Free Summer Fun on Oahu

The Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) announced a modified version of free Summer Fun will be held this year. The program will be offered at no charge to O‘ahu families with Mayor Caldwell waiving the fees for the summer day camp.

The modified Summer Fun Program will be offered on weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. from Wednesday July, 1 through Tuesday, July 28 (excluding the holiday on Friday, July 3).

Children must be six years old before Aug. 1, 2020 and not older than thirteen years old by July 28, 2020 to qualify. The modified Summer Fun will still utilize Junior Leaders.

“With the current low incidents of COVID-19 on our island and the overwhelming need for positive keiki engagement as parents return to work, we decided to help parents and their children by offering a modified version of our most popular program specifically tailored to the current situation and our island community,” said Mayor Caldwell. “We consulted our healthcare advisors and they agreed that the overall benefits of this program are needed during this time as we continue our efforts to Restore Honolulu.”

In order to balance the childcare needs of our island community with the safety guidelines established due to COVID-19, there will be significant changes to the number of keiki that our facilities and staff can accommodate, the activities offered, and overall program procedures:

Attendance Limits:

• Only 12 keiki will be allowed per adult supervisor, which will constitute one group.
• Designated spaces will be made for each group, with activities conducted on a rotating basis.
• Keiki participants will be within the same group for the entire program.
• DPR is still hiring for those interested in working as Summer Fun Aides. Please click here if you are interested in fun, seasonal work opportunity, or call the District Office of the location where you would like to work (listed below)

Safety Protocols:

• All keiki and staff will have their temperature taken at the beginning of each day.
• All keiki and staff are required to wear a cloth face mask, with consideration to existing exemptions such as a medical condition which prohibits use of a face covering.
• Staff and keiki will be provided hand sanitizer.
• Staff or keiki will not be allowed to participate in the program if they are sick, have been in contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, or have traveled out-of-state within the past 14 days.
• Maintenance staff will clean bathroom facilities twice daily.
• Indoor facilities being used by for Summer Fun will remain closed to the public throughout the program. Outdoor facilities being used for Summer Fun will be off-limits to the public during the specific program times, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., but will be reopened for general public use outside of that timeframe.

Registration:

The 2020 Summer Fun Program will not require any fees or payment on the part of the participating families. In the past, Summer Fun registration was done in-person as a result of these prior payments. This resulted in eager parents waiting for hours, sometimes days, at various park locations to secure a spot for their keiki.

This year registration will be conducted primarily online thanks to new software developed by the Honolulu Department of Information Technology. The software is called Parks and Recreation Online System, or PROS, and works best using the Google Chrome web browser.

This software utilizes the same HNL.Info log-in that many O‘ahu residents already possess. We encourage the public to create an HNL.Info account and a PROS profile ahead of registration by visiting: https://pros.hnl.info.

An online tutorial is available to assist the public with creating their account and profile. Click here to view it.

This software was successfully used for shooters to make reservations at the Koko Head Shooting Complex beginning on Wednesday, June 3, and will serve a larger capacity in DPR registration and reservations in the future.

“We believe that this modified Summer Fun will continue to provide excellent recreational and educational opportunities to our keiki that are comparable to Summer Fun,” said DPR Director Michele Nekota. “We appreciate the patience of the families as we work through this new program, and a big mahalo to our Parks and Rec ‘ohana and staff from DIT for their hard work to make this program and the new registration software a reality during these challenging circumstances.”

Below are those online registration dates and procedures which are determined by geographic park district. All dates and times are Hawai‘i Standard Time:

District 3 (Pearlridge to Waiʻanae to Wahiawā) ph. (808) 768-6889 and District 4 (Waialua to Waimānalo) ph. (808) 768-8980

Online Registration begins Thursday, June 18 at 6 p.m.

District 1 (Hawaiʻi Kai to McCully) ph. (808) 768-8944 and District 2 (Makiki to ʻAiea) ph. (808) 768-9292

Online Registration begins Saturday, June 20 at 9 a.m.

For those who do not have computer or internet access, accommodations are available to facilitate their registration into the program. Please call the Summer Fun site for those accommodations. A list of the 65 program sites is included at the bottom of this announcement for your convenience.

Food Service Program:

DPR is privileged to participate in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in conjunction with Summer Fun.

The 2020 SFSP is sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture, and will provide lunch to Summer Fun participants 18 years and younger.  SFSP will begin on July 6 and run through July 17 at select, qualified Summer Fun sites. Those participating will be listed on DPR’s website: http://bit.ly/SummerFunOahu

There will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service, as they will be served regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, or disability.

Summer Fun Sites 2020:

To view the location and contact information for these Summer Fun sites, please visit our interactive Google Map at: http://bit.ly/OahuParkMap

Accommodations are available upon request to persons with disabilities. Please call (808) 768-3003 or send an email to [email protected] at least five days prior to the event. Mahalo and stay healthy.