Park(ing) Day for Fitness: Flagship events in 3 big cities in Bulgaria!
The Park(ing) Day for Fitness flagship events unfolded in several locations in Bulgaria – Sofia, Plovdiv, and Burgas during the week of 16-22 September.
Flagship event in Plovdiv
During the pilot edition of the international initiative Park(ing) Day for Fitness on September 16, BG Be Active together with the partners from TimeScapeRoom transformed some of the traditional parking spaces in the city center into places for sports, games and entertainment. The participants were divided into teams to discover our installations with a series of riddles and challenges to exercise mind and body while rediscovering the city of Plovdiv. Within a couple of hours, they had to guess the answers to riddles spread around the city and perform physical activity exercises (yoga and fitness) to get the answers. We awarded 5 best teams with special prizes.
Flagship event in Sofia
Due to the weather conditions, the event in Sofia was postponed to 24 September. Our local partners from Sofia Playgrounds closed an area with parking spaces next to the community area and organised a series of physical activity interventions, as well as workshops for various groups of people. Local partners from 2sport4life arranged a functional and family training for children and parents - a fitness training tested strength, endurance and other motor qualities. At the road safety workshop with a representative of the municipality "Triaditsa" the kids learnt how to safely move at the streets. Additionally, the participants had a chance to play and practice baseball with Yunak Baseball and Softball Club, hunt for treasures with SmartyKids Sofia Lozenets-Strelbishte mental arithmetic. Recycled outdoor games were organised by the "Safe Playgrounds" Association to learn more about the environment.
Flagship event in Burgas
Thanks to the partial closure of Gladstone Street, an "active square" was formed in two spacious areas with a sports program on 22 September, national holiday in Bulgaria - demonstrations and inclusive sports activities throughout the day, tables and deckchairs with the possibility of using over 40 types of board games, and with an hour of music program and an hour of thematic film program. On the square, a kind of recreation and sports area, there were baby and children's games, lounge chairs, sports corners - table tennis, volleyball, badminton, mini basketball, archery, jumping ropes and alternative family games of a competitive nature , thanks to the inclusion for two hours of the team of the International Youth Center Burgas. Children and their parents had the opportunity to participate in children's yoga, as well as to play together games such as "checkers" and draw with chalks in the courtyard of the library.
Park(ing) Day for Fitness builds on the existing practices and guidelines provided by Rebar, where BG Be Active and the project consortium are adding an element of a multi-sport day event to offer activities that promote active lifestyles and engage the public. For more information, please check our website - https://parkingdayforfitness.bgbeactive.org/
Park(ing) Day for Fitness is funded by the European Union. The project coordinator is BG Be Active, and the other partner organizations are Placemaking Europe, Association Sport for all Suceava (AJSPT Suceava), V4 SPORT FOUNDATION, Azur Sport Sante, and XsentrikArts.