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Community Corner

Great Renton Escapes, All Without Leaving Your Zipcode

Take your pick: Tai Chi, zumba, gardening and more through the City of Renton's Community Services Department.

Here’s to hoping that you found some time to relax and recharge this past week!  To continue in our series on relaxing sans kiddos while staying close to home is a look at a more active pastime than !

You might have explored the City of Renton’s Community Services department’s offerings for sports programs or art classes for your kids.  Don’t stop there, though—there are plenty of offerings for adults to get involved in something to relax and recharge!

Tai chi has its roots in the ancient Chinese martial art tai chi chuan.  Rather than a strict focus on controlled physical movements, tai chi uses meditation and a focus on health combined with simple movements.  The idea behind it is to teach and practice tactics that will alleviate the physical effects of stress on the body and the mind.  Beginning classes are offered on Monday nights at the Renton Senior Center and are $72 for a nine-week session.

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Should you prefer a more active pursuit, take a look at an activity which is increasing in popularity for its mix of dance, aerobics, and fun!  Zumba manages to pack quite a bit into an hour-long class: stretching, toning, fat-burning, and calorie-burning, and all while doing moves from dances that include salsa, mambo, flamenco, hip-hop, and tango.  Offered at 6:30 or 7:30 p.m. most weeknights, drop-ins are welcome for $10 per class, or buy a punch card, or register for even cheaper rates!

And for those of you who prefer to do your relaxation in a more natural setting, Renton’s Community Garden and Greenhouse programs allow you to meditate while elbow deep in potting soil or to find physical release through vigorous weed-pulling.  The Community Garden program runs from April through October and allows each registered household a 10’x40’ plot to call its own… at least for a few months.  Cultivate rows of cucumbers to torture the neighbors with, plant tomatoes this summer for sauce next winter, or nurture prize-winning dahlias to show come August.  The Greenhouse program allows forward-looking gardeners to get a start on the summer’s bounty with a 4’x3’ space in a temperature-controlled environment from January through June.  Each program is $30 for Renton residents and both are extremely popular, so plan ahead!

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All of these offerings and more can be found in the Community Services Department’s “What’s Happening” program brochure, at www.MyParksandRecreation.com, or by calling 425-430-6700.  Relax and enjoy!

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