The Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department provides a wide variety of recreational activities for adults and children, quality parks and open space areas, and the theatre provide a well-blended mix of cultural programming and entertainment options for residents and users.

Playful City USA - Five Straight Years!

Today’s children spend less time playing outside than any previous generation. That’s why Northglenn is proud of its recent recognition from the national nonprofit KaBOOM! as a Playful City USA community for its efforts to increase play opportunities for children. This is the fifth straight year the city has received the honor.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, play is critical to healthy brain development. It allows children to use their creativity while developing imagination, dexterity and physical, cognitive and emotional strength. However, today’s children spend less time playing outside than any previous generation in part because only one in five live within walking distance of a park or playground.

Presented by the Humana Foundation, Playful City USA is a national program advocating for local policies that increase play opportunities for children and is a key platform to combating the play deficit.

The city received the honor for its newly dedicated Don Anema Memorial Skatepark, which enhances the community’s agenda for play and E.B. Rains Jr. Memorial Park’s splash pad and climbing boulders, which provide facilities for all to enjoy.

A primary goal of Playful City USA is to encourage cities and towns to share ideas, concepts and programs in an effort to increase play opportunities through children. Through the Playful City USA program, other communities across the country will look to Northglenn as a role model in the development of play options. The city takes great pride in knowing that what it is doing here in Northglenn will improve the lives of children elsewhere.