Get Your Sneakers & Bathing Suit - The 2nd Annual Cannonball Run Fundraiser is July 7, 2018

The Race That Runs The Trails, and Ends IN The Pool!

CANNONBALL RUN
RACE DETAILS
When: Saturday, July 7, 2018
Time: Registration, 9:30 am; first heats start at 10:15 am
Where: The Beacon Pool at the University Settlement Camp, 724 Wolcott Ave., Beacon, NY
Donation/Price: $20 for 5K; $5 for 1 Mile

The Beacon Recreation Department is producing their 2nd Annual Cannonball Run, a 5K and 1-mile race through the trails of the University Settlement Camp, located on Wolcott Avenue on your way out of town toward Cold Spring on Saturday, July 7, 2018.

This is a race with an extra splash of fun - you get to start at the Beacon Pool, and end with a jump into the pool. Says Nate Smith, assistant director of the Beacon Recreation Department: "You can walk, stroll, jog, sprint, however you want to participate. We just want you to have fun. Though this is a trail run, so there will be some hills. Just to make it more exciting."

If you don't feel like running, you can still enjoy the event by taking part in a huge raffle. On offer: plenty of prizes from your favorite local businesses, including the Beacon Creamery, Trax Espresso Bar, Meyer's Olde Dutch Food & Such, Artisan Wine Shop, and many others. Bagels are being donated by Beacon Bagel for early registrants, and Sal's Pizza is pitching in a few pizza pies for after the race. The South Avenue PTO Collaborative will be selling ice pops and water. So bring your bathing suit, and be ready for a great Saturday morning.

Fundraiser for the Beacon After School Programs

The run itself is awesome, but the main reason for the event is to raise funds for Beacon's After School Programs, which have been instrumental in hugely improving the public school experience in Beacon. See our article here from when the program first launched in the elementary schools.

If enough money is raised during this event, funding will go toward a new middle-school After School Program - it's the trickle-up effect! Fundraising efforts will help the Beacon Recreation Department secure the funds they need to start that program.

The five-day program, which runs from 3 to 6 pm on school days, started in the elementary schools, allowing enrolled kids to stay at school and engage in different themed activities each day, such as Yoga, Martial Arts, Spanish, and more. Local businesspeople are involved and serve as the instructors. "It has been a win-win for everyone," says Nate.

A Little Beacon Blog is a proud media sponsor of this Cannonball Run, as we have first-hand experience of how wonderful the After School Program is - including instructors, caregivers and programming. We give this event a double-high five!

About The Cannonball Run

Participants have the choice of doing a 5K (just over 3 miles) or a 1-mile trail run. The race begins at the pool and ends IN the pool. Registration begins at 9:30 am and the suggested donation is $20 for the 5K, $5 for the 1-mile. You can also pre-register at the City of Beacon Recreation Department's Facebook Page.

Win Some Of The Best Prizes Around!

There will be prizes for the following categories from the following businesses:

• Fastest 5K Male
• Fastest 5K Female
• Fastest Mile (Male, under 12)
• Fastest Mile (Female, under 12)
• Best Costumes
• Raffles

Sponsoring Businesses:

• Nella Bellas Boutique
• Mountain Tops
• Trax Espresso Bar & Coffee Roasters
• Bank Square Coffeehouse
• Fishkill Farms
• Hudson Valley Renegades
• Beacon Bagel
• Barb's Butchery
• Garrison Art Center
• Beacon Creamery
• Bounce! Trampoline Sports
• beBhakti Yoga
• SHRED Foundation
• BCSD PTO Collaborative
• A Little Beacon Blog
• Beacon Arts & Education Foundation
• Girls Inc.
• Keyfood Beacon
• Meyer's Olde Dutch Food & Such
• Artisan Wine Shop
• Play Toys and Gifts
• Beetle and Fred
• Fishkill Bowl
• Mr. V's Deli
• Sal's Pizza & Pasta

You can RSVP on Facebook here! 

See you there! We are training...

New This Fall - After School Program At All Sport Health & Fitness (Sponsored)

After-school options for kids are getting pretty good around these parts. All Sport's new After School Program has been modeled around the success of their Summer Camp Program, Camp FIT. Where once you could only get planned activities in art and sports during the Vacation Camp days or Kids Night Out at All Sport, now parents can sign up their kids for regular afternoons of after-school programming that includes swimming on some days. All Sport's Kids Club is still an option, and is unchanged from what you are used to (aka the childcare room at the club), but the After School Program has more programming and planned hands-on activities with the kids. Unlike with Kids Club, registration with the After School Program means you can leave the club and do errands in the area.

Morning and afternoon care are both options, and busing is available for children in the Wappingers school district. But Beacon parents have an opportunity here to create a check-and-balance for their own fitness schedule. Here are the benefits to signing up for a couple of days of All Sport's After School Program:

Swimming Lessons and Planned Swimming Activity

You and your children may be veterans of All Sport's group or private swimming lessons, where you have gone - no matter the weather - to make strong swimmers. If you coordinate an After School Day with the swimming lessons, the staff at All Sport's After School Program can walk your child to their swimming lessons. And where might you be?

Working Out, Massages, and Errands Around
All Sport

While this After School Program is open to all children and not just members of All Sport, if you were a member, kids could be looked after while you take advantage of the club, locking in a workout with yourself. It might look like this:

• Cardio on the treadmill or elliptical, or running outside around All Sport's Outdoor Park.
• Toning on the circuit machines with a free, personalized plan of what setting and weight work for you on the machines.
• Scheduling a Pilates session with Beacon Pilates' outpost studio, located upstairs at All Sport (not included with membership, but a convenient way to utilize Beacon Pilates if you have children).
• Relaxation in the sauna with a quick shower after.
• Or... Use this time to relax for an hour, in a massage upstairs.

Space is limited in this After School Program, so reserve your days now. Be sure to ask which days have swimming as an activity, and see if you can cross-coordinate with when you schedule swimming lessons (registration for which is going on now and books fast, so call 845-896-5678 to register for swim lessons).

All Sport's decorations in their front lobby show how excited they're getting about their new After School Program!

P.S.: All Sport's Camp FIT runs all the way until the start of school, so weeks starting August 22nd and August 29th have a few spots left for campers. You can call 845-896-5678 to register, or visit this page for more details.
 
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Beacon Launches After School Program in 3 Elementary Schools

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If the new, official After School Program is anything like the successful re-launch of the years-long dry Beacon Pool, then Beacon residents and students in the Beacon City School District are in for a treat. The After School Program, developed by the City of Beacon Recreation Department, will serve students in grades K-5 from 3pm to 6pm in Beacon's three elementary schools: Sargent, South Avenue, and Forrestal. Glenham, the fourth elementary school that Beacon kids attend, already has an After School Program through the Fishkill School District. Kids will be able to select from programs ranging from art to baking to yoga to engineering to bird study (bird study!) in the After School Program, which has opened registration for enrollment.

The program is directed by Mark Price, the director of the Beacon Parks and Recreation Department, and Nate Smith, City of Beacon assistant recreation director, and takes place at each of the schools. When asked about why the program was launched, Mark replied: "Our community and feedback! I have had the joy and privilege of working for the City of Beacon for the last eight years. In that time we have watched some of the most important programming lapse, with the closing of the Beacon Community Center and Martin Luther King Cultural Center, their after school programs. Some of the most continual feedback I have heard from our community in that time has been the hope for the return of after school programming in the schools. Here we are! So with the support of both the City of Beacon and the Beacon City School District, we are going to give it a try and make Beacon just a little bit better."

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The After School program will incorporate the creative talent available from parents and other residents of Beacon. Tapping into the community in this way has long been a dream of many: Interim Superintendent Ann Marie Quartironi mentioned it to me during a parent meeting, and Mark Price himself, who had used private After School Programs in the area for his own children, was immediately on board. Says Nate about his role with the program: "I have been working in recreation programs with school-aged children my whole career. I was a summer camp director for several years and ran after school programs in Monticello for almost two years. I love working with school-aged children and giving them an opportunity to do some really fun and enriching stuff."

If the promotional Instagrams have indicated that this program is special and designed for residents who like variety and stability in their child's lives, then the actual curriculum will have you wishing you could sign yourself up. Says Nate about the new program: "I am excited to be a part of this project and bring this type of programming to my community. There are so many talented people in Beacon. I know that children, including my own, will benefit from exposure to the arts, nature and a variety of athletic activities that they might not have otherwise."

Take a look at the initial schedule for Session 1, which runs from September 12 - November 11, 2016:

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Please note that this schedule was taken from the City of Beacon's website on 8/2/16, and may have changed. Please see the website for Beacon's After School Program for the most up-to-date listing and details.

Different classes are run on different days at select schools. Instructors include those you know from local businesses, offering a wide range of classes. Five Hens, a local baker and specialist in dark chocolate, will help kids learn about measurements and adapting recipes, the science involved in baking as well as a general knowledge and an appreciation of food. Audubon New York’s For the Birds program teaches environmental awareness and appreciation of nature through the study of birds. Students learn about their local, natural environment through indoor and outdoor lessons as well as a conservation project designed to enhance a bird habitat. Junior Engineers is a hands-on program that will bring together a variety of engineering elements. Students will use robots, computer coding, mechanical advantage, LEGO blocks and motors to solve problems.

There are four sessions offered throughout the year:

Session 1: September 12 - November 11, 2016
Session 2: November 14, 2016 - January 20, 2017
Session 3: January 23 - April 7, 2017
Session 4: April 17 - June 15, 2017

Pricing is based on signing up for a consistent day of the week through an entire session, and is $125 for each type of day. For example, if you sign your child up for every Tuesday, the price is $125 to go on Tuesday for the entire session, with a slight discount available to those signing up for five days.

As you are planning after school activities, use A Little Beacon Blog's Kids Classes Guide to see how you want to balance all of the opportunities available. It includes free options from various programs, sports registrations, and other classes available in Beacon as well as Fishkill and neighboring towns.

Parents, start your calendars!