Bring on the bocce.
That’s what Palo Alto Mayor Yiaway Yeh is hoping residents throughout Palo Alto will say on Sunday, June 3, when he hosts the second installment of his “YMCA Mayor’s Challenge.”
The free recreational event, titled “Day in the Park,” will feature yoga, bocce ball and youth tennis. The purpose of the Mayor’s Challenge is to bring neighbors together to meet one another, he said in a press release.
The event is loosely competitive, with points awarded to the neighborhoods that turn out the most participants.
Day in the Park will take place at Mitchell Park and Rinconada Park from 2-5 p.m. Each hour will include 45-minute sessions of each sport simultaneously, with the tennis limited to kids 10 years old and younger. Participants can rotate through all three sessions or just choose one, Yeh said.
Day in the Park is an all-volunteer event co-sponsored by Palo Alto Tennis Club and Campo di Bocce, according to Yeh.
Tennis rackets and Bocce Balls will be provided, but neighbors should bring their own yoga mats.
This event is open to Palo Alto residents, all school-district students, and people who commute to work in Palo Alto.
The first Mayor’s Challenge event, table tennis, took place on March 25, with more than 150 neighbors and volunteers turning out. The top three neighborhoods with the greatest number of participants in the first challenge were Midtown, Barron Park and Old Palo Alto.
People can register for Day in the Park at www.ymcamayorschallenge.org or in person at the Palo Alto Family YMCA on Ross Road. Additional information is available by contacting Stephanie at the YMCA at 650-842-7167 or emailing shannah@ymcasv.org.
By Palo Alto Weekly staff
By Palo Alto Weekly staff
By Palo Alto Weekly staff
The mayor should host a how are we going to balance the city budget challenge. This frivolity looks a bit ridiculous under the current financial circumstances.
Why does everything have to happen at Mitchell Park? I was there on Saturday morning, there wasn’t a piece of space available with all the soccer and baseball players of every age from 3 to 93. I go over to Greer Park and there’s hardly anyone there. Yaiwey you should choose your parks more carefully.
The mayor and our other city leaders and elected officials need to consider their priorities more carefully, never mind the parks. This isn’t the time to be out having fun and playing games as if there is no important civic work to be done. We’re in a financial crisis. We have a significant budget deficit. We do not have the funds to pay for vital public safety and infrastructure needs. Can city hall at least act like these issues are in the forefront of their minds?
I’m kinda disappointed in Yiaway Yeh too, he is turning out to be a light weight Mayor with child like dreams. He doesn’t seem to get it that the budget isn’t balanced. Come on Yiaway, I’m waiting for you to take the lead and come up with some ideas to balance the budget. Meanwhile, you seem to prefer playing ping pong, how do you suppose that looks to the average Palo Altan? I can’t wait ’till Greg Scharf becomes Mayor.