Round Rocker: Parks and Recreation 411 : events

Pictures from the 5K and Paul Eason concert

Elysabeth Bean — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:08:00 GMT

It was a great weekend for Parks and Recreation. The 5K for Clay had a good turn out with 348 participants and Paul Eason entertained the crowd at the last concert of the 2009 Round Rock Concert Series.

Everyone did great at the 5K and we have pictures to prove! To see pictures from the 5K click HERE.

Paul Eason did not disappoint this weekend. Click HERE to view pictures taken at the concert.

All pictures taken at Parks and Recreation events can be found at the City’s Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/cityofroundrock/sets.

Movies in the Park, 5k, Concert Series and Lake Creek closing all happening this weekend

Elysabeth Bean — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:14:00 GMT

A lot is happening in Round Rock this weekend, so grab your planner and write this all down!

On Friday, August 14, Movies in the Park is playing Igor. The movie starts at dark, but all pre-movie activities start at 7:30 pm. Bring lawn chairs or a blanket. There will be vendors out there, but feel free to bring your own food. Get more information at www.roundrocktexas.gov/parksandrec under special events.

On Saturday, August 15, the 5k for Clay is happening at the Clay Madsen Recreation Center. If you haven’t sign up, it’s not too late. You can register the day of at the recreation center before the race. The 5k benefits the Clay Madsen Recreation Center and will be a fun run down the Greater Lake Creek Trail and A.W. Grimes. Visit www.5kforclay.com for more information.

On Sunday, August 16, Texas Country music singer, Paul Eason will be playing at the Round Rock Amphitheatre for the 2009 Round Rock Summer Concert Series. He’s the last of the performers this summer, so come out and enjoy the concert. Visit www.roundrocktexas.gov/concerts to get information about the concert series.

Also, this is the last weekend that Lake Creek Pool will be open. The other pools will be open after this weekend, but if you’re a fan of Lake Creek this weekend will be your last chance to enjoy the pool! Get more information about pools and their closing dates at www.roundrocktexas.gov/pools.

Outlaw Trail 100 registration now available online

Elysabeth Bean — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:45:00 GMT

Attention all cyclists! The time has come for you to register for the Outlaw Trail 100. The Outlaw Trail 100 is a non-competitive cycling tour where cyclists from across Texas ride through Williamson County at their own pace. The tour features 10 mile, 25 mile, 40 mile, 50 mile, 63 mile, 100K and 100 mile loop courses.

You can register online through www.active.com or you can download the printable .pdf and send it through the mail to the Parks and Recreation office at 301 W. Bagdad Ste. 250 Round Rock, TX 78664.

You can register the day of at packet pick-up in Old Settlers Park, but this year Parks and Recreation is capping the number of participants at 900. This is a popular event. They have reached and passed this number many times in the past, so registering as soon as possible is a good idea.

You can get more information about the Outlaw Trail 100 or to get the registration form visit www.outlawtrail100.com. Come out and ride!

Sign up for the 5K for Clay

Elysabeth Bean — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:37:00 GMT

The 6th Annual 5K for Clay will be Saturday, August 15 at the Clay Madsen Creation Center. The event will benefit the recreation center as well as honor the Madsen family.

The 5K is the looped course that starts and finishes at the Clay Madsen Recreation Center.

You can sign up for the race at the Clay Madsen Recreation Center or online until August 12. After that you can sign up at the Clay Madsen Recreation Center the day of the race.

The event is time chipped and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners of each age and gender division will get a metal. The top three racers overall will win a gift certificate from REI. There will be t-shirts and participant bags for racer.

The Sports Capital of Texas Ambassadors will also be announcing the participants for the new fitness program Round to Rock at the event.

To get more information about the 5K for Clay and to register visit www.5kforclay.com.

Iron Man playing this Friday at Old Settlers Park

Elysabeth Bean — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:55:00 GMT

Friday, July 24 Time Warner Cable is hosting Movies in the Park at Old Settlers Park. The movie playing this Friday is Iron Man and starts at dark, but there are some pre-movie activities that start at 7:30 p.m.

Bring the whole family along with some lawn chairs or blankets to sit on while enjoying the movie. There will be some vendors there, but feel free to bring some movie snacks.

The show is free, so come out and enjoy a night at the park. For more information visit www.roundrocktexas.gov/parksandrecreation or www.timewarneraustin.com.

July 4 Frontier Days: a memorable experience

Elysabeth Bean — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:32:00 GMT

My first July 4 Frontier Days Celebration was a success. It was hot out there and I don’t think I’ve ever drank that much water, but it was still fun.

The parade was great. There were many interesting floats and a lot of people out there to support the parade. Bama Brown from KASE 101 was funny and did a fantasitic job at entertaining the crowd. The kids had a lot of fun out there with all the candy and small toys being thrown to them from the floats.

The Parks and Recreation Department has something to brag about; the Allen R. Baca Center won the Best Civic and Best Overall parade float entries with “Life is Sweet at the Allen R. Baca Center.”

The celebration continued out at Old Settlers Park. I caught the first Sam Bass Shoot Out. They had some sound problems at first, but they more than made up for it with the gun fire. Then I headed over to watch part of the Lion’s Club One Hole Washer Tourney had a lot people out there to support the Play for All Abilities Park. I tried my hand at washers, but I’m thinking I need to pick another pass time; I didn’t do so hot.

The Boat Regatta was personally my favorite event of the whole day. It was entertaining watching the cardboard boats try to navigate their way around the course. The EcoBox was entertaining to watch go down. He started to go down in the second heat at the very start, but kept going. He finished the race by swimming a piece of his boat to the finish line. Watch the EcoBox go down at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF4WZ3fNaTM. It was great.

The Orca also made a dramatic sinking. The boat was modeled after the boat on Jaws. It even had a blow up shark following behind the boat. The crew of the boat jumped from the boat and took on the shark and eventually brought the boat down. Parks and Recreation can add another thing to brag about to their list because the Top Gun boat won the People’s Choice Award for having the best boat design; it was created and rowed by a few parks and recreation employees.

The pepper eating contest was also entertaining. The most peppers eaten were 57 by a man named Steve. He didn’t even flinch. Afterward he enjoyed a nice cup of milk. The runner up was Alexander Sherry with 40 peppers. He won last year by eating 69 peppers, but I guess this year he couldn’t take the heat. He still ate more peppers that I would ever dare try.

The night ended with fireworks. This firework show was not your typical fireworks show. The Frontier Days Celebration and the Dell Diamond coordinated their fireworks shows to start at the same time and it was awesome. No matter where you looked in the sky you saw fireworks. It was great.

To see the pictures from the July 4 Frontier Celebration including the parade visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/cityofroundrock/sets/72157620912329881/. Pictures for the Boat Regatta are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/cityofroundrock/sets/72157620912918141/.

July 4: Sam Bass Shoot Out

Elysabeth Bean — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:53:00 GMT

Only two days left until the July 4 Frontier Days Celebration takes place! This my first Frontier Days Celebration. That also means it's my first Sam Bass Shoot Out. I wasn’t quite sure what a Sam Bass Shoot Out was, so I did some research.

The Same Bass Shoot Out is the reenactment of an actual shoot out between the outlaw Sam Bass and his gang and the Deputy Sheriffs A.W. Grime and Morris Moore of Round Rock.

Sam Bass was wanted by the Texas Rangers for robbing trains in North Texas. He made his way down to Round Rock where he was recognized and the authorities were notified. The deputy sheriffs caught up with him at a bank he was planning to rob. The confrontation resulted in a shoot out between the two groups. Deputy Sheriff A.W. Grimes was killed and Sam Bass was fatally wounded in the gun fight.

It sounds like the Sam Bass Shoot Out at the Frontier Days is going to be an exciting scene to watch. The Shoot Out is happening at Old Settlers Park as a part of the Frontier Days Celebration. There are three chances to catch the reenactment: 12:30, 3:00 and 6:20 pm.

For more information about Frontier Days visit www.roundrockfrontierdays.com

July 4: hot jalapenos and sinking boats, exciting stuff to see

Elysabeth Bean — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:21:00 GMT

The July 4 Frontier Days Celebration is only three days away and after going over the list of events taking place there are two things happening that I can’t wait to see.

The first is the Pepper Eating Contest. Contestants will eat as many jalapeno peppers as they can in hopes of winning the $75 cash prize. Last year’s winner ate 69 peppers; that is about $1.09 per pepper!

The Pepper Eating Contest starts at 2:00 pm at the Lakeview Pavilion. Mike Warren from Fox 7 News will be the MC for the event and I’ve heard he has some interested pepper facts to share with the crowd.

The second thing I can’t wait to watch is the Boat Regatta. This is where teams create cardboard boats to try to navigate a race course in the lake at Old Settlers Park. I can’t wait to see which boats take on water and which can manage to make it around the course.

The Boat Regatta races also start at 2:00 pm, but don’t worry you can see both. The Pepper Eating Contest will be finished before the Regatta ends so all those wanting to watch both can see the Pepper Eating Contest and then make the short walk over to the lake to catch the rest of the Boat Regatta. It’s going to be fun!

For more information about the July 4 Frontier Days Celebration and a list of events visit www.roundrockfrontierdays.com.

July 4 First Annual One Hole Washer Tourney

Elysabeth Bean — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:32:00 GMT

The Round Rock Lions Clubs host the first annual One Hole Washer Tourney on July 4 at 1 pm during the July 4 Frontier Days Celebration at Old Settlers Park. Proceeds from the tournament will benefit Round Rock’s Play for All Abilities Park. $25 per team, $30 on July 4.

For more information about the Play for All Abilities Park visit www.roundrocktexas.gov/playforall. Register today for the Washers Tourney at www.roundrockfrontierdays.com or call Justin Lawhorn at 785-5529.

10 days left until the July 4 Frontier Days Celebration!

Juneteenth is over and done, hope you didn't miss the fun

Elysabeth Bean — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:05:00 GMT

If you didn’t go to the Juneteenth Rhythm and Ribs Celebration you missed out. Although the heat was sweltering hot the atmosphere of the event was cool. There were moon walks, a rock wall, food vendors, games, contests, barbeque cook-off and entertainment.

I went to check out the action Saturday and had a great time. The Councilmembers declare Juneteenth officially the Juneteenth Rhythm and Ribs Celebration for Round Rock.

The One Way Baptist Church Choir came out singing to celebrate the announcement. The choir sounded great.

While setting up the stage for Eleven Fingered Charlie the DJ played classic dance tunes for the crowd to dance to. A few members of the Round Rock Police Department came out to show us their moves to the Electric Slide and the Cupid Shuffle.

I enjoyed the sounds of Eleven Fingered Charlie. There reggae/rock music was nice and relaxing in the heat of the day. After that, the rap group, Nikkage came on stage to end the night.

Over all it was a great day out at the Round Rock Amphitheater.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads in Round Rock!

Elysabeth Bean — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:42:00 GMT

Father’s Day weekend is upon us and it’s time to celebrate that special father figure in your life. Here are some activities to do with your dad this Father’s Day weekend.

Friday, June 19 and Saturday, June 20 take your dad out to the Juneteenth Rhythm and Ribs Celebration for barbeque, games, live music and entertainment. Eleven Fingered Charlie is playing at 3 pm. Go to the Round Rock Amphitheater and have a good time from 5 pm to 8 pm on Friday and 11 am to 6 pm on Saturday. For more information about the Juneteenth Celebration visit www.thevoicerr.com.

Sunday, June 21 why don’t you take your dad out to the pool? All the city pools will be open on Father’s Day so show your dad how much you love him with a splash and a ride down the water slide! To get hours and prices for the pools visit www.roundrocktexas.gov/pools.

The heat is on June 20 at the Juneteenthn Rhythm and Ribs Celebration barbeque cook-off

Elysabeth Bean — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:23:00 GMT

This Friday and Saturday is the Round Rock Juneteenth Rhythm and Ribs Celebration happening at the Round Rock Amphitheather. There will be live music and entertainment, game and a barbeque cook-off.

Come out and enjoy the smell and taste of barbeque ribs this Saturday, June 20. Cook-off contestants will arrive early in the morning to start preparation for the cook-off. The Juneteenth Celebration starts at 11 am. By the time you arrive at the celebration the smell of delicious ribs will be wafting through the air.

Come see the contestants' barbeque skills as the cook-off heats up. The judging for the competition takes place at 1 pm.

The Juneteeth Rhythm and Ribs Celebration is Friday, June 19 from 5pm to 8pm and Satuday, June 20 from 11 am to 6 pm. For more information about the Celebration visit www.thevoicerr.com.

Go to the Super Series and after go to get super soaked

Elysabeth Bean — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:02:00 GMT

This weekend, June 5-7, the Super Series South Tx State Championship is going on here in Round Rock at Old Settlers Park. There will be recycling bins out there to promote being green, so look out for those.

After the fun of watching or playing in the Super Series take the quick trip to the Rock’N River Family Aquatic Center. After being in the heat, Rock’N River will be a great place to cool down.

Remember all city pools open tomorrow, Thursday, June 4. To check out more information about the Super Series visit http://www.sportscapitaloftexas.com/events and for more information about the pools visit http://www.roundrocktexas.gov/pools.

Parade your float this July 4

Elysabeth Bean — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:47:00 GMT

With July 4Frontier Days about a month away it is time for you to start thinking about the parade. If you just want to come out and watch, great. You can find out the parade route on the city’s website and decide where you want to set up your lawn chair.

If you are interested in being in the parade, awesome! There is no cost to participate in the parade, so grab a trailer and your friends, decorate your float or your bike and be a part of the fun. No entry is too large or too small. After the parade is over you can watch the parade and see your float on Channel 10 after the event. This is can be a great chance to show the community what your company, organization, club or family is all about.

Entries in the parade have the chance to win the title and bragging rights of being the best in these categories: best marching unit, best commercial unit, best riding unit, most beautiful, best related to theme, best civic and most spirited unit and best overall.

So get to work on your parade float! To enter in the parade you must fill out an application. Applications can be found online along with details about the parade and Frontier Days at www.roundrockfrontierdays.com.

Come check out the RAT

Elysabeth Bean — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:25:00 GMT

The Regional Amateur Tour or the RAT is coming to the Sports Capital of Texas! The RAT is a four stop skate series happening in the state of Texas. Its purpose is to help grow the sport. The tour has been to Dallas/Fort Worth and is coming to Austin, San Antonio and Houston.

The Austin stop is taking place on June 6 at the Round Rock skate park next to the Clay Madsen Recreation Center. Skaters can sign up for a $20 entry fee and have the chance to win substantial prizes.

Come out and watch or skate for prizes! To get more information about the RAT or to register visit www.skatetherat.com.