This piece is reblogged. The original article can be viewed here.

In its first four years, Grow Dat Youth Farm has grown 25,000 pounds of organic produce. Now the urban agriculture nonprofit organization is planting seeds of a different kind and creating a recipe that gives other organizations the ingredients for success.

Using a $100,000 “Investing for Good” grant from Capital One Bank, Grow Dat is showing other organizations how...

New Orleans City Park is a romantic place no matter what season it is in New Orleans. The Park is a wonderful place to create memories! 

PERFECT date-night ideas: Celebration in the Oaks and a round of Mini Golf!

OR A round of Mini Golf and hot beignets from Morning Call.

OR Swing on a double sided swing at the Goldring Woldenberg Great Lawn while drinking Cafe...

As some of you may know, our City Park Imrpovement Association Board minutes go back to 1891. Historically, they have been written in great detail. We are –slowly- going through the minutes in order to post highlights on our website timeline. With the help of four Tulane students we will soon be adding four more decades to the website timeline.

Below please find a few light-hearted highlights from 1891-1899:

*No...

One of my favorite family traditions to do each year with my twin daughters is the have their pictures taken with Santa at Celebration in the Oaks. Each year Romaguera Photography Studio offers pictures with Santa in the Gazebo behind the Carousel. Romaguera Photography Studio does a beautiful job changing the set each year to make each photo unique. Santa is available every day through December 23 and Mrs. Claus joins him on Friday and...

Each year, as the year and tenure of the current CPIA Board Presidential term ends, the President's Awards are given out to deserving members of the New Orleans City Park family. This year’s deserving winners are:  

The holidays are a good time to reflect and be grateful. The Park and its employees have much to be grateful for - the last year's been a wonderful one for the Park!

Here are just a few examples of positivity in 2014: With help from the New Orleans Botanical Garden, our first Earth Day in City Park was a big hit! City Park opened Parker's Cafe and Parker's Pizza;...

The City Park Carousel chariots returned to the Park Friday, December 5, 2014,  after being fully refurbished for the first time in 30 years. Instead of painting them a solid color, the craftsmen from WRF Designs led by Bill Finkenstein, painted them multiple colors in order to bring out the detail in the carving. The craftsmen also painted flowers on the back of the chariot. They are truly a site to see. Visit them at Celebration...

On Thursday, July 31, 2014, a 100-foot pedestrian bridge was installed between the Volunteer Center and Couturie Forest at 1009 Harrison Avenue.

The bridge arrived on semitrailers in two 50-foot sections.  It was off-loaded by a large crane and then bolted together to form one 100-foot long bridge.  The crane then hoisted the bridge over the lagoon and the ends were secured to the previously installed footings.  (Guys and machinery are involved...

This is a reposted blog piece. The original piece from nola.com can be viewed by clicking here. 

By Melinda Shelton, Mid-City & More columnist (on nola.com on December 04, 2014 at 2:57 PM, updated December 04, 2014 at 2:58 PM) On a balmy, winter evening in New Orleans, my canine sidekick Liza Jane met me at the front door, leash dangling from her mouth, brown eyes bright with excitement. I recognized the "you're taking...

This blog post was written by Kim Bernadas, the sculptor who created a piece currently in City Putt.

The Making of a Man When I was first approached by Conrad Meyer IV, representing the Stanley Ray Trust about creating the life size Bronze sculpture of Stanley W. Ray, I wondered what I was getting into. Although excited at the opportunity to create a life size bronze of Stanley Ray, my task as...

Today New Orleans City Park’s CEO, Bob Becker, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bureau of Governmental Research. The Excellence in Government Awards took place at the The Westin Canal Place.

Established in 1994, the BGR recognizes government employees for outstanding performance and creative problem-solving. Winners have a minimum of 15 years in service and are dedicated public employees who deserve great recognition for their accomplishments. 

Bob took...

It was a warm and sunny autumn morning on October 16, 2014, and City Park’s art scene was about to bloom.

As part of the Prospect 3 project in New Orleans, City Park is delighted to have Will Ryman’s sculpture in the Park.

Ryman’s sculpture is called Icon and is an elegant red sculpture with large roses reaching for the sky. You’ll also notice large...

From the 1930s to today, we're proud to offer the city of New Orleans carefully cultivated gardens. Open year round, twelve acres of gardens and art await you. Whether you are a local or a tourist, make sure to take a leisurely stroll through our many gardens. We know you'll see something new each visit and always leave with a smile. 

The New Orleans Botanical Garden is filled with...

It wasn’t until I was asked to write this blog post, around the photo I took on a recent walk to work, that I did some research and found that 30% of Americans live within 5 miles of their work.  It’s a surprising statistic when one takes into consideration that only 3.5% of Americans actually walk or bike to work. I’m one of the lucky ones that falls into both...

You might well ask, why is a fundraiser for City Park writing about Xavier University? 

Let me back up a bit.  I have lived in New Orleans off and on since 1980.  During that time I have driven by Xavier University hundreds of times.  The number of occasions I actually went to an event or even just drove through campus, however, I could count on both hands. 

The original article can be found here. 

An Imperfect Memory Saves Forests Rob Swihart, a wildlife ecologist at Purdue University, researched the habits of grey squirrels as they collect nuts and store them for winter food. Because grey squirrels compete with many other animals for the same food source, they tend to bury nuts in many, many secret stashes all over their forest habitat. They can't always...

It’s raining in New Orleans City Park. Which typically means less people are out in the Park enjoying themselves.

But there’s a silver lining to every dark cloud.

The rain is loved by the trees that call the Park home. Directly after a rainstorm, not only do the trees look lush and full with bright green color but the fern, which lives on the trees, transforms.<...

{This article is reblogged from this GoNOLA link. Please click the link to read the entire story.}

It seems that New Orleans is poised to become a city where local, sustainable food is ubiquitous, especially considering that the next generation of residents is becoming immersed in the world of urban agriculture. Grow Dat Youth Farm [in New Orleans City Park] is one place where this is happening.

Today...

Join us at the Family Party! Queen Elsa wants you and your family at the party! Elsa. Ana, and Olaf will be waiting at the Family Party for you!  

Queen Elsa wants you and your kids at the Celebration in the Oaks Family Party! And she wants to call your kids on the phone to invite them! Between November 3rd and 7th, you may come to the Reception Desk in the...

Skywatchers, you're in for a treat.

Tonight's Supermoon is a pretty special one.

When the moon turns full tonight at 8:38pm (New Orleans time), it not only will become the last Supermoon of the summer, but also this year's Harvest Moon -- which is a full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox.

We look forward to seeing photos of the Supermoon over the...

City Putt, Storyland, and Carousel Gardens Amusement Park will be open 10am to 5pm on Labor Day September 1, 2014.

It's going to be a GREAT day! 

Carousel Gardens Amusement Park: We’re having a Princess and Super Hero party in Carousel Gardens and you’re invited! Kids wear your costume to get free admission into the Amusement Park (Adult admission is $4, $3/ride or get an Unlimited Ride...

There’s no prettier place in New Orleans to get fit than City Park. With a gorgeous landscape designed for walkers, runners and bikers, your workout doesn’t feel like work at all when you hit the scenic paths around the park. 

Be sure to check out the two Fitness Zones in the Park:

The first is near the corner of Golf Drive and Freidricks Avenue located...

On August 21, 2014 Bob Becker, New Orleans City Park CEO, was challenged by Ron Forman, President and CEO of Audubon Zoo, to complete the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge! He had 24 hours to complete the challenge and it was quite a show!

Bob and some of his staff decided to take the challenge head-on! As to not waste water, Bob decided to use City Park's Popp Fountain for the challenge and it...