Maple Leaf Summer Social is Back!

7/19/23 Mikey the Rad Scientist entertains and engages the 
crowd with fun songs about the environment.

Maple Leaf Park buzzed with activity last Wednesday, and I think I managed to sketch the highlights of our neighborhood’s (almost) annual Summer Social.

Mikey the Rad Scientist entertained kids and adults with lively audience-participation songs with environmentally conscious lyrics. Firefighters brought in an engine so that kids could explore it, inside and out. Of course, the most popular spot was the line for free ice cream bars donated every year by Mike Kelley, owner of Maple Leaf Ace Hardware (and former owner of the much-missed Reckless Video).

Kids danced and blew bubbles, a unicorn mingled with the crowd, and dogs got their portraits photographed, as did entire families. Even on a hot evening, it seemed like the whole neighborhood came out for this beloved event.

Kids and a dog wait their turn to explore the inside of a fire engine.

Although the Summer Social came back in 2021 after skipping 2020 for the pandemic, it didn’t happen last year, so everyone was relieved to see it back again. It takes a lot of volunteer power to put on an event like this, and I’m always grateful for people who have the enthusiasm and stamina to keep it going and make their neighbors happy. It’s one of many things about Maple Leaf that make it feel like a true neighborhood, which is why we love living here.

Families queued up for free ice cream bars and popsicles from Maple Leaf Ace Hardware.
We knew from experience that you gotta get in line early if you want a chocolate Haagen Dazs bar! Scored!