By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
The city of Bellevue is probably the only Northern Kentucky city that lays claim to a beach park.
Now, the name is a bit misleading in that it isn’t a beach with sand and waves and traditional sunbathers, but it is on the banks of the Ohio River, so the river is very visible, and people can see Cincinnati from the banks. It’s a pretty space, and residents are fond of visiting the park.
Last year Mayor Charlie Cleves and Marketing and Communications Director Melissa Morandi started a bucket list program, with an activiity event for ten weeks.
“We know in the summer you have a lot of bored kids, and sometimes they stay with grandparents, so we tried to come up with activities that are, for the most part, multi-generational,” explained Morandi. “The first activity is a fairytale event, where everyone gets a bucket with a list inside. Then they get a carriage ride around the park, and the kids have activities where they create their own wand and crown.”
She said they try to incorporate all the different departments of the city, so everyone can participate.
One week they had lunch with the police, and Gold Star donated lunches for the children. The kids were able to pick one of three different meals. The department put some of their vehicles out around the restaurant, and it was like a mini touch a truck for the kids, where they could climb on the vehicles and ask questions of the police officers.
Not to be outdone, there was also a lunch with the fire department, and the city counted on having enough food to grill out for about 100 people. But the crowd was underestimated and the food ran out in a half hour, so Mayor Cleves ran out to the store for more. A good time was had by all.
“We had a crazy big crowd,” said Morandi. “But the mayor’s store run saved the day.”
She said the firefighters were all around to answer questions, and the kids were able to climb on the fire vehicles also.
Public Works hosted a pizza party, again with donated food from a local business.
One of the events, close to the end of the program, was an adventure trail.
“We made signs all around the trail with informative facts from Jim and Bev McPhail, our unofficial historians who know a lot about the city,” Morandi said. “The mayor and I drew different obstacles for the kids with chalk, and there was a sprinkler they could walk through, so the walk would be fun for them. Then we had a table with all kinds of ingredients for a trail mix, and people would take a bag and mix up their own trail mix. We had like gummy watermelons, and nuts and pretzels and stuff, plus water.”
Some of the facts included when the first house in Bellevue was built in 1866, and the advent of Bellevue becoming a town in 1870. A year later the town had a mayor and a marshall, and the same year the first school was established. A church followed in 1873.
The city regularly had riverboats that stopped at their beach, so there was a small farmer’s market one week, and the children were able to make boats out of straws, and float them, which was trial and error, and a lot of fun and giggles for the kids.
Morandi said they had a teatime with the Codes Enforcement Tom McDaniel, and the pretzel store donated snacks and iced tea.
The Cincinnati Observatory came with some meteorites, and a craft for the kids, and the Campbell County book bus came one week.
The grand finale is this Thursday, when they will have a movie in the park.
“We are going to have a newer movie this week, and many people haven’t seen it yet,” said Morandi. “We aren’t permitted to advertise the title, except on social media. We haven’t had a movie in the park here for over ten years. Mayor Cleves has been mayor here for about 7 years and it hasn’t happened while he has been here. The movie starts at 9 p.m., and the police will be popping popcorn for people, but they can also bring their own snacks and drinks, plus chairs or blankets. It is sort of our farewell to summer.”
Morandi said the events draw anywhere from 50 to 200 people, so they are very popular in the community. The program last year, and it has only increased in popularity, so she said they will probably make the program a yearly affair.