Good News Sept. 21, 2025
Ann & Chuck Dever Regional Park Recreation Center Ann & Chuck Dever Regional Park Recreation Center has been buzzing with activity! This past week, 10 creative participants crafted and took home custom Dried Flower Glass Window Panels. The gymnasium was full of energy, hosting 152 pickleball players and clinic student, and 24 basketball enthusiasts. Our self-guided programs continue to thrive, with 106 patrons utilizing the fitness room and 5 joining in for Mahjong. Excitement is also building for the 2025 Senior Games—174 participants are already signed up and ready to compete!
Recreation
Tringali Park Recreation Center The Recreation Center had another energetic week filled with great participation. Stride & Stretch topped the list with 59 participants, giving members a chance to build strength, flexibility, and mobility through guided movement. Meanwhile, Boogie Chair brought in 17 participants, keeping spirits high with a fun and accessible workout for all. Get ready to celebrate at Fall Into Tringali Park this Saturday from 1–4 PM! This free open house is packed with fun for all ages —games, live music, bounce houses, food trucks, and introductions to our classes. It’s the perfect chance to enjoy the park, discover new activities, and spend an afternoon with family and friends.
JM Berlin Rotary Skate Park Last week at the J.M.B Rotary Skatepark we had 55 skateboarders and 15 BMXers visit the park.
South County Regional Park Recreation Center
South County Regional Park Pool had another wonderful week with 354 Patrons enjoyed the refreshing water. Water aerobics is staying steady with 69 partaking.
South County Regional Park Recreation Center welcomed 140 Pickleballers to the gym this week. 56 patrons shot some hoops during our open Basketball time while 5 took to the skies with their RC Planes. Pilates helped stretch and tone 9 this week while 16 took to the dance floor in our Line Dancing rental.
Recreation
Harold Avenue Regional Park Recreation Center Harold Avenue Regional Park had 113 for Drop-in Pickleball, 135 Basketball, 28 Table Tennis and 4 for Volleyball. Walking Fitness had 10 walking this week. Silver Sneakers had 44, Zumba had 15 getting their groove on and Pilates had 7. Bonsai brought in 8 patrons pruning and grooming their trees.
Centennial Park Pool This week at Centennial Park Pool we had 238 lap swimmers and 204 Recreational swimmers! We had a total of 71 patrons participate in water aerobics this past week.
Sea Dragon Aquatics has joined us with 135 swimmers this week as well.
The Port Charlotte High School Swim and Dive team had 117 participants and 6 divers!
Ann & Chuck Dever Regional Park Pool The Ann & Chuck Dever Regional Park Pool continues to make a splash in our community, offering a wide variety of aquatic programs for all ages and interests. We welcomed 198 lap swimmers, 382 recreational swimmers, and 122 participants in water aerobics. In addition to public programs, we proudly supported local student athletes, hosting 122 swim team members from Lemon Bay High School and 5 participants in the Lemon Bay dive program. The pool also served as a training site for specialized activities, including 2 scuba diving sessions.
Parks & Natural Resources
NRPA Conference Parks & Natural Resources staff attended the National Recreation and Park Association conference in Orlando last week.
Land Management This week staff treated 3 acres of exotic/invasive plants at multiple properties. Species treated includes B. pepper, lead tree and snake plant. Additional work included pine density reductions as well as oak height reduction. This operation enhances habitat for Florida Scrub Jays in the eastern and middle parts of the county. Staff also conducted gopher tortoise surveys at acquisition parcels prior to conducting habitat restoration operations. Nearly 4 acres were surveyed.
Parks & Natural Resources
Coastal This week coastal and marine staff attended the 4 Annual Florida Resilience Conference at Sunseeker Resort here in Charlotte Harbor. Over the course of 3 days, staff participated in presentations and discussions led by organizations from across the State, all focused on building a more resilient Florida. Staff came away with new ideas, stronger connections, and valuable insights that we’re excited to bring back to our Charlotte County community. Voting has concluded for the first Lights Out for Sea Turtles art contest. Congratulations to our winners Anabelle Veitia (12) and Mike Pfeiffer (50). Their art will appear on sea turtle educational outreach materials. th
UF/IFAS Extension
Horticulture This week, Horticulture Therapy at the Peace River Botanical Gardens was led by Master Gardener volunteer Dolly Tomalinas. Participants made "bonsai" planters with desert roses and celebrated Hispanic Heritage month. All the smiles just in themselves show it was definitely a successful class!
Libraries & History
Here’s a quick look at what’s been happening across all our library locations this past week: Library Visitors & New Cards Charlotte County Libraries welcomed 5,567 visitors and issued 172 brand-new library cards- At a Glance: Weekly Roundup for Charlotte County Libraries & History
welcome to our newest members! Curbside & Homebound Services Convenient services remain popular: 26 patrons used curbside pickup 13 received homebound deliveries
Reference & Research Support Our knowledgeable staff answered: 267 general reference and technology questions 1 local history-specific inquiries
Libraries & History
Englewood Charlotte Public Library
This week we met some new friends in Train 'em Card Club where we started teaching them how to play the Pokemon trading card game, we built a pirate ship out of shapes in Toddler craft, and on Friday we celebrated all things pirate for National Talk Like a Pirate Day in Book Buccaneers. We learned about Jose Gaspar and the history of pirate flags, decorated shelving sticks, went on a scavenger hunt, had some tasty snacks, and designed our own pirate flags! Aarrgh, mateys! Punta Gorda Charlotte Library
Here comes the bride! Englewood had a unique occurrence this past weekend and had a wedding party visit our garden to take pictures. Congrats to the happy couple! In other announcement news our marquee sign has made a triumphant return and is now happily displaying information about library card sign up month. Our Books and Board Games program is catching on and we had some thrilled attendees. Our preschool prep kiddos are on their way to being experts in the classroom and learned about the letter “A” this week. We can’t wait to see how much they learn!
Libraries & History
Port Charlotte Public Library
Preschool Prep is off to a great start as we are learning our rug rules and beginning our journey through the alphabet with stories, songs, crafts, and lots of fun activities. Homeschool Hangout was a blast as we learned about the water cycle with fun experiments including the Ivory soap challenge and making clouds in a jar. Our Talk Like a Pirate Party on Saturday featured a 3D shark craft, coding a treasure map, using rice to create a fantasy map, party games, and dancing with Jolly Guitar Joe! Movie goers at enjoyed the silly antics and bad production values of the classic B film, Cat-women of the Moon. Photo Phactory showed participants how to set up a flat lay and still life scenes. We also discussed how using various light sources can affect their image. A patron sent in some photos of her 10 year old daughter’s home garden, writing, “Truly’s plants from the seed library. There are so many more pictures she has taken. You have made her into a gardener!”
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