It's Official, Summer Is Back

By Brian Johnson, The Bristol Press

June 8, 2021

Summer is back in Bristol and the Parks, Recreation, Youth and Community Services Department has a large slate of activities for everyone to enjoy.

Joshua Medeiros, superintendent of the parks, recreation, youth and community services department, said that programs offered this year will “run the gamut” and will include the return of summer camp and the Rockwell Park concert series.

“We're very pleased that with the state re-opening and mask guidance changing it opens us up to be able to resume our summer activities and expand what we’ve been offering,” said Medeiros.

Summer Camp begins June 28 and is offered for all ages, from preschoolers to teenagers. People can sign up for the entire summer or the week or weeks which work best for them at bristolrec.com.

“This summer we’re back in full swing with all of our regular programs including field trips and entertainers and everyone is excited about it,” said Medeiros. “We will have trips to Mystic Aquarium in our first week and later Quassy Amusement Park and Roller Magic. There will also be trips to spare time bowling and swimming at the city pools.”

Medeiros said that the pools at Rockwell Park and Page Park are available for both residents and non-residents, but that residents get priority pricing. People can either purchase season passes or pay at the door. To use a pool for the day is $2 for residents or $8 for non-residents for adults and $1 for children residents or $4 for children non-residents. Seniors and college students can use the pools for the day for $1.50 for residents or $6 for non-residents. Seasonal passes cost $40 for a resident adult or $80 for a non-resident adult, $25 for a child resident or $50 for a child non-resident.

The Rockwell Park summer concert series will be held again this year each Tuesday night at the park at 238 Jacobs St. The series begins June 22 with pop act “Darik and the Funbags” and will conclude Aug. 10.

“The concert series will have everything including pop, Southern rock, R&B, jazz and swing,” said Medeiros. “This year, the West End Association helped us to sponsor the series and there will be food trucks each week.”

In addition, Rockwell Park will also be holding movie screenings at the amphitheater where the concerts are held on Friday evenings at 8:30 p.m. The first showing will be Tom & Jerry on June 25.

“Last year was the first time we offered outdoor movies and now we’re trying to do them regularly,” said Medeiros.

Also new to this year will be “Pop Up Parks”, which will feature different activities and locations throughout the city June through September. The first was an inflatable obstacle course offered at Page Park this past weekend. A full schedule can be found at bristolrec.com.

“This program is 100% funded through a grant we received in 2019 from the Broadview Fund at the Main Street Community Foundation,” said Medeiros. “The idea was to use under-utilized spaces to bring neighborhoods and friends together regardless of race or age and get people out into the parks socializing and having a good time.”

Medeiros said that this is just a small sample of what Bristol has to offer this summer.

“We have tons of programs for adults and youth including men's softball leagues, tennis lessons, and volleyball camps, special needs bowling and art instruction,” he said. “There’s something for everyone.”