Powder Springs’ Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs department is at the top of its class, recognized last month at the Georgia Recreation and Park Association Awards Banquet in Athens as the 2023 Agency of the Year (Population under 20,000).
The department of six employees — four full-time and two part-time — manages 47 acres of park space as well as the Patricia C. Vaughn Cultural Arts Center, the multipurpose Ford Center Reception Hall, and the Seven Springs Museum at the Bodiford House. In July, the department opened the city’s new Skate Park at Silver Comet Linear Park, which welcomed several pro skaters and skate enthusiasts at a grand opening event in October.
The department’s programs and hosted events serve residents and visitors of all ages. Drawing over 10,000 visitors each May to Thurman Springs Park is the “Bringing The Sea to the Springs” seafood festival, which earned in 2022 the “Spot On Event of the Year” honor from Cobb Travel & Tourism. Hundreds more have enjoyed each of three concerts offered in the park during each annual “Sounds of the Springs” summer concert series, which like the Seafood Festival will celebrate its fourth year in 2024.
An estimated 500 families attended this year’s Family to Park Day summer movie series. The city’s senior citizens, meanwhile, have been able to take advantage of programs such as the Seniors in Motion weekly line dancing classes, a “sip ’n’ paint” series, and senior trips ranging from shopping outings in Jasper and Duluth to plays at the Fox Theatre and museums such as the Tubman Museum of African American Art.
Even the city’s four-legged residents have had their day in the sun, with the annual “Bark in the Park” in June welcoming about 75 dog loving families and their furry family members.
Not content with resting on their laurels, the department is already busy with planning an eventful 2024 calendar, which will bring back all of the aforementioned events and add a series of Brown Bag Lunch midday concerts in April to complement the annual September slate of such concerts.
