Parks seek summer visitors

DECATUR -- The kids are self-exiled in their rooms, glued to their video games and mobile devices, and dad is asleep on the couch. For mom, there is no place to run, no place to hide. What to do? What to do?

Grab the fishing poles, inflatable toys, swimming suits and horseshoes and head to the park.

The Parks and Recreation Department in Decatur has seven parks in its system. City, Johnson, Compton, Crystal Lake, Edmiston, McCollum and Veterans Parks are all designed to give area residents and visitors a place to escape the trappings of the modern world.

Five of Decatur's parks, City, Crystal Lake, Edmiston, McCollum and Veterans, are designed with the family picnic or reunion in mind. They are fully equipped with barbecue grills, picnic tables and refuse containers under a canopy of shade trees or in the open air. Some of the parks serve a more specific purpose.

City Park, located between Second and Pool Streets, is home to the city's public swimming pool. The pool is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday throughout the summer. But City Park holds one distinction over the others. It was the original site for one of Decatur's biggest events of the year, which drew more than 6,000 visitors in 1962 to the community. The event eventually grew so big that a new park was built on the northwest side of town.

Veterans Park is now the home of the legendary Decatur Barbecue, in its 61st year. The event draws from four to six thousand visitors each year. The Decatur Barbecue features something for everyone, including a fun run, kids games, exhibits, Miss Decatur Barbecue and Tiny Tots Pageants, an evening concert and the world-famous barbecued chicken quarters. The Decatur Barbecue is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 2, from 6:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m.

Just up the hill from Veterans Park is another facility with a very different purpose. The baseball diamonds at Edmiston Park are the homes to the Decatur High School Bulldog baseball and fast-pitch softball teams. Every March, April and May, the Bulldogs play host to teams from the 1A, 2A 4West and 3A high school conference. In addition to baseball, Edmiston is used for one of the summer's most important events. The pavilion and east parking lot of Edmiston are used for the start and finish line for the Decatur Barbecue 5K run.

These are just a few fun-filled activities that the Decatur park system has to offer.

This summer, why not introduce the family and out-of-town guests to the seven picturesque sites offered by the Decatur Parks and Recreation Department? Once you have experienced the many recreational options that each site has to offer, the boredom of summer will fade away and the fun will last a lifetime. Oh, yes, and you get the kids out of the house!