Takoma Park Mid Winter Play to Hit the Stage Saturday

The Takoma Park Recreation Department has partnered with Takoma Plays for the first Mid-Winter Play Day to be held at the Community Center on Feb. 12, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. This is the city's first Mid-Winter Play Day, Pat Rumbagh, the event's organizer said.

During the first hour, there’s going to be two main featured events. At about 2:10 p.m.—for about 20 minutes—the Contradiction Dance company from Silver Spring will perform a playful animal routine, she said. Following Contradiction Dance, Takoma Park storyteller, Candace Wolf, is going to tell playful stories, she added.

Takoma Plays was formed in 2009 and in July of that year, the City of Takoma Park was designated a ‘Playful City’ by the non-profit organization “Kaboom,” which builds or renovates playgrounds in lower income areas all over the United States.

To be named a Playful City a community needs to hold activities that promote play, she said. Takoma Park’s annual Fourth of July parade—which has been going on for more then 100 years—is a playful activity, said Rumbagh, who decided to make it more playful. The parade “passes my house, and one of the things I wanted to do was hold an intergenerational picnic; so now we hold a picnic, play and parade watch and invite people to come,” she said.

In addition, Takoma Plays has “held two playful yard sales.” The yard sales were “just terrific;” people donated things, we made some money and donated it to a church, she said. The group has also had T-shirts designed that say “Takoma Park Playful City U.S.A.”

However, the “play days are our biggest events,” she said. The first play day held was at Hefner Playground. “We had people dressed as Turkish dancers, and they taught Turkish dancing. We had juggling, a dress up parade, and hopscotch, hulu-hoops, and the (Takoma Park) Recreation Department had a program called ‘Touch a Truck’ and they brought dump trucks,” she said.

In addition to what was already mentioned for the event on Feb. 12, Takoma Plays plans to have dress up games for small children “and ping pong for everyone,” a room of board games, “for people who like board games”; and a room for “building with boxes” (“using boxes, and other materials, to build and play whatever they want.”). The day will “wrap up in the auditorium with Phil Shapiro, a playful guy,” telling how to do computer logic puzzles.

The Mid-Winter Play Day is receiving support from various entities including the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Co-op, which is providing healthy snacks and drinks for 200 people; from a member of the community who makes “home playground equipment and is going to provide a homemade see saw or two;” and the Takoma Park Recreation Department, which is providing use of the facility and staff. The Mid-Winter Play Day would not have been possible without the partnership of the Recreation Department, she said

Play day “is for everyone,” families, children, teens and adults, she said. “We promote outdoor, indoor, creative free play. Not necessarily adult led (play). We just want to encourage everyone to fit play into their lives.”