Mayors Office Hosting Free Activities for Keiki at Maui Parks

Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa is inviting local families to attend Kids to Parks Day at War Memorial Complex (where the Maui Fair food booths were situated) from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Sat., May 19, 2018. The event is entirely free and open to the general public.

The event is being put on by the County of Maui Mayor’s Office and the Department of Parks & Recreation, in partnership with Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO) Inc., Maui Family Support Services Inc., Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui, Inc., and PATCH (People Attentive to Children) Hawai‘i.

Activities will include the following:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui will offer disc golf, tic tac toe bean bag toss and hula hoop
• MEO Inc. will provide an opportunity for future leaders (kids) to play kickball with community leaders, as well as to provide community service by painting trash cans
• Maui Family Support Services, Inc. will offer basketball-related activities for toddlers as well as children 5 and older
• PATCH will provide a hilltops and river stones activity for youngsters and will give away free books to children

The County of Maui will also provide free refreshments and Maui Electric Company has donated reusable bags with McDonald’s and Panda Express food coupons inside which will be given to the first 300 kids who attend Saturday’s event.

Kids to Parks Day is an event launched by the National Park Trust, a land conservancy and environmental education nonprofit dedicated to preserving parks and creating new park stewards for tomorrow.

“The new park stewards of tomorrow are our children, so the sooner they realize the value of our parks and open space the better,” said Mayor Arakawa. “Events like these will help to solidify that relationship.”

“Mahalo to all of our sponsors partners who are helping to make this event happen,” said event organizer Mike Molina, Executive Assistant to the Mayor’s Office and former councilman and school teacher. “This is an event that kids and their families can have fun while realizing and appreciating the importance of our parks.”

According to the National Park Trust (NPT), Kids to Parks Day is a nationally coordinated event designed to connect kids and families with their local, state, and national parks. By discovering our public lands, kids across the country are learning about park stewardship, outdoor recreation, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and history. Through teaching the next generation to appreciate our public lands, NPT is working to foster future park enthusiasts and create the next generation of park stewards.

This year close to a million people will celebrate Kids to Parks Day. For more information about the national Kids to Parks Day movement, check out the National Park Trust website at https://www.parktrust.org/kids-to-parks-day/.  Organizers request the use of the hashtag #KidsToParks’ for latest updates and community engagement.

For more information about the event at War Memorial this weekend contact Mike Molina at the Mayor’s Office at (808) 270-7855.