After pandemic-abbreviated programs, Camden's Connect the Lots returns

Phaedra Trethan, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
·2 min read
Bubbles provided by 'Meadow,' a performing artist, float above the plaza at Roosevelt Park in Camden.
Bubbles provided by 'Meadow,' a performing artist, float above the plaza at Roosevelt Park in Camden.

CAMDEN — The bubbles floated over the plaza a Roosevelt Park, occasionally striking an unsuspecting spectator with a plop! of soapy silliness.

After the podium had been packed up and the news conference was over, Camden Mayor Vic Carstarphen, in a navy blue suit and dress shoes, climbed in a kayak sitting on the concrete outside City Hall, mimicking a rower on the Delaware.

"This is how I look when the water gets rough," he said, contorting his face in mock consternation.

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The message: After more than two years of pandemic-induced closures, capacity limits, virtual gatherings and cutbacks in recreational programs, Camden is back to business — and back to the business of having fun.

Connect the Lots, a popular series of summer events, is back to a full schedule this year after much of its programming was curtailed or limited to virtual spaces due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The programming is a joint effort among Camden Community Partnership, the City of Camden, Camden County and the Camden Special Services District.

Camden Mayor Vic Carstarphen navigates the concrete river outside City Hall at an event Tuesday announcing the 2022 Connect the Lots event lineup.
Camden Mayor Vic Carstarphen navigates the concrete river outside City Hall at an event Tuesday announcing the 2022 Connect the Lots event lineup.

Kicking off May 20 with Camden Night Gardens — with food trucks, dance and music performances, rides and a zip line — Connect the Lots offers free, family-friendly events throughout the summer in neighborhood parks all over Camden.

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Outdoor movie nights will feature family fare including "Zootopia" (June 10, Gateway Park); "Encanto" (June 17, 4th And Washington Park and Aug. 2 at Farnham Park): "In The Heights" (PG-13, July 1, Von Nieda Park); Luca (July 29, Liney Ditch Park); and "Raya and the Last Dragon" (Aug. 5, Cooper's Poynt Park), among others.

For people looking for more active recreation — or just a chance to stretch out after a long winter and chilly spring — there are weekly fitness classes and yoga sessions. On June 18, I Bike Camden takes riders through the city starting at Cramer Hill Waterfront Park. Two I Paddle Camden outings, on July 9 and July 3, depart from Pyne Poynt Park for a leisurely paddle along the city's waterways.

There will also be performances by campers who've learned from city native Arnetta Johnson (July 23, Wiggins Park) and Trenton Circus Squad (July 2-3, Cooper's Poynt Park), as well as city residents at Camden's Got Talent (Aug. 11, Dudley Grange Park).

For a full list of programs, dates, times and locations, visit www.ctlcamden.com/

Phaedra Trethan has been a reporter and editor in South Jersey since 2007 and has covered Camden and surrounding areas since 2015, concentrating on issues relating to quality of life and social justice for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. She's called South Jersey home since 1971. Contact her with feedback, news tips or questions at ptrethan@gannettnj.com, on Twitter @By_Phaedra, or by phone at 856.486-2417.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Camden's Connect the Lots events return after pandemic