VBT Parks & Rec. offers activities for kids at Music Lakeside in city

The Van Buren Township Recreation Committee decided in February to suspend its concert series for at least the 2016 season because the stage at Van Buren Park was demolished at the request of the township board, explained Jennifer Zaenglein, deputy director of VBT Parks & Recreation.
“In April, [Township Trustee] Reggie Miller, suggested that we partner with the Belleville Area Council for the Arts and its concert series since we were not hosting our own series. She contacted them and got the ball rolling,” Zaenglein said.
“We have been, and will continue to have a Kid’s Activity Tent at each of the concerts,” she said.
“So far, we have had themes such as fireworks, bubbles, and frogs. At each concert, kids of all ages can make 2-3 crafts, and also borrow clipboards and colored pencils so that they can color beautiful coloring sheets right where they are sitting with their families.
“We have had a lot of fun along with a lot of compliments and thank-yous for offering things for kids to do.
“It seems to make perfect sense to partner up rather than try to compete with one another, especially since BACA considers itself a tri-community organization,” Zaenglein said. “We really need to work together more.”