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Parkland City Update
Department: City Administration
Posted September 5, 2008
Parkland Named One Of 67 "Playful City USA" Communities
 Parkland has been named one of 67 “Playful City USA” Communities.
 To ensure that children are active and healthy, Parkland was one of 67 communities across the country that has taken innovative approaches to make play a priority. Despite mounting budget issues, communities large and small, urban and rural, in the red and in the black, have created initiatives to increase both the quantity and quality of play and playgrounds, as well as increasing access to existing opportunities to play.
To honor these cities and towns that have made this commitment to play, KaBOOM!, a national non-profit dedicated to bringing play back into children’s lives, named them Playful City USA communities. Playful City USA is a national recognition program that honors cities and towns across the nation who put their children’s well-being first by recognizing and harnessing the power of play. KaBOOM! and qubo, the television and online service for children, announced the list of 2008 Playful City USA communities and will support the initiative with an extensive marketing campaign.
This is the second year of the annual program, and 26 of the 31 founding Playful City USA communities have made the list again, while 41 new communities, including New York, Los Angeles, St. Petersburg, Orlando and Parkland have joined the ranks. The agendas all of these communities have created impact not only childhood wellness, but public safety and quality of life issues.
 KaBOOM! also selected Parkland for its dedication to play. Bringing awareness to the importance of play and active youth, P.L.A.Y. Day (Parkland Loves Active Youth) in Parkland, held on June 14, 2008 was intended to serve as an educational tool on active and healthy lifestyles that included obstacle courses, YMCA education materials and a free children’s concert. Demonstrating that leading a healthy and active lifestyle is very important to the city, every second Saturday of June was designated P.L.A.Y. Day.
“In a time when communities are struggling with critical financial decisions, Parkland proved its commitment to the cause of play by launching creative initiatives designed to increase access to playspaces, improve the quality of play in their community, and increase the time children spend playing,” said Darell Hammond, KaBOOM! CEO and Co-founder. “The ideas range the gamut, from new programming and access initiatives to creating informational resources and public private partnerships. It just goes to show you, where there’s a will, there’s a play.”
Added Rick Rodriguez, president and general manager of qubo, “qubo shares the goal of enhancing the lives of America’s children through play. We applaud Parkland and the other ‘Playful City USA’ communities that have made play a priority and are proud to be part of this effort that gives kids the opportunity to be kids again.” 
2008 Playful City USA Communities
- *Ankeny, Iowa
- Arlington, Texas
- *Atlanta, Ga.
- Bloomington, Ind.
- Brentwood, Calif.
- *Canton, Ga.
- Cerritos, Calif.
- *Chandler, Ariz.
- Columbus, Ga.
Coolidge, Ariz.
- *Creedmoor, N.C.
- Danville, Va.
- DeRidder, La.
- *Dothan, Ala.
- *East Cleveland, Ohio
- *El Paso, Texas
- Encinitas, Calif.
- Findlay, Ohio
- *Gilbert, Ariz.
- Grand Prairie, Texas
- Green River, Wyo.
- *Greenbelt, Md.
- Henderson, Nevada
- Hernando, Miss.
- Huntsville, Ala.
- Irvine, Calif.
- *Kenner, La.
- *Kerman, Calif.
- La Mesa, Calif.
- *Lake Charles, La.
- Lake Saint Louis, Mo.
- *Lake Worth, Fla.
- Landfall, Minn.
- Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.
- *Longview, Wash.
- Los Angeles, Calif.
- Mercer Island, Wash.
- Murray, Ky.
- Nampa, Idaho
- Neenah, Wis.
- *New Lenox, Ill.
- *New Roads, La.
- New York, N.Y.
- Newport News, Va.
- *Norfolk, Va.
- Northglenn, Colo.
- Orlando, Fla.
- Palm Bay, Fla.
- Parkland, Fla.
- *Phoenix, Ariz.
- *Portsmouth, Ohio
- Riverside, Calif.
- Riviera Beach, Fla.
- Safety Harbor, Fla.
- St. Paul, Minn.
- St. Petersburg, Fla.
- *San Francisco, Calif.
- *San Jose, Calif.
- *Shirley, Mass.
- *Spartanburg, S.C.
- Springdale, Ark.
- *Tucson, Ariz.
- *Wapello, Iowa
- West Palm Beach, Fla.
- York, Pa.
- Yorkville, Ill.
- *Yuma, Ariz.
2008 Playful City USA Communities by state:
10: California
9: Florida
6: Arizona
4: Louisiana
3: Georgia, Ohio, Texas, Virginia
2: Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Washington
1: Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Wisconsin,
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