By Brock Weir

Stamp your way to a healthier, more active lifestyle during Recreation & Parks Month.

June is Recreation & Parks Month and the Town of Aurora is offering something for just about every day leading up to June 30.

The true kickoff to Recreation & Parks Month take place Sunday, June 2 at the Aurora Chamber of Commerce Street Festival, which will see Yonge Street closed from Wellington Street in the north to Murray Drive in the south, featuring fun for the whole family – from live music, to food, to buskers.

What follows is a month of hiking, yoga, tennis, Zumba, and even some gym time at the Club Aurora fitness centre.

Regardless of what type of activity you enjoy, keep track. There could very well be a payoff at the end.

Beginning this week, Parks & Recreation Month “passports” are available for pickup at the Aurora Family Leisure Complex, Stronach Aurora Recreation Complex, Aurora Seniors' Centre and Town Hall.

There are four types of activities on the passport: sports, fitness, parks and trails, and social activities. Record your activities on your passport and once you've checked off all four activities on your passport, submit them to the Town for a chance to win a $50 credit to a Town of Aurora recreation program.

If you're not content to simply record your activities on your passport, there's an app for that.

The Town wants to see how the community is marking Recreation & Parks Month on their own, with their families, with friends, or even with their neighbours. Photos related to Recreation & Parks Month can be submitted to the Town on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #AuroraJRPM19.

Individuals submitting photos via social media are eligible to have their pics printed in upcoming Town publications.

“June is Recreation & Parks Month, a great initiative we take great pride in and are proud to celebrate annually,” says Franco DiMarco of the Town of Aurora. “Established in 2005, June is Recreation & Parks Month, or JRPM, is an annual community mobilization movement that takes place in parks, schools, recreation centres and neighbourhoods across Ontario. JRPM is an exciting way to increase community engagement and awareness around the value and important benefits of recreation and parks to individuals, families and communities. Objectives include increased community awareness and community engagement. The Town of Aurora is fortunate to have a variety of recreation and parks systems providing countless recreational opportunities for both residents and visitors. JRPM allows the Town to showcase the wide variety of programs and services it offers while encouraging and promoting healthy and active lifestyles for residents.”

Participation in both structured and unstructured recreation, sport and cultural activities improves physical, psychological and emotional health, he added, while parks, trails, recreation and participation builds “family unity, social capital” while strengthening “volunteer and community development, enhancing social interaction, and creating community pride and vitality.”

In addition to the full roster of activities planned for JRPM, which can be found at aurora.ca/recreationparksmonth, Recreation & Parks Month coincides with the Town's involvement in ParticipACTION's Community Better Challenge, hosted in partnership with Sport Aurora & Activate Aurora.

“The Challenge is a brand new annual physical activity challenge that is bringing communities together with physical activity and sport participation,” says Mr. DiMarco. “The challenge takes place between May 31 and June 16. As the two initiatives pair so well together, the Town will be integrating the Community Better Challenge into its existing JRPM celebrations."