Clark Park Coalition

2022 was a very busy year. It started off with the opening of our 2022 learn-to-skate and hockey season where we registered nearly 150 youths for the winter program, our largest numbers yet. We produced nearly 40,000 in revenue from rentals of the outdoor ice rink. January 21 was our annual winter carnival and hockey classic fundraiser and event. Nearly 1,000 people attended and spent the afternoon ice skating, roasting marshmallows, enjoying the petting zoo and carriage rides and taking advantage of all the carnival had to offer the community. The evening's men's and women's hockey games brought in additional fans to the Park, as they enjoyed watching the teams play their games and cheering them on. Summer's baseball and softball programs were a big hit again with rita tyler and morris blackwell sharing their experience and knowledge in the sport, as more than 100 youths learned the basics of the sport. Our lacrosse program continues to grow under the leadership of volunteer coach liam mcilroy. Programming takes place in the spring and fall months with more than 30 young people of all ages joining in on the fun. Once again Clark Park partnered with the detroit symphony orchestra (dso) to hold the arts & culture festival in july of 2022 where nearly 500 community members and their families came to the Park to enjoy the music presented by members of the symphony, an all-girls mariachi band, a dj, and lots of interactive games and presentations through the day. Attendees enjoyed summer treats such as grilled hotdogs, lemonade, and watermelon, while they enjoyed the festivities. Each year we have many groups who come to volunteer at the Park, and 2022 was no exception. Cranbrook students, mercy high school students, and many other groups joined in to prepare the Park for both the summer and winter seasons. And, in june nearly 150 ford hispanic group volunteers spent the day picking up trash, painting, making repairs, and planting flowers in a major beautification effort to get the Park ready for the summer months. Finally, the city of detroit's renovations began in 2022, as workers began installing the equipment for the new playground and splashpad. The new improvements are slowly starting to come together and should be completed by summer of 2023.