ly/3deF1ci
It's a beginner to intermediate, flat, 9 mile loop around Kent with a great tour of some of the city's best trails! |
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The RASKC animal shelter is over capacity! They need your help to find furever homes for dogs of all sizes. All month, it's just $50 to adopt an adult dog. You can learn more at their website. |
Sip and Savor
Put on your walking shoes and join Kent Downtown Partnership's Sip & Savor event.
Come explore the diverse offerings of wine, cider, spirts and beer within the landscape of Downtown Kent. Participating restaurants and food vendor(s) will offer an array of tasty bites, highlighting the talent and creativity of local chefs and artisans.
Sip & Savor will also feature carefully curated live music by the Paula Boggs Band, Kim Archer Band, Jukebox Jamzz, The Laborer and the JBLM Big Foot Band who will be hosted throughout downtown businesses.
📅 Tonight
⌚ 6 p.m.- 9 p.m.
📍 Downtown Kent
Thunderbird Flag Raising
Join us when we raise the Thunderbirds flag at Kent City Hall with Head Coach Matt O'Dette, Cool Bird, and the team!
They had an amazing season last year and there's a lot of excitement heading into their home opener September 30 at accesso ShoWare Center!
📅 September 29
🕐 2 p.m.
📍 Kent City Hall
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Calling all hockey fans! The Greater Kent Historical Museum is hosting a Thunderbird season kickoff event
September 16. The team has brought memorabilia, trophies, jerseys and photos to display in the museum for a limited time. There will be a special appearance from Cool Bird to celebrate the display.
📅 September 16
⌚ 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
📍 Greater Kent Historical Society Museum |
Block Watch
The Kent Police Department is holding a Neighborhood Block Watch 101 class for neighborhoods looking to start of revitalize a block watch!
You will learn about why every neighborhood should have one and how to get it started. There will be information on current crime trends and prevention tips. Grab some neighbors to attend with you!
📅 Thursday, September 28
⌚ 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
📍 Kent Police/Fire Training Center 24523 116th Ave SE, Kent, WA
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Get your furry friends licensed with Regional Animal Services of King County to help get them back to you if they're ever lost!
Your license also helps fund RASKC's life-saving animal shelter work. They reunite lost pets 24/7 and provide shelter pet care 365 days a year.
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Haunted Boo-levard
Put on your best costume and join us for a free spook-tacular trick or treating event! Kids can trick or treat around Kent Station at participating businesses, then stroll down Ramsay Way for a trunk or treat!
Be sure to vote for your favorite decorated trunk and stick around for dinner! If you want to sign up or learn how you can volunteer visit KentStation.com
📅 Tuesday,October 31
⏱ 4:30 p.m.- 6:30 p.m.
📍 Kent Station
Recycling Collection Event
Have items that need to be recycled? Come out to our Fall Residential Recycling event! For a full list of accepted items, visit our website at KentWa.gov/Recycle
📅 Saturday, October 14
🕐 9 a.m.- 3 p.m.
📍 Hogan Park, 24400 Russell Road
Team Up 2 Clean Up
Join us for our Fall Litter Cleanup on the East Hill, West Hill and Downtown!
Each spring and fall the City of Kent hosts a litter cleanup event where community members can come out and volunteer to beautify Kent as individuals or in teams at various locations around the city. Learn more and sign-up online!
📅 Saturday, September 30
⏰ 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
📍 Kent United Methodist Church, Kherson Park, West Hill Plaza
Garrison Creek Park Project
Our Parks team is preparing to kick off an improvement project at Garrison Creek Park and we want to hear from you!
This project seeks to find a solution to long-standing court surfacing issues that are unique to this joint Parks-Public Works facility, and ways to optimize this area so the park supports how you want to play, recreate and enjoy Garrison Creek!
The Parks team will be holding two pop-up events for you to learn more about the project and provide your feedback.
- September 18, 2-6pm at the Panther Lake Safeway (20830 108th AVE SE)
- September 21, 2-6pm at Garrison Creek Park (9615 S 218th ST)
If you can’t make it to either of the pop-up events, I encourage you to visit EngageKentParks.com and take the project survey to provide your input.
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Earlier this week, we held the opening reception for the newest exhibit at the Centennial Center Gallery.
You can come by the Centennial Center Gallery to see the beautiful artwork of Sonya Lang and Toka Valu through October 26.
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If you are 50 or older, stop by the Kent Senior Activity Center on Thursday, September 21 for the free 11th Annual Wellness Fair! This event is supported by the King County VSHS Levy.
There will be info booths from local organizations and the opportunity to get health screenings or your annual flu shot, and more! Call the Senior Center at 253-856-5150 for more information.
📅 September 21
⌚ 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
📍 Kent Senior Activity Center
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Registration for the Kent Parks Youth Fall Volleyball program is still open! Registration is open to all kids in Pre-K to Grade 8. Pre-K participants must be 3 by August 31, 2023. Scholarships are available to qualifying families. You can register at MyKentParks.com/Register |
Fall Conservation Events
Registration is now open for our Fall Conservation Events! Community members of all ages are welcome to join our conservation efforts here in Kent and volunteer to help keep our parks and natural areas healthy and thriving.
This is also a great way for students to get valuable experience and complete community service hours. Mark your calendars for our upcoming events.
- ReLEAF, October 7
- Orca Recovery Day (held in partnership with Green River Coalition), October 14
- Arbor Day, November 4
Register online to volunteer at MyKentParks.com/VolunteerEvents.
Spotlight Series
Our 2023-2024 Spotlight Series brings the best entertainment to local stages here in Kent! You won’t want to miss out on the amazing line-up we have planned for this season! See the incredible line up and buy your tickets here.
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Join us for a Kent Parks Movie Night at Kherson Park! Pick a spot on the lawn, grab your free bag of kettle corn and we'll push play at 7:30 p.m.
There will be food available for purchase with the onsite food truck starting at 6:30 p.m.
See you there!
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Seeking Vendors
We are now accepting new vendor applications for the 2023 Holiday Craft Market!
📍 Kent Senior Activity Center, 600 E Smith St
🗓️ Friday, November 3 & Saturday, November 4
⏰ Friday: 9am-5pm, Saturday: 9am-4pm
Submit your application or learn more at MyKentParks.com/HolidayCraftMarket.
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We're HIRING! Check out our featured jobs and great opportunities on our hiring page at Jobs.KentWA.gov!
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Applications are now being accepted for the city's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Board. The goal of the board is to increase engagement, integration and access to city services for all cultural communities in Kent.
You can learn about the city's work in these areas and the Equity Strategic Plan at KentWA.gov/Race-Equity, and apply to be on the board.
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Don't forget to check out the new episode of the KentNOW podcast! Tracy, Josh and Kyle talk to Race and Equity Manager Uriel Varela about Welcoming Week and our Language Access Plan.
Listen to new and previous episodes on:
🔊 Apple Podcasts apple.co/3J2UMkd
🔊 Spotify spoti.fi/3GNCeli
🔊 Amazon Music amzn.to/3jjaOvU
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Translations
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