Upcoming summer fun to be had in Nederland
Published 3:44 pm Monday, June 18, 2018
- Doornbos Heritage Park, located on 2301 Ave. H in Nederland, is open seven days a week and is currently hosting weekly events geared toward kids and the summertime. For more info, visit the park during regular park hours. (Stock photo)
By Lorenzo Salinas
School is out and the summer months are just getting started; but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of activities and fun opportunities to be had by students both outdoors and indoors within the city of Nederland.
Parks, pools and fun
Angela Fanette oversees Nederland’s parks as its parks and recreation director. She’s also one of the key organizers for the department’s summertime programs.
“We offer a variety of activities and events,” Fanette said. “Our schedule does vary as it changes throughout the seasons; so if anyone is interested in a program, they should just call and ask.”
Fanette spoke of the Nederland Swimming Pool on Avenue H, which offers open swims, swimming lessons and private party rentals.
“We have several events that we sponsor, like Family Fun Night, movie nights and pizza nights,” Fanette said.
In addition, the Nederland Recreation Center is open to both residents and nonresidents, with non-residents paying an $8 fee. There’s an open court within, as well as games like Ping-Pong and foosball.
For activities either indoors or outdoors, Fanette said kids could benefit from getting out and experiencing new things.
“I think any time we could get our kiddos involved in play or exposed to an aquatic environment — or maybe participating in a reading program — I think that helps kiddos get healthy and become well-rounded,” Fanette said.
She emphasized the facilities available to kids and adults — the parks, the schools, the library — and pointed to them as all viable ways for getting people involved in the community.
“We’re very fortunate to be in a small city that has so many different types of programs,” Fanette said. “They’re able to bring different things to the table, and so expose a number of different programs to people. So, it’s nice to get to know your community.”
Dates and times
Family Nights are scheduled to go on throughout the summer at the pool. Regular admission rates would apply.
Each Family Night is differently themed with the June 21st night featuring the animated movie “Sing” and the June 28th one centering on “Beach Blanket Bingo!”
The Nederland Swimming Pool has open swim times from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
Swim lessons and private party rentals are available and may be inquired about by calling 409-724-1351 or 409-724-0773.
The pool is located at 2301 Ave. H and operates during the summer months from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
The recreation center on Avenue H is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Doornbos Park will be the site for the seventh annual Nederland 4th of July Fireworks Extravaganza. Doornos’ usual hours are from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.
Good reads, good movies and more
Molli Hall serves as a library assistant at the Marion & Ed Hughes Public Library. Like other libraries in the state, summer reading has already started. The theme is “Libraries Rock.”
“We have multiple things going on every week,” Hall said.
“We have Animated Tuesday Afternoons. Every Tuesday at 2 p.m., we show an animated movie. This week it was ‘Coco’; next week (June 19) it will be ‘Happy Feet.’”
Hall continued listing all the activities the Nederland library would regularly feature over the summer.
“On Wednesday mornings, we have a program at 10:30 a.m.; normally it’s puppet-wise. This Wednesday (June 20) we’ll have Julian Franklin, a magician and puppeteer,” Hall said.
“Wednesday afternoons are Musical Wednesdays showcasing musicals at 2 p.m. This week it was ‘Teen Beach Movie,’ and next week (June 20) it’ll be ‘Teen Beach Movie 2.’
“After that, we have Lego Afternoons every Wednesday at 4 p.m.”
Hall said, “Thursdays we have another program at 10:30 a.m. This week we had Bright Star Touring Theatre; next week (June 21) we’ll have Houston Museum of Natural Sciences presenting Sound Science. They’ll perform science experiments in the morning.
“Thursday afternoons at 3:30 p.m. we have Open Gaming.”
Hall said the library has all sorts of video gaming systems including a Wii U, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 for kids — with parents’ permission — to play.
Importance of a library
Hall highlighted the loss a city like Port Arthur faces by not having a public library, which was severely damaged by Harvey floodwaters.
“It’s funny with (Port Arthur); by not having a library we see how much children and the whole community used the library,” Hall said.
“I don’t think some people understand that there are people who just don’t have a computer in the house. If you need a document printed out — and you don’t have a printer — you come to the library.”
Hall cited some of the many reasons people of all ages would use the library outside of just reading a good book: Job applications, school work, professional or academic research and being part of a community
“We have kids who come in during the school year to do work and research, of course…” Hall said. “But during the summer, we also have kids who come in to read and to see what’s going on.”
Hours of operation
The Marion & Ed Hughes Library is open from 10 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday.
The Libraries Rock Summer Reading program runs from June 11 to July 21. It is open to children, teenagers and adults.
The library’s movie schedule will run through the first week of school in mid-August.
For more information, people may visit the library at 2712 Nederland Ave., call 409-722-1255 or check out its website at: www.ned.lib.tx.us.
