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Recreation

Like to get out and stay active? Kernersville’s commitment to recreation and active living is evident in the multitude of facilities that provide space for working out, getting fit, and learning physical skills like dance and gymnastics, the parks where a day of play brings smiles and programming for people who find recreational pleasure in the arts. The beauty of recreation in Kernersville is that young and old come together for fun.

The Kernersville YMCA continues to offer more programming to attract the young, the young-at-heart and those in the middle. The YMCA looks for active programming that encourages men and women to enjoy being and getting fit. Based on participation, the YMCA modifies and supplements their programs.

“We had such a great turnout with our flag football in the fall that we wanted to offer more. Our Monday night men’s basketball has always been a staple of our program,” says YMCA Assistant Director Chris Brady.

Programs vary at the YMCA. They may be interactive or educational. Brady organized the 2008 Healthy Active Adult Day as a joint effort with the YMCA and the Chamber of Commerce. Nearly 750 people attended the event to learn more about healthy opportunities in the community. The tobacco-free campus of the Kernersville YMCA features a virtual personal trainer, two year-round pools, a seasonal outdoor water park, two full- sized gymnasiums, an aerobic studio and more. Child care for preschoolers is provided while members exercise, and the Kernersville YMCA is beginning a new “Mother’s Morning Out” program. The 27-acre campus is home to indoor and outdoor sports with recreational leagues in various sports. Golf lessons are offered off-site, but the YMCA is able to provide diverse offerings through community partnerships.

Beyond their commitment to active families, the YMCA participates each summer in taking school-aged children, eyes bright with anticipation, back-to-school shopping. Each child is assigned a personal shopper. Through donations, the Bright Beginnings program ensures that children have the supplies needed to start school.

The YMCA is a special place, thanks to special people like Elaine Shambley. For 20 years, Elaine Shambley, a fitness/wellness instructor, has welcomed hordes of exercisers into the cardio/weight room at the Kernersville YMCA. Shambley got involved with the YMCA when it opened over 30 years ago.

“I’ve been a member from the time it started,” says Shambley.

She and her husband Maurice moved to Kernersville from Wilmington when a job transfer with a trucking company caused them to relocate. Elaine Shambley had grown up in Wilmington and moving inland was an adjustment for the avid swimmer.

When the YMCA was built, she embraced the ability to swim indoors on a regular basis and even taught water aerobics for the Y. Even now the active 62-year-old will slip away to the pool to swim.

“I can’t even remember a time I didn’t swim,” she says.

Even man’s best friend gets a nod for recreation in Kernersville. In August 2008, the Vivian F. Bennett Memorial Dog Park at Kernersville’s Fourth of July Park opened, making it the third dog park in Forsyth County. Dog parks are increasing in popularity as yard sizes decrease and more condo and apartment dwellers look for places to find off-leash exercise spaces for their pets, explains Jerri Crews, director of marketing and communications for the Kernersville’s Parks and Recreation Department. As the parks and recreation department researched the feasibility of building a dog park in Kernersville, they discovered a large amount of interest among citizens. The Fourth of July Park is a popular place for people to bring dogs because of the paved walking trails through the shaded park.

Just ask Wrangler, a stout 4-year-old tan and white English bulldog, who trotted up to a golden retriever to exchange sniffs and then ambled up to a frisky black lab for a similar canine introduction on the opening of the park.

“We’re really happy to have a dog park close by. We’ve been driving to Winston-Salem,” says Kernersville resident Julie Stell, the owner of Luke, a collie-German Shepherd mix.

The dog park is equipped with waste stations and watering stations. Plus, the fenced-in area is divided into one section for small dogs and an adjoining section for large dogs. Children under the age of 10 are not allowed in the park, which is open from dawn to dusk.

The Parks and Recreation Department works diligently to provide a variety of programs to interest citizens. They range from monthly juggling lessons to the popular, always sold-out Father-Daughter Dance each February. A children’s pie social in November brings judging and tasting to find out who makes the best and best-looking pie in Kernersville.

Each year the department hosts a comprehensive wedding fair. “Every year it gets bigger and better,” says Crews.

Brides-to-be come prepared with notepads to the annual Kernersville Wedding Fair, sponsored by the Kernersville Parks and Recreation Department. The free event attracts local brides and their fiancés, mothers, friends, and future in-laws to learn about what wedding services local vendors have to offer. Those attending the fair are treated to displays, scrumptious samples and service illustrations. Businesses indicate that the wedding fair gives them a way to showcase their services.

From the quiet setting of Kernersville Lake Park to the often-boisterous sounds associated with the centrally located Fourth of July Park, Kernersville’s nine parks offer amenities such as skateboarding, basketball, safe play structures, picnic shelters, paddle boating, tennis, soccer and more.

Recreational opportunities abound at private gyms as well. From the state-of-the-art Sportscenter on Old Winston Road to the church-operated, Christian-based workout program at First Christian Church, recreation is encouraged highly in Kernersville. While First Christian has incorporated its full-service sports center (which includes an indoor pool) into their ministry outreach, its facilities are open to the public as well.

In addition to active programs, Kernersville is home to a small, privately owned movie theater; a skating rink; a bowling alley; a privately owned indoor skateboard park; multiple dance studios; a nationally ranked all-star cheerleading program; and several day spas for sublime relaxation. The Kernersville Little League, Kernersville Soccer Association, AAU basketball and Pop Warner football programs prepare Kernersville’s future athletes.

For the golfers in the Kernersville community, geography provides excellent choices. Locally, Pine Knolls, Maple Leaf and Olde Home Place public golf courses allow golfers to play without membership. Driving ranges in Kernersville allow players to hone their skills before hitting the links.

Golfers appreciate the proximity of highly rated Triad golf courses within a short drive from Kernersville, making it good to be in the middle of everything. The famous courses of Pinehurst are only two hours away while Myrtle Beach, a four-hour drive, is known for its wide selection of some of the nation’s best golf courses.

Recreation in Kernersville is one of the most enjoyable aspects of living in our town, a place where we make play a top priority.

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center