O'Kane Park Neighborhood Association

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS CENTER

What's up at the Washington Heights Center?

The past several months have been an exciting period of change and growth at Washington Heights. - Foothills Parks and Recreation District handed over the Center and the adjacent park to the City of Lakewood on January 1, 1999. This completes the transition of the facility from Foothills to the City, as mandated in the November, 1997 exclusion vote. The complete acquisition of Washington Heights has enabled the City to develop its own Pottery Program at the Center. In January of 1999, Heritage, Culture, and the Arts will offer six pottery classes at Washington Heights. In addition, a Southwest Pottery class and a Decorating Ceramic Tile class will be offered in the early spring.

In October, The Kids Art Program debuted at Washington Heights with 55 students signing up for five different classes. The Kids Dance Program, which was unveiled in the summer, was offered again with student registration more than doubling. Both the Kids Art and the Kids Dance Programs have been expanded and they will start up again in January. This Fall also saw the premier of Washington Height's Developmental Disability Art Workshops. Over 30 students signed up for classes in pottery, jewelry making, and photo-journaling which were offered in conjunction with the Developmental Disability Resource Center.

The transformation of Washington Heights into an inviting place to learn and create has been a continuous process with which we have made significant progress. With the addition of velour curtains and acoustical wall panels, we have made acoustical enhancements to the rooms. This has significantly dampened the reverberation in the rooms making it easier for people to hear each other. Recently, a turn of the century, wooden school bench was placed in the foyer to provide seating to waiting parents and students and to complement the historical, schoolhouse ambiance of the center.

Although much progress has been made, the beautification process is not complete, and we are still searching for additional plants, art prints, a wooden table, and other miscellaneous items. We are also searching for community would like to volunteer time at eights helping out in the office eachers in the kid's classes. To find out more information about donations, volunteering, or cultural arts classes, please call 303-237-7407.