Published: 08/10/2021
Volunteers and participants at West Bayfit and West BayWalks.
West Bayfit and West Baywalks – a series of recreational activities for all ages hosted by the Our West Bayfront, Gannon University and the Erie County Department of Health – will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11 at Bayview Park, located at West Second and Cherry streets.
This six-week recreational series features an array of activities and events with a health and wellness focus with tomorrow’s event concluding the series.
West BayFit includes a different sports activity each week that is provided by community partners including coaching staff and sports teams at Erie High School, Erie Express, Erie Outlaws, Spoons League, and McDowell High School.
Additional activities are provided each week by partners including the Hagen History Center, the expERIEnce Children’s Museum, Feeding Minds and Families, Industrial Row, and hoop dancer Jennifer Dennehy. Games for younger participants are provided by the First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant.
This year, West BayWalks will run concurrently with West BayFit. West BayWalks is a summer walking series that provides self-guided themed walks throughout the West Bayfront neighborhoods. Topics include the “Bay-Rat Beat,” created by David Frew, a Jefferson Educational Society scholar in residence who created this walk based on his essays, “On the Waterfront.” Gannon’s Feeding Minds and Families also created a nature walk and Preservation Erie developed a walk focused on historical homes. Walking guides will be available at West BayFit each week or at www.ourwestbayfront.org/walks.
RokkBoxx will provide live music during each event.
Participants can also purchase fresh produce that will be available from Burch Farms.
To help keep our West Bayfront community health, free COVID-19 vaccinations will be available to all participants aged 12 and up each week. The Pfizer vaccine will be provided by UPMC Hamot. No registration is required. Children ages 12 to 17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
For more details about West BayFit and West BayWalks – including a weekly schedule of events – or to receive a weekly email with the West BayWalk route map, visit ourwestbayfront.org/event/wbf2021
About Our West Bayfront:
Our West Bayfront is a citizen-led neighborhood improvement organization dedicated to the revitalization of Erie's west bayfront neighborhoods. OWB seeks to improve quality of life in the West Bayfront by promoting civic involvement, thoughtful development, historical preservation and neighborhood pride. OWB was created in 2014 by residents and community partners from Erie’s West Bayfront neighborhoods with support provided by Gannon University. The 843-acre area served by OWB is bounded by the Bayfront Connector to the west, West 12th Street to the south, Sassafras Street to the east and Presque Isle Bay to the north, and is home to more than 13,000 residents.