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December 2010

Annual Candy Cane Hunt to be Held at The Mable House

Come and join the Cobb County Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs Department as we celebrate our Annual Candy Cane Hunt at the Mable House Art Center on Saturday, December 4th from 10:00am-12:00pm. The event allows boys and girls 12 and under an opportunity to participate in many holiday activities, such as cookie decorating, marshmallow roasting, and arts and crafts.  There wlll also be live entertainment for the entire family. Santa is scheduled to arrive and will be available for pictures with the children. For more information, please call (770) 528-8454. Admission and parking are free.

Jingles and Jammies
A new Christmas event will be held at the Ward Recreation Center on Saturday, December 11th at 10:00am. Enjoy brunch, make a gingerbread house and be entertained with the MVAA Genesius Project Players theater production of “A Candy Kane Christmas”. We will end the day singing Christmas carols and the children will get to visit with Santa. The best part is YOU CAN WEAR YOUR PAJAMAS! This will become a holiday memory everyone will cherish! Pre-registration is required - you can register online with EZ-Reg using barcode 33363. Fee is $10 per person. For more information, call (770) 528-8885.

'Fun in the Park' Photo Contest Winners Announced

The 'Fun in the Park' Photo Contest is over for 2010 and this year we had the largest turn-out ever! Over 280 photos were submitted in 3 categories - General category, Nature and Wildlife, and Sports and Action. With so many great photos submitted the panel of 8 judges had a difficult time selecting the winning photographs. Once the scores were tabulated, the following photographers were selected as the 2010 winners:

Cobb Receives ASA Award

ASA Membership Committee Chairman Henry Pollard of Virginia (left in picture) presented Cobb County Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department with the '2010 James Farrell Award of Excellence' at the recent Amateur Softball Association (ASA) national council meeting in Shreveport, LA. Brooks Tinsley, manager of the Al Bishop Softball Complex, accepted the award which is presented annually to organizations that host one of the ASA’s highest-rated national championship tournaments. Last August, Cobb hosted the ASA’s 18-GOLD Girls' Fast-Pitch National Championship, the most prestigious youth championship tourney offered by the ASA. Cobb County has been hosting ASA national championships since 1981, including the 18-GOLD three times (2001, 2004, 2010), and has won the Farrell Award each year since its inception in 1992. The Farrell Award is sponsored by Wilson Sporting Goods and named in honor of former ASA commissioner and national office staff member James Farrell.

Girl Scout Enhances Cato Butterfly Garden
Patricia Arevalo, 14, of Mableton chose the Cato Environmental Education Center in Austell as the site for her Girl Scout Silver Award Project. She volunteered 40 hours at Cato increasing the size of the butterfly-pollinator garden, refurbishing an old park bench, building 3 bird baths, hanging a bird feeder and decorating a composting box.

Patricia has enhanced the butterfly garden by planting flower species such as butterfly weed, butterfly bush, asters, zinnias, coleus, marigolds, impatiens, lilies, and chrysanthemums. Since the project’s completion, butterflies have flocked to the garden allowing school groups the opportunity to see pollinators such as tiger swallowtails, black swallowtails, sulfur, fritillary and skipper butterflies in action.

Patricia is a member of Sleepy Hollow Girl Scout Troop 21 in Mableton and attends Wheeler High School. Patricia earned the Bronze Award as a Junior Scout, now the Silver as a Cadette and will begin working soon on the requirements to earn the Gold Award as a Senior-Ambassador Scout. The Gold is the highest award that may be earned as a Girl Scout. Congratulations to Patricia on her achievements!

The Cato Environmental Education Center provides science, nature and environmental education programs to school students and other groups through the Natural Resource Management Unit of the Cobb County Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department.

Winter Day Camp Offered at Ward Recreation Center
Ward Recreation Center will be offering a Winter Day Camp the week of December 27th-31st during the Cobb County School System winter break. Day Camp programs include sports, games, arts and crafts, outdoor programming and many more fun-filled activities. We encourage positive play, creativity, friendships and fitness while creating fun memories with friends. The program is offered to kids ages 5-11 and teens ages 12-15. The camp will meet daily from 7:30am-5:30pm. The fee for the camp is $100 for the week and is due at registration (reduced prices available for household incomes below $45,000). The camp will be run by Cobb County Parks and Cobb County School System staff. Registration is in person (only) at Ward Recreation Center. For more information, call 770-528-8885. The deadline to register is December 17th.

LMCTA Holds Halloween Charity Fright Festival Tennis Tournament
The Lost Mountain Community Tennis Association held its second annual Halloween Charity Fright Festival Tennis Tournament on October 29th-31st to raise money for Lost Mountain Community Tennis Association and to make a donation to Calvary Children's Home. The tournament, which was held at the Lost Mountain Tennis Center in Powder Springs, included events for men, women and children. The tournament raised $2200 for Lost Mountain Community Tennis Association, of which a donation will be made to Calvary Children's Home.

Tennis Programs at Harrison Tennis Center

Junior Development Programs - We offer on-going instruction for those students advancing from Cobb’s tennis classes and for junior league players.  Depending on age and skill level, students can choose between our Future Stars or Baseliners programs.  Students will be evaluated for placement but should be able to demonstrate the basic strokes of tennis as well as rally skills. Please call Harrison Tennis Center (770) 591-3151 for more info.

Ladies' Tennis Drills - Ladies, come out to Harrison Tennis Center and improve your game by enrolling in one of the specialty drill classes offered by USPTA professional, Randy Hancock. These groups are offered in six-week sessions and are $90 per session. The groups are kept small so individual attention is obtained. Drills are offered year-round. On Monday nights from 7:00pm-8:30pm are the advanced singles drill group designed for the 3.5-4.5 players. On Wednesday mornings from 9:30am-11:00am are the ladies' singles drill group for the 3.0-4.0 level players. Thursday nights, from 7:00pm-8:30pm are the ladies' doubles drill group for the 3.0-3.5 player. And on Friday mornings are the ladies' advanced doubles drills for the 3.5-4.5 level player. All of these drill groups incorporate the use of dead ball drills and live ball drills to give players the best progression to achieve their individual goals. The technical aspects are emphasized in these drills with time to play in each session. For more information, please contact Randy at (770) 365-2246 or email at rh10s@aol.com.

Adult Tennis Drills - Looking to improve your game? Here's a chance to work on all elements of your game in a competitive, play-based drill environment. Adult tennis drills for all ability levels are held five (5) times a week at Harrison Tennis Center. Join us Monday and/or Wednesday morning from 9:30am-11:00am or Monday, Tuesday and/or Wednesday evening from 7:30pm-9:00pm. To register, call Harrison Tennis Center at (770) 591-3151.

Superior Basketball Academy
Ward Recreation Center presents Superior Basketball Academy. This program is for children in grades 1-8. Players will go through extensive training in ball handling, shooting, rebounding, and team concepts on offense and defense. This program will give players the opportunity to master the fundamentals of the game at their level. Players will participate in a patient, instructional environment where the coaches want to see every child succeed and progress. Hard work and determination are key values of this program. All players will receive a practice T-shirt. Fees are $68 per month (2nd child discounts!) and the program meets Saturdays from 10:00am-12:00pm. For more information and registration contact Wendy Collins at Ward Recreation Center (770) 528-8885.