On August 22, Dover held its third Open Streets Restoring Central Dover event of the summer themed as “Back to School.” Open Streets temporarily closes down a few city streets to car traffic and opens them up to people to participate in fun fitness-related activities including moon bounce, Wesley’s Rope Course and life-size games.
“This was our best event thus far in the series of Open Streets,” says Chanda Jackson, Community Engagement Specialist and NCALL, a nonprofit that organizes the monthly event. “We had well over 500 participants, including adults and their families, come out and have fun. And we provided about 300 book bags and supplies.”
The goal of Open Streets is to “Get up and outside” and NCALL accomplished this goal with the help of many partners, including the University of Delaware. Event organizers say the Open Streets project also encourages people to use active modes of transportation, engage in healthy living, and rethink Dover’s streets as public space, while also promoting local businesses, sustainable transportation, and civic pride in the city where participants live, work and play.
Other partners at Open Streets included Bayhealth, which provided free blood pressure screenings, and the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), which showcased a drone demonstration.
The next Open Streets events will be held on the following dates:
• October 20th from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
• November 29th (makeup date) time TBD
Partners that collaborated with NCALL’s Restoring Central Dover included (but not limited to):
- The Children’s Theater
- Dover Public Library
- Dover Parks and Recreation
- Dover Police Department
- Food Bank of Delaware
- DHSS Tobacco Prevention Program
- Wesley College
- The National Guard
- Capital School District Food and Nutrition Program
- Dover High School
- Communities in Schools
- AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware
- Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club
- Delaware State University
