riverfront park.

A couple weeks ago, a major portion of Riverfront Park reopened. After a long closure, the park is now accessible from the Blue Bridge to the Rotary Fountain.

If you haven’t been downtown lately, you really should check it out. You won’t recognize the walk from the Flour Mill to the Looff Carrousel. New walkways crisscross the park, routing pedestrians through new gardens. On the blue bridge, freshly planted pine trees break up the long stretch of pavement and create new shady spots to hang out.

The new park will make you want to picnic in the midst of the beautiful scenery. It’s going to become a new favorite family hangout. Catholic Charities is excited about how inviting Riverfront Park is for families. After all, one of Catholic Charities goals is to strengthen them.

Our CAPA/PREPARES and Rising Strong programs are all about helping parents and kids grow in healthy ways. For example, CAPA’s Fatherhood Project helps dads fulfill their unique roles by taking field trips to places like the Mobius Kids’ Museum right across from Riverfront Park.

The Catholic Charities Food For All programs help families share love through eating healthy meals together. One Food For All project, KERNEL, helps kids learn and explore through nutrition and exercise activities at farmers markets. Kids who participate earn $2 to spend at the farmers market so they can help contribute to the family meal.

And our family housing units, like Pope Francis Haven and The Sisters Haven, are designed to give families a stable place to live.

We’re grateful that the families who thrive in our programs have so many opportunities to spend time together in our community. This summer, we hope your family gets out to enjoy some of the great opportunities Spokane has to offer, especially at the new Riverfront Park.

Take advantage of the free events at Riverfront Park through August!

• On Tuesdays at the Orange Bridge, grab lunch at a food truck and listen to live music.

• On Fridays at 8:30 p.m., watch free family-friendly movies like Benny & Joon, Back to the Future, and Ralph Breaks the Internet.

• On Saturdays, families with older kids can take a Historic Walking Tour to learn about the history behind the Clock Tower, The Expo ’74 Pavilion and the Looff Carrousel.

• On Sundays, take the kids to the Skate Ribbon for free skate and scooter rentals from 1–3 p.m. in Riverfront Park.

We’ll see you at the park!