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When your summer fun involves swimming, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Consider these safety tips:

Never swim alone. Always have a buddy—or, ideally,   a lifeguard at a designated swim area—and maintain constant supervision of a swimmer. Follow rules of swimming areas.

• Never leave a child unattended near water.

• Make sure everyone in your family learns to swim well. Swim lessons. Wearing a US Coast Guard-approved life jacket can help young or inexperienced swimmers, but do not rely on jackets alone. Always maintain a watch on a swimmer.

• If you have a pool, secure it with appropriate barriers. Many children who drown in home pools were out of sight for less than five minutes and in the care of one or both parents at the time.

• If a child is missing, check the water first. Seconds count in preventing death or disability.
Whether in a backyard swimming, in a community pool or in the ocean, always watch your
child closely in and around water.

 

Fires move fast…Are you prepared?

Summer is hot and conditions are prime for more wildfires.  Whether you live in town or in the country, preparing for a fire is prudent.

  • Talk with your family about fire safety at home and on vacation. All fires start small—a candle, a cigarette, a campfire, a firework.  Think through your actions and be aware of the conditions around you before you strike that match.

  • Keep grass and weeds trimmed. Contact your local fire agency about current restrictions on mowing and weed trimming before you start.

  • Look at your house and property from the view of a firebrand, or ember blown by the wind. Where might you land?

    • Move firewood away from your house.

    • Store gas cans and other flammable liquids in a secure location.

    • Consider enclosing eaves and the areas below decks.

    • Trim trees near your roofline.

    • Keep your gutters clean.

    • Trim trees and bushes around your home and along your driveway.

  • Prepare a “go” kit that allows you to grab essential items quickly. Start a list of items you would need to gather in the event of an evacuation.  Some evacuations last for days, so include such items as medications, toiletries, important papers, external hard drives, etc.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  When it comes to wildfire prevention that should be our collective mantra!

For more information on community fire safety, see the Rogue Valley Fire Prevention Cooperative’s website at https://rvfpc.blogspot.com/

Captain Brian Bolstad

Jackson County Fire District 5

Bear Creek Salmon Festival

Bear Creek Salmon Festival   

Happens in October in Ashland , Oregon.

Bring the whole family to North Mountain Park in Ashland for this free event featuring interactive exhibits, kids activities, live animals, salmon and watershed education, Native American demonstrations, fly-casting, storytelling, live music, and the opportunity to spend the day outside exploring beautiful North Mountain Park.

“Communities Connected by Water” will highlight the connections we all have with our watershed and the diverse habitats that serve watershed health from the highest peaks to the lowest creeks.

bearcreeksalmonfestival.net

North Mountain Park,  620 N. Mountain Ave. in Ashland Oregon.

541-488-6606

 

 

4th of JULY CELEBRATIONS

 

 Southern Oregon has several 4th of July Celebrations. Bring your family for Fun Runs, Parades, festivities, street fairs, entertainment and fireworks. Have a safe and fun day!

4th of July Run in Ashland, Oregon.                                start at 7:45 am.  Adults, children and families are welcome. Ashland Parks and Recreation 541-488-5340. Toregister: ashland.or.us/JulyRun

 

 

Ashland 4th of July Parade & Celebration.                                Ashland’s Old Fashioned 4th of July Celebration kicks off  the morning with the Parks & Recreation run. Parade at 10am in downtown Ashland, flyover,  followed by festivities in Lithia Park featuring food, booths, Family Activity Zone, Ashland City Band performs in the Lithia Park Bandshell. Fireworks in the evening visible all throughout town. Ashland, Oregon  Chamber of Commerce ashlandchamber.com 541-482-3486.

Central Point Freedom Festival.                                                              7am pancake breakfast, 7:30am Run 4 Freedom 5K & 1 mile. 8:45am Kids Fun Run, 9:30am Pine Street Parade , 10:30am Pfaff Park Festivities with food, artisans, vendors and free kids activities, 11am Live Music. A full day of activities! Pfaff Park,  635 Manzanita St, Central Point, Oregon.  centralpointchamber.org

 BoomFest!                                                                                                Gates open at 3pm. Live music, kid’s activities, food,  beer garden available leading up the a huge fireworks display. Free entry at the Jackson County Fairgrounds, 1 Peninger in Central Point, Oregon. attheexpo.com 

 

Eagle Point Independence Day Celebration.                                   7-10am Pancake breakfast, 8am Fun Run, Vendor booth 9am-3pm, 11am Fly Over, Parade at 11am, Noon-3pm live music with Rewing & Kid Zone activity area, 6pm Stadium open, 6:15pm Family activities & carnival games, fireworks at dusk Eagle Point, Oregon.  eaglepointchamber.org

Grants Pass 4th of July Celebration.                                      7pm-10:30pm. Bring the family for a live concert  followed by fireworks at Reinhart Volunteer Park, 1690 Webster Street, Grants Pass, Oregon. travelgrantspass.com 

 

Merker/Belnap Memorial Walk/Run.                7:30am. The Merker/Belnap Memorial Walk/Run was established to honor John, Max and Ryan and to raise funds for an annual college scholarship to be awarded in their name. 541-474-0001, grantspassymca.org

Brookings Harbor Celebration.                                                                    Pancake breakfast, kids area, BBQ, family activities, vendors, live music. fireworks at dusk at Sportshaven Beach.  brookings.or.us

 

Klamath Falls Freedom Celebration.                                  Parade, activities and fireworks. klamathfc.org/

 

Glendale 4th of July Celebration.                                                     Pancake breakfast in the park from 8-10am. Parade at 11am. fun activities, fireworks at dusk at High School.

 

Park & Play: Providing Free Summertime Fun!

Looking for free children’s activities to kick those the summertime blues?

The Park & Play program provides free activities, sports, crafts and bounce houses guaranteed to deliver a positive and enjoyable experience for your kids.

The Park & Play crew brings a mobile recreation vehicle and leads children in fun, engaging outdoor activities aimed to increase activity, creativity, and build social skills.

The daily schedule consists of a game, sport or contest, a creative art project and time in the bounce house. The bounce house is monitored closely by staff and administers a time limit to guarantee that everyone gets a chance to bounce safely.

 

Park & Play visits eight Medford parks Monday through Thursday, stopping at two parks each day for two hours; 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m.

The schedule allows Park & Play to visit a park in each Medford once a week to assure that all residents have access to the program. Park & Play runs for eight weeks beginning in June.

Movie Night at Lewis Park

 

 

 

 The program is also available at the Rogue Credit Union Movies in the Park series providing free pre-show movie themed activities Saturday evenings from June through August at several city parks.

Go to playmedford.com or call 541-774-2400 for more information.

 

Free Summer Meals Program for Kids & Teens

Summer Meals -Nourishing Oregon’s Kids.

There are over 800 summer meal sites in Oregon with free meals for kids and teens ages 1-18.

   Summer meal programs may serve a combination of lunch, breakfast, supper and morning or afternoon snacks. Some programs also offer learning activities for kids before or after meals.

     Click on  the map below to find a site near you.

https://www.summerfoodoregon.org/map/

 

The Family Connection

Great parenting doesn’t happen in isolation.
The Family Connection provides a regional parenting hub where parents can come together, learn effective parenting skills from certified parenting educators, be introduced to community resources and find support from other parents. Parenting is hard work!

As Southern Oregon’s Parenting Hub, The Family Connection and The Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative (OPEC) were founded to help.
Please take advantage of our FREE parenting classes, workshops, and events!

 

Remember, great parenting doesn’t happen in isolation… Let’s get connected! We also provide organizations and agencies the ability to contract an evidence based parenting series or workshop for their clients.
Head to our online Parenting Education Community Calendar to sign-up for FREE parenting classes, workshops, and family friendly events in Jackson and Josephine counties.    https://thefamilyconnect.org/events-calendar/  

Storytelling Guild’s Children’s Festival in Jacksonville

The Storytelling Guild presents Annual Children’s Festival every July  at the beautiful Britt Gardens in Jacksonville, Oregon. For many years, the festival has provided fun-filled summer days of affordable entertainment for the entire family!

The first Children’s Festival was in 1967 and began as a small storytelling program, billed as: “A Child’s Fun ‘N Fantasy Afternoon” and was held under the trees at Britt Gardens in Jacksonville. The turnout for this one-day event was so tremendous, 200 children, that it was repeated the next day for another 300 children!

It was apparent that this was an important program and plans were readied for a true Festival in 1968. The Storytelling Guild and the Jackson County Library began planning by recruiting volunteers from the mothers who attended the first Festival. Sixteen volunteers and the local chapter of the American Association of University Women planned for that second year.

The second festival drew 2,000 children. The third, 4000 and by 1981, the Children’s Festival was attracting 15,000 visitors!

At the festival, children and adults will enjoy a variety of booths with hands-on arts, crafts,  science projects and feeding of the litter eating dragons. All activities are included with the price of admission! Older children will enjoy activities such as: candle making, pottery and wood working, while younger children will have a chance to make their own puppet, sand and easel art, and have their faces painted. In addition to fun hands-on projects, you can sit back and enjoy storytelling, child focused entertainment and stage performances.

Admission is $3 per person per day (adults and children). Food is available for purchase inside the festival at the yummy Dragon Deli. The goal has always been to offer an amazing day of entertainment and education for a reasonable cost.

 

The mission of The Story Telling Guild and Children’s Festival is to expose children of all ages to the magic of imagination and to instill a love of books and the joy of reading.

 

For more information visit:

 www.storytellingguild.org/childrens-festival.html

Matching Grandmas2Go-Family Coaches with Struggling Families

We all know that babies don’t come with an “instruction manual!” What’s a mom or dad to do when they need help? The answer: … call Grandmas2Go-Family Coaches and be matched with a “trained and trusted” community volunteer Grandma!
The idea for this program came from Linda Otto, when she realized through her work as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate), a Baby Cuddler at Asante Special Care Nursery, and a trained Postpartum Doula and Infant Massage Instructor, that parents today are stressed out, overwhelmed and need help. So, she decided to fill that need by starting a non-profit called Grandmas2Go-Family Coaches.
The mission of Grandmas2Go is to mentor, nurture and support parents, infants and toddlers during the critical years of childhood brain growth – from pregnancy to preschool. This multi-generational program is changing lives …not only for struggling families, but also for the senior volunteers who are staying active, engaged, and finding a new life-purpose!
In 2017, Grandmas2Go entered the national Generation to Generation Encore Prize Competition and was named one of the top five new, innovative, inter-generational programs in the country! Grandmas2Go has been featured in major local and national media including Forbes, MarketWatch, and Wall Street Journal. PBS’ online newsletter, Next Avenue, recently published an article: “Grandmas2Go Arrive with Love”. 
Volunteer Grandmas are ‘women of wisdom and experience.” We partner with local agencies to help all our children to thrive!  With families today facing a multitude of challenges, no wonder a father of twins stated, “I don’t know how we would have survived without Grandmas2Go!” A single mom wrote “My Grandma2Go helped me get through that dark period …. we love our Grandma2Go!” And from a mother of two, who was helped by her grandma-mentor to get her US Citizenship: “Thank you for helping me make my dream come true!”
Grandmas2Go is growing, replicating and scaling to serve communities throughout Oregon and across America! And we’re promoting this growth through our “Help Us Grow -“HUG” Campaign. Help us reach more families! Send your name and email address to Hello@Grandmas2Go.org and receive an invitation to Help Us Grow!
We need community support to continue our compelling work. We invite you to join us … as a volunteer Grandma, a donor, or in helping spread the word by hosting a presentation in your neighborhood, church, or social club. 
As Linda, Founder & CEO, says, “We know that one caring adult can change the life of a child. Just imagine what a team of Grandmas can do!”
www.Grandmas2Go.org

U-Pick Strawberry Picking at The Oregon Bee Store

The Oregon Bee Store in Eagle Point has the cutest little store with the cutest stuff inside and pure local honey. But the main reason we stopped was for the U Pick strawberries!

 

My 3 1/2 year old daughter had a blast picking her own strawberries . It is a great way to get outside and teach children where strawberries come from,  how they are grown, when they are just right  and taste a freshly picked one.

The Oregon Bee Store offer buckets to pick the strawberries but don’t forget to bring something to take them home in.

They are on Facebook and update it there with all the info for the U pick.                                                          https://www.facebook.com/OregonBeeStore/
The Oregon Bee Store is located at 14356 Highway 62 in Eagle Point, Oregon. You  can give them a call at (541) 826-7621 or stop in to visit the shop and pick some fresh strawberries.
By Caiti