July is Parks and Recreation Month in Carrboro
July 1 kicks off National Parks and Recreation month for 2025, a good time to explore the many low-cost programs available to Carrboro residents. My first introduction to Carrboro was through their Parks and Recreation program back in 1977. I was newly married to a medical intern who I rarely saw that first year we lived here, so I was looking around to make some friends and have some fun. One of my neighbors introduced me to the women’s softball culture of Carrboro which quickly became an obsession.
Back then, the women’s league played at the present Farmer’s Market site at Town Hall. The town was still very blue collar and women’s softball was a source of entertainment for local residents. They would bring their coolers and lawn chairs to “watch the girls play.”
A couple of years later, I became one of the seasonal field supervisors for men’s softball and Little League baseball at Wilson Park. By the time Anderson Park first opened, I was working men’s softball, adult co-rec, and youth football as well as youth basketball and adult volleyball at the Culbreth Middle School gym.
The department had two full-time staff members when I started working as a part-time seasonal employee. Today they have 16 staff members in addition to their seasonal and contract employees. With the growth in staff has come the exponential expansion of programming. Back during my time with the department, it was almost exclusively a sports program. Today, in addition to sports, they plan and organize a series of community events such as Carrboro Day, the annual Music Festival, the July 4th celebration and more; run a slew of summer camps; and offer year-round programming ranging from arts to cooking to conversational Spanish. They offer programming to help seniors stay active, teenagers stay engaged, and toddlers develop literacy skills.
Friday, July 18 has been designated nationally as Parks and Recreation Professionals Day to honor the professional staff who “selflessly deliver high-quality experiences and opportunities and keep our parks clean, safe, welcoming, inclusive and ready to use.” According to a recent town press release, Carrboro’s Parks and Rec staff “have an average of 20 years of service in providing excellent programs and amenities to grow our community.”
Let’s encourage Carrboro to declare July 18 as Parks & Recreation Professionals Day to thank those who maintain the cleanliness and safety of our parks, who plan and oversee the wide array of programming, and who commit their time and skills so that others can learn and play.
If you haven’t visited one of Carrboro’s parks recently, swing by Wilson Park one morning in July to observe the antics at one of several summer camps for kids. Or stop by the town’s newest park, Martin Luther King Park, to check out the recent upgrades to the pump track. Or go fishing at Hank Anderson Park, take a class at the Century Center, or explore the self-guided historic Carrboro walking tour. The thing I like most about parks and recreation? It’s all about having fun!