Welcome to the NEW Springfield Park District website.  We hope the new features will better assist you in discovering more about the Park District and the numerous recreational programs, facilities, parks and other services available to you and your family.

Please take the time to provide us with your comments, suggestions and feedback on this site as well as the services we offer to the community. Understanding the needs of the community will allow us to better serve you. Our goal is to provide the most outstanding parks and recreation services to our growing community.

Don't forget to stop by any of our locations to pick up your complimentary copy of our most recent seasonal brochure which includes a complete list of programs, events and park information.

Below is a list of upcoming events, programs, and activities you may find of interest.

Thank you for visiting the Springfield Park District!

Again this year, the Springfield Park District, the Rees Carillon Society and the Carillon Bells are planning a spectacular International Carillon Festival complete with world renowned carillonneurs and perhaps the largest and best firework display throughout central Illinois. Treat your ears by joining us each evening during the free concert series as some of the world’s most talented carillonneurs play one of the best carillons in the world. Food, drink, and memorabilia merchandise will be available for purchase. These concerts draw large crowds. For your comfort we encourage you to bring a lawn chair or blanket.   Concert Schedule June 3rd – Sunday     7:00 p.m. – TBA     7:45 p.m. – Wylie Crawford – Chicago, IL June 4th – Monday     7:00 p.m. – Trevor Workman –United Kingdom     7:45 p.m. – Doug Gefvert – Valley Forge, PA June 5th – Tuesday     7:00 p.m. – Dick van Dijk – The Netherlands     7:45 p.m. – Steven J. Ball – Ann Arbor, MI June 6th – Wednesday     No Concerts     Festival Banquet, for details contact Barb Walker – 787-3532 June 7th – Thursday     7:00 p.m. – Wylie Crawford – Chicago, IL     7:45 p.m. – Trevor Workman – United Kingdom June 8th – Friday     7:00 p.m. – Doug Gefvert – Valley Forge, PA     7:45 p.m. – Dick van Dijk – The Netherlands     9:15 p.m. – Fantastic Festival Fireworks June 9th – Saturday     7:00 p.m. – Steven J. Ball – Ann Arbor, MI     7:45 p.m. – TBA     9:15 p.m. - Fireworks (if rained out from previous night)

Movie in the Park is a free program where families and the entire community are invited to join us as we bring a big screen movie to their local parks. During each event the Park District sets up a 20 foot tall inflatable movie screen, LCD projector, and sound system to professionally show a big screen movie. As a convenience, popcorn and soft drinks are available for purchase. Families typically bring lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy their favorite flicks. These are truly great events. 2012 Movie in the Park events Date                 Location                              Movie                                                          Time          May 25         Lanphier Ball Park               Captain America: The First Avenger          Dusk June 15          Comer Cox Park                  Puss in Boots                                                Dusk July 20           Henson Robinson Zoo        Zookeeper                                                     Dusk August 3        Rotary Park                         Adventures of TinTin                                    Dusk 2012 Sponsors These events would not be possible with out the generous support of our sponsors. Please join us in thanking our wonderful sponsors for supporting free local family programming:                                                              Title Sponsors                                                                                                                                                              Park Partners                                                                                                                                                                                       Park Supporters

Music in the Park is a fun family-oriented series of musical events that are held at various parks throughout the community. The Park District hires a professional sound production company and books favorite local bands to perform live and on stage. A food vendor is on site serving warm food and cold (non-alcoholic) beverages. These events are completely free. Visitors are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket. 2012 Music in the Park events      (Download the Flyer) Date           Location                          Entertainment                                                                   Time May 27     Lincoln Park              Classic Rock with "The Screamin' Vatos"                      4 pm - 7 pm                                   June 10     Comer Cox Park       Rhythm and Grooves in the Afternoon featuring         4 pm - 7 pm                                                     "Brooke Thomas & Blue Suns" and "Kapital Sound"           July 29       Southwind Park       Hot Fun In The Summertime with                                  4 pm - 7 pm                                                       "The Debbie Ross Band"                Sept 23       Washington Park     Celtic Celebration with                                                   4 pm - 7 pm                                                      "Skibbereen", "Elks Pipes", and "The Emerald Underground"     2012 Sponsors These events would not be possible with out the generous support of our sponsors. Please join us in thanking our wonderful sponsors for supporting free local family programming:                                                              Title Sponsors                                                                                                                                                              Park Partners                                                                                                                                                                                       Park Supporters

Grab your kids and join us at Lincoln Park May 19th from 11am-3pm for a free day of family oriented games and activities. Try the inflatable wrecking ball, jacob's ladder, skee ball, try you golf skills on the putting green, and enter a free raffle to win a variety of prizes including free passes to Park District Facilities, discounted program registrations, and even facility memberships! Stay for lunch and learn about programs and facilities that are available to you through your local Park District. Staff will be on hand to help answer questions and provide information on all of the following areas: Washington Park Botanical Gardens, Nelson Center Ice Rinks, Henson Robinson Zoo, Nelson Center Pool, Recreation programming, Pre-School in the Parks, Funshop, Eisenhower Pool, Veteran’s Memorial Pool, Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon, Erin’s Pavilion, Special Olympics, Senior Olympics, Leisure Education and Adaptive Programming, and our four golf courses.  For additional information call 753-2800 or by email at seandickerson@springfieldparks.org.

Belfry Construction The upper belfry of the Carillon is currently under construction. The Carillon will re-open for concerts and tours in early June. We apologize for the inconvenience.   Museum Construction A museum is currently being constructed on the 3rd and 4th floors of the Carillon. The museum will house a magnificent bell collection along with historical pictures and artifacts relative to the Rees Carillon and the history of Carillons throughout the world. The museum is scheduled to open during the Carillon Festival in early June.

All Park District golf courses will officially open for the 2012 golfing season Thursday March 1st. All 2012 season passes will be valid at that point. Courses will open daily at 8:00am depending on weather. If you question the playability of a particular course during poor weather please contact the pro-shop directly to determine if the course will be open that day.   Bunn Golf Course                                  Pasfield Golf Course 2500 South Eleventh St.                        1700 W Lawrence    217-522-2633                                         217-753-6226   Lincoln Greens Golf Course                  Bergen Golf Course 700 East Lake Dr.                                  2900 Clearlake 217-786-4111                                         217-753-6211 Four public golf courses are owned and operated by the Springfield Park District. Bunn and Lincoln Greens are the District's 18 hole courses, while Bergen and Pasfield each contain 9 holes. All four courses are equipped with pro shops which contain snack shops, golf equipment sales and rental, as well as golf cart rental. Certified PGA professionals staff the pro shops. Do you love to golf? If so, a season passes may be just what you need. The Park District offers season passes for all of our courses. Season Passes offer golfers a great opportunity to save big money throughout the season. Season Pass Rates Daily Fees

The Springfield Park District recently initiated a process to develop a master plan for the Henson Robinson Zoo. This process charged two professional facilitators with the task of engaging the community and staff to define reasonable goals and expectations that would guide future progress of the zoo for years to come. We are excited to announce the master plan is complete and staff will be working hard to implement these recommendations. Zoo Master Plan

The Springfield Park District has partnered with the LPGA and the Girl Scouts of Central Illinois to bring you a girls golf program designed to provide an educational network for girls ages 7-17. Through the help of volunteers and instructors, girls can learn to play golf, further develop skills, build friendships and experience the game in a non-threatening environment. Instructional clinics, theme events and course play at various levels of ability will be provided throughout the summer at various sites.   More Info:          Brochure         Registration Forms   Registration:  Spots are limited so register soon. To register for this program simply download the registration forms and drop them off at the Girl Scout of Central Illinois offices located at:              3020 Baker Drive Springfield, IL 62703   T 217-523-8159 ext. 1612 F 217-523-8321

New Coordinates Will Be Launched Soon! Play the Springfield Park District’s “Discover our Parks” geocache game.  This game uses GPS units to locate great prizes throughout Springfield parks.  Players use specific coordinates to locate caches within different park district parks.  Once you have located the cache, list the park in which it was found and the keyword found inside the cache.  When all caches are found, return the completed form to the Henson Robinson Zoo at 1100 East Lake Drive.  All forms will go into a drawing for the grand prize (a Springfield Park District Mega Pass).  Other prizes include: “first to find” like t-shirts and daily admission passes.

On October 4, 2008, the Springfield Angel of Hope, NFP dedicated an Angel of Hope Statue in the Washington Park Botanical Garden.  The angel statue honors the lives of all children gone too soon and serves as a place of hope and healing for parents, families, and friends dealing with the tragic loss of a child.  Over 300 area children’s names are commemorated on the Memorial Wall located at the angel statue site. New names will be added annually, and submissions must be received by September 15 each year.   The Springfield Angel of Hope, NFP was organized in August 2007 and raised all the necessary funds to pay for and install the angel statue.  Construction began on the Springfield angel statue site in April 2008 at the Washington Park Botanical Garden and was completed in October 2008.  The Springfield Angel of Hope, NFP continues to accept donations to cover expenditures such as engraving costs for annual updates to the names listed on the Memorial Wall, expenses associated with the Annual Candlelight Remembrance Ceremony, ongoing landscape costs, and general site maintenance. Each year the public is invited to attend the Candlelight Remembrance Ceremony on December 6th at 7 p.m. at the Angel of Hope Statue site to commemorate the lives of all children gone too soon.  Attendees are invited to bring a white flower to place at the base of the angel statue in memory of their beloved children.   More than 100 communities—including 7 in Illinois—have installed or are in the process of installing an angel statue to respond to the needs of local families who have experienced the loss of a child. Springfield’s angel statue is the only one of its kind located in central Illinois. The children whom the angel statue commemorates should be playing, working, and living in our community—now they will be honored at the angel statue site for generations to come.   For more information about the Angel of Hope Statue, please contact Doug Reynolds, President of the Springfield Angel of Hope, NFP, at f16ratt@mac.com or 553-1329 or visit our website at www.springfieldangelofhope.org. Where is the Angel of Hope?