The City of McAllen is being honored with a 2016 Playful City USA designation for the sixth time. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, KaBOOM! Playful Cities USA is the national recognition program that honors cities and towns across the country for making their cities more playable.
The City of McAllen continues to provide more play and family friendly spaces to residents and visitors at facilities such as the McAllen Sports Complex and offers access to move around the city in a fun, healthy, and convenient way through the new bike share program, McAllen B-Cycle. Additionally, the City offers an array of innovative youth programming each year including the McAllen Youth Marathon, Ultimate Frisbee Tournament, and Texas Youth Football All Star Showcase.
“Our city continues to invest in innovative programs and infrastructure that benefit all residents and visitors,” said Mayor Jim Darling. “Being designated a Playful City USA for a sixth year shows our commitment to sustaining a culture of play for our youth and our residents.”
KaBOOM! recognizes communities across the country that are creating innovative ways to bring back play and attract residents through family friendly activities. Interactive sidewalk art, designated play spaces on trails and the transformation of schoolyards into active play areas are just a few examples of how cities are becoming more playful.
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“We are thrilled to recognize these communities that have invested their time and efforts to put kids first,” said KaBOOM! CEO James Siegal. “Balanced and active play is crucial to the well-being of kids and the communities that they thrive in. By integrating play into cities, the leaders of Playful Cities USA are working to attract and retain the thousands of families that want homes in close proximity to safe places to play.”
To learn more about these cities, see the full list of the 257 communities named 2016 Playful City USA honorees, or to gather more information on the Playful City USA program, visit www.playfulcityusa.org. We also encourage you to take part in the conversation on #playability with these thought leaders on Twitter and Facebook.
About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to giving all kids – particularly those growing up in poverty in America – the childhood they deserve filled with balanced and active play, so they can thrive. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has collaborated with partners to build, open or improve nearly 16,300 playgrounds, engaged more than one million volunteers and served 8.1 million kids. KaBOOM! creates great places to play, inspires communities to promote and support play, and works to drive the national discussion about the importance of play in fostering healthy and productive lives. To learn why #playmatters: visit kaboom.org or join the conversation at twitter.com/kaboom or facebook.com/kaboom.