Austin Parks Foundation's It's My Park Day Spring - A Morning of Reuniting Friends of Parque Zaragoza / Amigos de Parque Zaragoza

Chief Scoop Blogger, The #PZNA Neighborhood Nose

This Austin Parks Foundation’s City-wide It’s My Park Day Spring 2020 for Parque Zaragoza Neighborhood Park really transformed into a truly special occasion as some of Parque Zaragoza's longest neighborhood park advocates and organizers attended and reminisced about the park, shared their stories and its history which dates back over 90 years.

For the morning's setup and gathering I deliberately picked the swimming pool and old recreation center/caretaker cottage location I now refer to as 'the heart of our park'  because for at least 65 years up until 1996 all the community's activities and traffic flowed in and out from here.

We enjoyed breakfast tacos from Joe’s Bakery and Coffee Shop (a local business supporter of the park for decades) and discussed some shared goals for Parque Zaragoza's future including the next ACL Festival grant application for adding a new amenity to the park as well as historical preservation grant application opportunities. We also are aiming to bring back some older neighborhood park traditions too.

A heartfelt thank you to Austin Parks Foundation, City of Austin Parks and Recreations Department and the Parque Zaragoza Recreation Center team for their ongoing support through facilitating our events. But especially all who made it including returning volunteers from our previous It's My Park Day, Fall and also City Council Member Pio Renteria, his wife Lori and our District 3 first dog, Hija (Spanish for daughter). 

I'm truly grateful and blessed that by learning about the history of this neighborhood park and its surrounding community who cares about it, I have found my own extended East Austin familia / family.

"Parks and Playgrounds are the soul of a city." - Marty Rubin