The Yelm Parks and Recreation department is ready for a busy summer as it plans to hold events like sticker stops, the Prairie Days spirit week and street dance, and its new Yelm Junior Readers Summer Reading Challenge.
The parks and recreation department recently hosted its monthly sticker stop on June 1, where participants searched Yelm’s three parks to discover dinosaurs and fun facts about them on National Dinosaur Day.
“Just like all the other sticker stops, the kiddos could go out and find the signs to take their pictures and tag the parks and rec’s page,” Line Roy, with the Yelm Parks and Recreation department, said. “Then they’d get a sticker for their passports. We were sure to include extra fun facts about dinosaurs.”
Roy said other sticker shops are currently in the works. To learn about the specifics, follow the department’s Facebook page.
Aside from sticker stops, Roy will be kept busy in June due to the number of events scheduled for Prairie Days weekend.
Before the Prairie Days activities begin, there will be a spirit week to promote Yelm’s annual weekend of celebration.
June 20 will be “dress like your local hero,” June 21 is “superhero spirit day,” June 22 is “hero hat day” and June 23 will be “sports hero day.”
“(The) overall theme for Prairie Days is ‘A Tribute to Heroes’ and this was a way to pull that in and try to get the community involved,” Roy said. “We’d love for local businesses and organizations to participate in spirit week, so we can come together as one community.”
On Friday, June 23, there will be street dance at Yelm City Park beginning at 6 p.m. Roy said the local band, “Clown Fish,” will perform. The cover band plays hits from the ‘80s, ‘90s, and now. In addition to live music, there will also be a beer garden and food trucks on site.
The Prairie Days Parade will be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 24. Following the parade, there will be plenty of activities for kids to participate in.
Beginning at 10 a.m. at Yelm City Park, the Kids Fun-Fest will occur. There will be performances by local groups, carnival games and bounce houses, according to Roy.
The department also plans to introduce the Yelm Junior Readers Summer Reading Challenge, which runs from July 11 to Aug. 22. Participants must register by June 15 on the City of Yelm’s website.
“The kids or their parents can sign up. It’s for pre-K to sixth grade,” Roy said. “When they register, they get a welcome goodie bag that has some awesome prizes in it. If they finish the number of minutes they have to read, everyone who completes it gets a finishers prize at the end.”
Roy said she modeled the activity after a similar reading program that her alma mater, South Dakota State University, offers for children.
She added that kids can sometimes fall behind educationally during the summertime and said the program aims to “bridge” that decline.
