It wasn’t the sunniest day to spend at the beach but, that didn’t stop the folks at Hawk Island over memorial day weekend as beaches across the greater Lansing area opened for the summer.
The park was filled with the sounds of giggles and splashes as kids ran around and parents settled on blankets or worked over the charcoal grills. Elayna Moore decided to come to Hawk Island with some friends to get a taste of summer.
“It means the world to me, especially being a college student and having online classes the last year and a half. It’s definitely been just something to look forward to and something that I’m glad that we’re finally being able to do now,” Moore said.
Natalie Kayian came to Hawk Island with her family to celebrate Memorial Day, the six-year-old says she loves so much about summer.
“I love going to the beach and eating,” Kayian said.
Hawk Island, Burchfield Park, and Lake Lansing Park South are now open daily from noon to 8 p.m. Matthew Cowing and his son Fox walk through Hawk Island every day. Seeing so many people in the park was felt different for them.
“Yeah, I usually come here and there’s like two people,” Fox Cowing said.
“It's definitely busier, it’s different because of COVID,” Matthew Cowing said.
Parks just like this one here in Ingham County are also posting summer dates for in-person events like concerts and fishing derbies.
Many celebrating the start of summer here say they feel like they’ve been waiting a long time to get back to normal.
“I just got fully vaccinated so it's nice to be able to plan out those types of gatherings again,” Moore said.
Due to a few technical difficulties, one major summer attraction at Hawk Island didn’t get to open Memorial Day weekend, but the Ingham County Parks Department says the Splash Pad will open up Wednesday just in time for temperatures to heat up here in mid-Michigan.
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