Starting this Friday, Brownsville Parks and Recreation Department will bring the fun to the city’s parks—block party-style.
Each Friday, with the exception of the Friday before the Fourth of July, until July 29, the Mobile Recreation Unit will be set up at a different park in the city to provide a free event for the community to come together for an evening of fun activities.
From 6 to 9 p.m., there will be free food and refreshments, a water slide, basketball, flag football, soccer, bubbles and other activities at each popup event.
Although the department has done Mobile Recreation Unit events over the summer since around 2014, this is the first year they’ve styled it entirely around the idea of block parties.
“When we used to do the Mobile Recreation events during the week and a block party every two weeks—the block party always got more people out,” said Shannon Contreras, Special Events Coordinator for Brownsville Parks and Recreation Department.
With most of the activities after dark, the community can take advantage of the cooler temperatures to have a good time and beat the heat.
The event will be switching to a different park each week, but Contreras stresses the event is not limited to just that area’s residents—everyone is welcome to attend.
“It is important to know that just because it is in a certain park doesn’t mean it is only for that neighborhood. The idea is to take recreation out to different neighborhoods,” she said.
If the water slide is calling your name, attendees should bring a towel and plan to wear something they don’t mind getting wet.
Additionally, children are required to have a parent present to attend.
For Contreras, creating opportunities for the community to come together, meet new people and have fun is what she tries to do with each community event.
“I love to see the kids playing outside off their mobile devices,” she said. “Just having a good time out there with their families.”
The department is also looking for local businesses that want to sponsor the block party refreshment and entertainment or organizations that would like host an information booth during the event.
The first Mobile Recreation Unit block party will take place on Friday starting at 6 p.m. in Tony Gonzalez Park.
For more information and a full event schedule, visit the Brownsville Parks and Recreation Department’s Facebook page or call Shannon Contreras at (956) 556-1713.
