Edward Street’s Day of Play Family Festival turns ten years old this September and we’re celebrating with ten days of fun!
Free and open to all, the Day of Play 10th Anniversary features awesome online activities as well as live and recorded performances. Six new activities and one new performance will be released every single day – that’s a total of 70 new opportunities for positive play time!
Here’s how to celebrate with us, September 18th-27th and all year-round.
- Visit WorcesterDayofPlay.org or go straight to our 10th Anniversary activities page at https://www.worcesterdayofplay.org/activities-entertainment
- Choose from categories like Creative Arts Play, STEM Play, Health & Wellness Play, Literature Play, and more.
- Download our Progress Tracker and see knowledge and development grow every day.
- If you like, share your experiences on our Facebook page. Show the community your artwork, science experiments, a video of your performances, or your Progress Tracker.
Most of all, have fun! Day of Play activities promote healthy learning and growth, with benefits that last a lifetime.
A Brief History of the Day of Play: From One-Day Event to Year-Round Resource
In 2011, Edward Street’s Day of Play Family Festival began with a dream: to encourage and support positive play time for all young children.
We invited our partners and collaborators to develop and lead activities and performances for Worcester’s new one-day community event, and many jumped at the chance.
Held at Worcester’s historic Elm Park, the inaugural Day of Play was a rousing success; making it an annual event was a no-brainer. Through the first eight years, participation skyrocketed from hundreds of children and families to thousands.
Then, in 2020, the pandemic happened. COVID-19 forced us to pivot to a virtual festival, and the same holds true for 2021. We’ll miss seeing everyone in-person but the temporary shift to an online celebration inspired us to transform worcesterdayofplay.org into a year-round resource.
There are now more activities, games, and performances than ever before -- 180 in total. It’s easier than ever to enjoy positive playtime every single day.
Let’s learn and grow together!
A special thank you to the 2021 Day of Play Family Festival Presenting Sponsor, the Worcester Family Partnership, supported by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. Additional sponsors include The Hanover Foundation and a REACH grant through the Worcester Division of Public Health, via a REACH grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.