2024 Highlights: 

• January 24: Laurence Wang joins the Park Board
• January 24: Jake Hooten joins the team as the Recreation Coordinator
• January 27: John R. Dennis Wellness Center celebrated three years
• January 27: John R. Dennis Wellness Center Winter Carnival
• February 2: Dare to Bare at Riverside Skating Center
• February 8: Leadership Lafayette tours the John R. Dennis Wellness Center
• February 14: Free blood pressure checks at the John R. Dennis Wellness Center from IU Health and Purdue College of Pharmacy
• February 14: Community CPR class at the John R. Dennis Wellness Center
• February 21: Pete’s Pals at the John R. Dennis Wellness Center
• February 24: Summer Camp registration opened
• February 26: Riverside Skating Center closes for the season
• March 11 to 15: Spring Break Camp at John R. Dennis Wellness Center
• March 11 to 15: Art Camp at Margerum City Hall
• March 16: Dutch Oven Discoveries at Happy Hollow Park
• March 30: Spring Egg Hunt at the John R. Dennis Wellness Center
• April 6: Doggie Egg Hunt at Cumberland Park

2023 Highlights: 

• November 15: Lillich Lecture with Carrie Tauscher and Ben McCallister

• November 11: Wellness Center Military Community Day  

• November 11: Yoga workshops at the Lilly Nature Center

• November 8: Coffee Talk with Purdue Federal Credit Union about preparing for retirement

• November 8: AmeriCorps members hosted a leaf scrapbooking event at Happy Hollow Park

• November 4: Wellness Center Community Day

• October 31: Lincoln Park reopens with a new playground and poured in place surface

• October 27: 3rd Annual Fall Festival  

• October 21: De-trash the Wabash

• October 20: Paul R. Woods Park reopens with new poured in place surface

• October 17: AmeriCorps Park Conservation Crew members participated in a Honeysuckle Removal event hosted in partnership with the Wabash River Enhancement Corporation WREC, Tippecanoe County Partnership for Water Quality, and Tippecanoe Invasive Cooperative Taskforce - TICT.

• October 19: Purdue Women in Engineering visited Aftercare at the Wellness Center

• October 14: Brick Builders at City Hall

• October 13: Wellness Center Community Day to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month

• October 12: Softball dedication at Arni Cohen Fields

• October 9: Dr. Mayes visited Aftercare to teach art lessons about zentangles

• October 7: Celery Bog Story Walk

• October 7:Cumberland Dog Park dog costume contest

• October 6: Purdue Horticulture 317 class to plant more than 70 beautiful flowers around the Caretakers Cottage

• October 6: Our maintenance team attended a snow removal workshop with Purdue University's LTAP

• October 5: Columbian Park Zoo visited Aftercare

• September 24: Art on the Wabash

• September 23: Sound of West Side visits local parks for annual March-a-thon

• September 21: Coffee Talk Educational Series

• September 19: BINGO at City Hall 

• September 16: Global Fest 

• September 15: Naturalization Ceremony

• September 8: Movie Night at Tapawingo Park 

• September 2: Wellness Center Community Day 

• August 26: Wellness Center Community Day  due to heat index

• August 21: Wellness Center Survey opens for member feedback

• August 19: 2nd Annual Ice Cream Social at the Wellness Center

• August 6: Municipal Pool closed for the season

• August 5: Wellness Center Community Day  

• August 1: West Lafayette in Bloom fall flower sale

• July 26: Park Day at the West Lafayette Farmers Market 

• July 20: Camp Family Night at the Wellness Center

• July 18: Brick Builders at City Hall

• July 18: Dr. L. Tiffany Lyle was sworn into the Park Board 

• July 15: City Staff Appreciation Day at the Municipal Pool

• July 12: Summer/Fall Program Guide Published

• July 8: Wabash Riverfest at Tapawingo Park 

• July 1: Wellness Center Community Day  

• June 23: Park Maintenance and Greenspace teams plant more than 700 flowers around Tapawingo Park

• June 17: We celebrated Juneteenth at Tapawingo Park

• June 5: Lilly Nature Center Summer Camp opened for the season 

• June 3:  Wellness Center Community Day 

• May 30: Wellness Center Summer Camp opened for the season

• May 27: Municipal Pool opened for the season

• May 20: Mind BOGgling at the Lilly Nature Center 

• May 14: Wellness Center Community Day to honor Mother's Day

• May 10: Into the Wild at Celery Bog Nature Area 

• May 6: Wellness Center Community Day 

• May 3: Farmers Market opened for the season 

• April 29: De-trash the Wabash 

• April 28: Annual Arbor Day Celebration 

• April 21: Wibit Night at the Wellness Center with more than 200 attendees

• April 13: Versiti Blood Drive at the Wellness Center

• April 12: Lillich Lecture Series kick off

• April 7: Hosted School's Day Out 

• April 5: Shared the Spring-Summer Program Guide 

• April 1: Hosted our 2nd annual Spring Egg Hunt

• March  27-31: Hosted Spring Break Camp at the Wellness Center and Art Camp at City Hall

• March 18: STEM & Stories at the Klondike Library

• March 13-17: Hosted Spring Break Camp at the Wellness Center and Art Camp at City Hall

• March 10: New displays at the Lilly Nature Center 

• March 6: Colin Miner joined  our team as our new Recreation Coordinator

• February 24: Wellness Center Member Survey was launched 

• February 24: Wibit night at the Wellness Center 

• February 14: Community Day at the Wellness Center 

• February 14: Valentine's Day special at Riverside Skating Center 

• February 13: Celery Bog Nature Area had a prescribed burn

• February 4:  Riverside Skating Center hosted a skate clinic 

• February 3: Wellness Center Dodgeball tournament: Can't Get Anyone Out won

• February 3: Annual Dare to Bare event at Riverside Skating Center with Cowboy theme  

• January 26: Wellness Center celebrated 2nd anniversary

• January 23: Dr. Yue Yin and Karen Springer were sworn into the West Lafayette Park Board

• January 22: Riverside Skating Center's 20th Anniversary Celebration happened with roll back prices, 2000s playlist, and prizes

• January 14: Summer Camp registration opened; more than 300 campers signed up

2022 Highlights  

• Installation of new adult fitness equipment at Tommy Johnston Park

• Certified 5k trail added to Cumberland Park

• Successful inaugural year for the Lilly Nature Center Camp

• More than 2,500 attendees for the Spring Egg Hunt on April 9

• Inaugural Harvest Hustle 5k on October 14

• More than 3,500 attendees for Fall Festival on October 28

• Opening of the Cumberland Dog Park on December 8

• 6,475 active members at the Wellness Center with 203,997 check-ins

• 8 teams for adult volleyball league

• 344 kids attended youth camps

• 1,092 personal training sessions

• 736 youth basketball participants

• 264 adult volleyball participants

• 2,872 group exercise classes at the Wellness Center 

• 1,626 volunteer hours at the Lilly Nature Center

• Gale Turco was named Lilly Nature Center volunteer of the year

• 4 Eagle Scout Projects at the Celery Bog Nature Area 

• 13,071 admissions to the Riverside Skating Center

• 199 private/semiprivate skating lessons

• 209 students took group skating lessons

• 13,458 pairs of skates rented

• 76 vendors for the Farmers Market

• 1,330 park shelter rentals

• 312 Wellness Center Group Swim Lessons

• 789 Municipal Pool Group Swim Lessons

• 560 Private Swim Lessons

• More than 3,100 volunteer hours to support our urban forest

• More than 1,360 young street trees pruned

• 95 trees planted through Operation Re-Leaf

• 5 new Tribute Trees added, bringing the total to 62 Tribute Trees. Learn more here: https://www.wltreefriends.org/get-involved/tribute-tree

• Installed 3,000 perennials and shrubs, including at Tapawingo Park, Happy Hollow Park, and the Wellness Center

• Approved for $75,000 grant to develop an AmeriCorps program

• Return of the Parks and Recreation Program Guide

• More than 300 social media posts 

• 6,202 followers of GovDelivery for communication