NEWS
Sign Up To Volunteer At Ultimate Play Day
Ultimate Play Day is just around the corner, and there’s lots of opportunities to get involved! If you’d like to volunteer at this event, check out the link in this article to sign up. All you need to do is provide your name, organization, contact number, and email. Then you can select the role you’d like to have from a variety of committees.
Do you want to be a part of Ultimate Play Day 2022, but are unable to facilitate a playful activity?
Consider signing up for a volunteer role at the event! Volunteers should provide their name, organization, contact number, and email, and select the role they would like to have. For questions or concerns, please reach out to playfulpgh@tryingtohether.org.
There's a wide variety of committees to choose from for this event, so there’s bound to be something for everyone. Would you prefer to ensure the success of the event by helping set up or take down tents and signs? Or do you see yourself more as a steward of the earth? If so, you might consider taking a lead role when it comes to compost and recycling. Maybe communication is more your style. In that case, you might be a photographer’s shadow. No matter your passion or interest, there’s something for you!
Sign Up To Be A Playful Vendor
Ultimate Play Day wants you to get involved in the festivities! Submit your idea for an interactive activity in the Playful Vendor survey. We are looking for a variety of activities that include nature play, dramatic play, imagination play, wordplay, board games, and art play.
Do you have an interest in facilitating an interactive and playful activity during Ultimate Play Day? We are looking for organizations and individuals with creative flair and a connection to the community. If this description fits you and your organization, don’t hesitate to join us! Simply fill out this survey with your playful idea to become part of Ultimate Play Day.
We are asking for an interactive activity that fits into one of our highlighted modes of play:
Nature Play (play that occurs with natural objects);
Dramatic Play (play where participants take on different characters, costumes, and roles);
Word Play (games that involve writing, word association, or making language playful);
Board Games (classic games like checkers, chess, and shoots and ladders);
Imagination Play (anything is possible with this form of play); and
Art Play (creative play that involves self-expression and artistic mediums).
To sign up, please complete this form. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out at playfulpgh@tryingtogether.org. We’d be more than happy to assist, brainstorm together, or answer any questions you might have!
Thanks for being part of the Ultimate Play Day in an impactful way!
Ultimate Play Day Coming May 15
Ultimate Play Day is just around the corner and happening on Sunday, May 15, 2022, at Liberty Green Park. If you want to get involved and provide an interactive activity, fill out the Playful Vendor form. If you’d like to volunteer, there are lots of available roles to sign up for!
In partnership with CitiParks and Trying Together, the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative’s Ultimate Play Day is just around the corner! Make sure to save the date for Sunday, May 15, 2022, from 1- 4 p.m. The big event will take place at Liberty Green Park, located at 100 Larimer Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15206. Join us for this Remake Learning Days event with fun for all ages and explore the possibilities of play in partnership with other organizations around Pittsburgh. There’s bound to be something for everyone to enjoy with games, activities, art projects, live entertainment, and more!
There’s no need to pre-register for this free event. Upon arrival, attendees should visit the registration table to pick up some Ultimate Play Day SWAG while supplies last. There will be a water station set up in the park where the water bottles can be filled and you can take on the day in a fully hydrated state of mind.
Those who are interested can volunteer, or even provide a playful activity. To sign up, visit the Volunteer Sign Up Sheet and the Playful Vendor Form.
For questions or concerns about the event, please feel free to reach out to Adam James at playfulpgh@tryingtogether.org. Learn more at playfulpittsburgh.org/ultimate-play-day.
KaBOOM! Announces Let's Play Everywhere Challenge Winners
KaBOOM! recently announced the winners of the Let’s Play Everywhere Challenge. As part of the Challenge, 10 grantees in Allegheny County were selected to receive a combined total of $200,000 in prize funds. Trying Together is pleased to announce that the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative was a awarded one of these grants for The Neighborhood Play Stop Project. Learn more about it and the other grantees below.
KaBOOM! recently announced the winners of the Let’s Play Everywhere Challenge. As part of the Challenge, 10 grantees in Allegheny County were selected to receive a combined total of $200,000 in prize funds. Trying Together is pleased to announce that the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative was a awarded one of these grants for The Neighborhood Play Stop Project. Learn more about it and the other grantees below.
Challenge Winners
The Let’s Play Everywhere Challenge selected nine organizations as winners, with a total of ten ideas:
Trying Together (Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative)
The Neighborhood Play Stop Project
Glassport Community Outreach, Inc.
Families Will Go Gaga to Play GaGa
Pittsburgh Fulton PTO
From Pittsburgh to Paris and Beyond!
Garfield Jubilee Association, Inc.
James Sensory Park
Grounded Strategies
MACS Discovery Walk
Race Me! Pitcairn Green Playce
Community Forge
Number Mountain
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
Ping Pong in the Plaza
UniversalWit
Play! to End Blight
Focus on Renewal
POW! (Place of Wonder)
The Neighborhood Play Stop Project
The Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative’s initiative, The Neighborhood Play Stop Project, will reimagine existing spaces within Hazelwood by using play stops to encourage community engagement and playful interaction. These play stops may be featured in public spaces near businesses and civic locations such as grocery stores, green spaces, fire stations, and more. Conversations are underway to identify the finalized play stop locations.
By placing play stops in spaces that are not typically associated with play, this project will prompt community members of all ages to rethink their daily routines. For children, it’s an opportunity for imaginative play. For adults, it may be a space where they can take a mental break and play chess or engage in a calming playful activity. Similar to the Little Free Library movement, these play stops will be stewarded by various entities (the businesses where they are located, Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative member organizations, interested community members, etc.).
A CLOSER LOOK
Each stop will be based upon the common concept of play and will have playful interactive parts that relate to the location and the party stewarding the installation. For example, a stop outside a grocery store may include play items such as plastic fruits and vegetables to “purchase,” paper and pencils to create grocery lists, and laminated sheets of information about grocery store products. However, if a stop is located outside of a fire department, their play items may include play items such as firefighter helmets, a mini fire drill tower, and fire safety facts.
Each stop will include a chalkboard with permanently affixed prompts for participants to write their thoughts. Prompts may include statement starters such as “When I play outside I like to…” or “At the grocery store I can find these colors…”
About the Challenge
The Let’s Play Everywhere Challenge is a design competition that took place in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania—presented by Keurig Dr. Pepper and KaBOOM!—to develop innovative ideas for making play easy and available for kids and families. This challenge is about creating opportunities for free, unstructured, unplanned play to ensure that all kids, no matter where they come from or where they live, get the active play they need to thrive.
Learn More
To learn more about the challenge winners and their ideas, read KaBOOM’s post.
Pop-Up Playtime in Allegheny Commons Brings People Together
Playful Tuesdays at Gus and Yiayia’s started as a way to drive business to Allegheny Commons West Park despite the West Ohio Street bridge closure. It became a way to educate people of all ages on the importance of play.
Playful Tuesdays at Gus and Yiayia’s started as a way to drive business to Allegheny Commons West Park despite the West Ohio Street bridge closure. It became a way to educate people of all ages on the importance of play.
Pittsburgh Named a Playful City USA for Seventh Time
National non-profit KaBOOM! is honoring Pittsburgh with a 2017 Playful City USA designation for the seventh time.
“The Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative is elated to be once again be named as a 2017 Playful City USA,” said Cara Ciminillo, Executive Director of The Pittsburgh Association for The Education of Young Children (PAEYC) and founder of the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative (PPC). “The PPC and its members strive to educate members of our Pittsburgh community about the importance and benefits of play in the lives of all our neighbors, young and old, so it is truly rewarding for the City to receive this type of recognition on a national level.”
Playful City USA honors cities and towns across the country for putting the needs of families first so kids can learn, grow, and develop important life skills. These communities are transforming ordinary places into playful spaces and using play as a solution to the challenges facing their residents.
“It is an honor for Pittsburgh to receive national recognition as a Playful City USA for the seventh year. The City of Pittsburgh is committed to ensuring that every child in our community has a healthy, safe, and playful childhood,” said City of Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto.
You can also take part in the conversation with leaders across the country using #PLAYceforkids on Twitter and Facebook.