Park Day Reunion, an annual celebration and reunion of families and friends at Silver Springs Park, is returning this weekend, Aug. 4-6.
Organized by the Springfield Reunion Club, in collaboration with the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, Park Day Reunion brings together people from around Springfield and other parts of the state and the country for three days of activities, which organizers aim to make more family-friendly.
“It’s reunion time and we’re getting together with our family, because we are ALL family,” said Leslie Hardin, president of the Springfield Reunion Club, in a news release. “I like the change we’re bringing this year, gearing things for the younger generation, like swimming and pickleball, while still keeping the traditions that we have.”
Park Day, then and now
Park Day, and the park where most of its activities take place, have a rich history for families in Springfield and across Missouri.
While the name “Park Day” was established in 1952, the event and the observance predates that, with annual picnics being held at Silver Springs for many years before.
In 1973, the same year the St. Louis Reunion Club was organized by Ora E. Logan and her fellow Springfield natives, the first Reunion Club weekend was held in Springfield to “promote fundraising activities, award vocational or educational scholarships and to assist in community activities in Missouri,” according to Springfield Reunion Club Historian Christine Peoples.
The patronization from the Reunion of former Lincoln High School (now Lincoln Hall at Ozarks Technical Community College) students of a pilgrimage back to Springfield — and the encouragement of Logan, James E. Boyd of Kansas City, and Clifton Moore, Jr. of Springfield — promoted the reunification of relatives, classmates and friends in Springfield on the first weekend of August, which coordinated with Park Day, according to Peoples.
“It’s a heritage thing,” Hardin said.
Over the years, the number of people from Missouri’s two largest cities at Park Day of dwindled, according to Hardin, but she hopes to revamp the regional importance of Park Day in Springfield in the years ahead.
Silver Springs Park was established in 1918 and served as Springfield’s only public park for Black residents during segregation, and is a part of the Springfield-Greene County African-American Heritage Trail. It also features the storied Timmons Hall, a former church that served the city’s Black community. Timmons Hall was slated for demolition, but was restored through private fundraising efforts. It now serves as a landmark facility at the park, and it is used for meetings, educational opportunities and events.
Christine Peoples is also the Timmons Hall Education Coordinator with the Park Board.
Park Day to feature more kid-friendly activities
This year, Hardin’s first as president, she hopes that by making activities more family friendly, more kids will attend Park Day.
Hardin first became involved in Park Day when she was a kid and her mom was on the planning committee. As she was often the youngest person in the room, Hardin was asked what young people would want incorporated into the activities.
While still popular, drawing hundreds of — if not, a thousand — people a year, Park Day has yet to return to a pre-COVID-19 pandemic attendance level during Silver Springs Park’s 100-year anniversary. With this year’s changes, Hardin hopes families bring their kids, as she eyes continued growth in the years to come. She is also giving attendees the opportunity to give feedback on the activities, to see what they can improve or add in the future.
“We're trying to incorporate a lot of the kid friendly things to make sure that people realize we haven't forgotten about the kids,” Hardin said.
“We Are Family” theme of this year’s Park Day
Every year, the Reunion Club committee determines a theme for Park Day. This year’s theme was landed on by accident, after committee members brought forward their ideas and couldn’t agree on a particular theme.
However, after the word “family” was repeatedly brought up, Hardin combined everyone’s theme pitches into “We Are Family.”
“I said, ‘so why not We Are Family?’” Hardin said. “It is about families coming together in Silver Springs Park from Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield, and no matter where we come from, we are family.”
Car show, golf tournament, picnics among activities lined up for Park Day Reunion
Friday, Aug. 4 -
- 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. — Hospitality, featuring DJ Black Pearl, at University Plaza Convention Center, located at 333 John Q Hammons Parkway. Admission $15 for attendees 13 years and up, or $5 for attendees 12 and under.
Hospitality will feature a dance, informational booths and food from University Plaza, coming out at two separate times throughout the evening. Hardin encourages families to bring kids to the kick-off event.
Saturday, Aug. 5
- 7 a.m. — 36-hole Golf Tournament at Greene Hills Country Club, located at 8702 U.S. Highway 160 in Willard and Deer Lake Golf Course, located at 5544 W. State Highway 266 in Springfield. $150 per person, $25 optional skins game. For more information, contact Johnny Huddleston at (816) 223-7405 or Cecil Bullock at (520) 471-3268.
- 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. — Park Day Car Show at Silver Springs Park, located at 1100 N. Hampton Ave. in Springfield. Trophies will be awarded for cars in the antique, classic old school, classic muscle, modern muscle and luxury categories. For more information, contact Wally Ransom at (417) 766-6479.
- 12 p.m. — Park Day Reunion Parade at Silver Springs Park, beginning at the intersection of Sherman Avenue and Webster Street. Its route will take it through the roundabout near Ozarks Technical Community College, up Scott Street and back onto Webster. For more information, contact Charmaine Huddleston at (417) 425-9355 or Michele Wilson Johnson at (417) 849-0948.
- 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. — Pickleball at Silver Springs Park, with equipment and instructions provided by the Park Board.
- 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. — Free Park Day Reunion picnic at the Silver Springs Park pavilion.
- 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. — Discount Splash and Sizzle swimming at Silver Springs Pool, with admission of either $1 or a canned food donation, benefiting the Ozarks Food Harvest.
- 3 p.m. — Timmons Hall screening of “Generations: African American Experiences in Springfield and the Ozarks,” a new documentary produced by Ozarks Public Television. Popcorn will be provided.
- 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. — Park Day dance at the University Plaza Convention Center.
Timmons Hall will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., to provide access to restrooms, respite from the heat, refreshments, first aid and information on the history of Park Day. The picnic will provide food for attendees, free of charge.
Previously, the car show only featured old time cars, but organizers have since branched out to allow all kinds of vehicles to be displayed, according to Hardin.
Sunday, Aug. 6
- 7 a.m. — Golf tournament continues.
- 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. — Discount Splash and Sizzle continues.
- 3 p.m. — Another screening of “Generations: African American Experiences in Springfield and the Ozarks.”
Timmons Hall will be open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Food will be available for purchase from vendors at the park on Aug. 6, and there will be a variety of kid-friendly games for attendees to play. Prior to the events at the park, which has been dubbed “Sunday Funday,” the Park Day schedule notes that families will gather for worship at various churches.
Everyone is welcome to attend Park Day festivities. More information can be found on the Springfield Reunion Club’s Facebook page, or the Springfield-Greene County Park Board's website.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correct and add to the history of Park Day and the Reunion Club.
