Our Parks commission has meetings, called workshops but they qualify as meetings because the commissioners are meeting as we see it. They walk around our 14+ parks looking for stone walls and stone stairs that need some shoring up. Commissioners call in experts to explain tree health and spring purity and plant variety and trail manicuring.
We’ve all been through a daunting 14 months of riskiness, doing our best to come out of this pandemic healthier than we went into it.
The Eureka Springs Parks Commission, in particular, seems to understand that fresh air and walking and natural beauty are what Eureka Springs offers as an antidote to festivals and parades and large gatherings.
We have a hands-on commission committed to the cleanliness and appeal of a dog park, skate park, pocket parks, Leatherwood Park, lakes, a dam, and a constant supply of seedlings.
We’re already a Tree City USA, so being a Park City USA might be over the top. Or it might get us confused with a town in Utah where they hold the Sundance Film Festival.
There is no Park City USA designation, yet, but bet we’ll win one when there is.
It’s because of the people who keep it together for the people who insist on peace, love and joy in their lives.