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Buncombe County Recreation Services (2019) Print
2019 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Park enhancements
└ Park enhancements
After Buncombe County Recreation Services installed new instruments in Charles D. Owen Park -- including lily pad cymbals, a tenor tree, tuned drums and flower gongs -- park attendance increased nearly 20 percent in one year. The instruments, created by the Freenotes Harmony Park company, don't include sharps or flats and are designed to be played using arm and hand muscles rather than fingers. That way, people of all musical abilities can play them without training. More than 400 people also participated in three workshops focused on designing artistic tiles for the new space with themes of compassion, peace and diversity. The creation of the Real Possibilities musical garden sparked new projects, including the park's first TRACK Trail (self-guided, family-friendly outdoor adventures with prizes), enhanced sports courts and bird nest boxes that allow researchers to study tree swallows.
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Project Category: Park enhancements
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Hartford, CT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Park enhancements
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Angola, IN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: This project will install wheelchair-accessible picnic tables in downtown parks. The tables will allow people of all ages and abilities to the community's Food Truck Friday events, which are held onsite.
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Marshall, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Park enhancements
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AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
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