Fun In The Sun Returning to Tulsa Parks' Summer Activities, Taking COVID-19 Precautions

Summer is just around the corner, and Tulsa’s Parks are gearing up for all sorts of activities for kids, including bringing back things that were not available for children last summer.

Last summer, Covid-19 brought an end to public pools across the city like the brand new pool at Whiteside Park, but this summer, it will be open for some fun in the sun.

"Looking forward to this year, they got a new pool," said Beau Roberson.

Roberson and his daughter Haddie were out enjoying the nice weather at Whiteside Park. He says it's been a tough year with not a lot of school programs to keep her busy. 

"This summer we'll be getting back lots more. We'll have the swimming pools open this year, they were closed last year, we'll have day camps again," said City Parks Director Anna America. 

America says it has been tough since last March for kids, but she's excited to offer a summer that looks a little closer to normal.

"Being active, being outside, those things can be done safely and are really important for kids who have been kind of cooped up and kept isolated," said America.

She says while kids are having fun at one of the city's many day camps or pools, they'll also be safe with COVID-19 rules still in place. She says protocols will be more stringent than other places since they deal mostly with kids, who are not vaccinated.

"This year, it'll look a little different, there will be smaller groups, we'll continue to keep kids, at least when they're indoors, in what we call pods, in smaller groups," America said.

She says the city is also adding two day camps this summer, one at Centennial Park near downtown and one at Chamberlain Park in North Tulsa. You can find details for those HERE.

Sign-ups for most summer camps start next month.