Easter Monday, last errand of the holidays. We were on our way home from the PaknSave when word reached us that something was happening at Marlborough Park — a family event, right near where we'd just been. We turned around. It was one of those small, excellent decisions.
Giant Games in the Park
The grass was covered in giant toys. A giant chess set where each piece needed two hands to carry. A life-size Snakes and Ladders board where the children were the game pieces. Soft blocks the size of torsos, stacked into improbable towers. Pogo sticks and stilts in cheerful colours. And threading through all of it — the flying fox, the board track, the swings — the familiar park doing what it always does, just louder and more crowded and full of strangers being friendly. The three girls were jumping into the middle of it.
The Families in Parks Programme
The event is called Families in Parks, and it's run by the Kaipatiki Community Facilities Trust — the same organisation behind the Summer and Winter Fun Programmes that bring free outdoor activities to parks and schools across the Kaipātiki area. The idea is straightforward: give families a reason to be outside together, to take up space on a lawn, to bump into the neighbours. No screens, no cost, no registration. I had a little chat with a staff who told me they were wrapping up the summer programme — this was one of the final events before the winter break. We'd arrived on the last day almost by accident.
Children from toddlers to ten-year-olds careened across the grass. Somebody's toddler was being lifted onto a stilt by an older kid he'd never met. A dad was attempting the giant chess and losing. A group of girls were mid-argument about the rules of Snakes and Ladders at human scale.
The afternoon light was still warm, felt like the very end of summer.
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한국어 요약
부활절 연휴 마지막 날, 방학의 마지막 볼일을 보고 PaknSave에서 돌아오는 길이었다. 방금 들른 곳 근처 Marlborough Park에서 가족 행사가 열린다는 소식이 들렸다. 차를 돌렸다. 작지만 아주 잘한 결정이었다.
잔디밭은 커다란 장난감으로 덮여 있었다. 말 하나를 두 손으로 들어야 하는 대형 체스, 아이들이 말이 되는 사람 크기 뱀사다리 판, 몸통만 한 소프트 블록, 알록달록한 스카이콩콩과 죽마. 그 사이로 늘 있던 짚라인과 그네도 평소보다 시끌벅적했다. 세 아이는 곧장 그 한가운데로 뛰어들었다. 모르는 큰 아이가 남의 집 아기를 죽마 위에 올려 주고, 한 아빠는 대형 체스에서 지고 있었다.
행사 이름은 Families in Parks로, Kaipātiki 지역 공원과 학교에서 무료 야외 활동을 여는 Summer·Winter Fun Programme을 운영하는 Kaipatiki Community Facilities Trust가 연다. 가족이 함께 밖으로 나와 잔디밭에 자리를 잡고 이웃과 마주치게 하자는 취지다. 화면도, 비용도, 신청도 없다. 스태프에게 물으니 여름 프로그램을 마무리하는 중이었고, 이번이 겨울 방학 전 마지막 행사 중 하나였다. 거의 우연히 마지막 날에 닿은 셈이다.
Yussi
Writer · Social work student, Massey University
A mother of three girls and a Korean immigrant making Mairangi Bay home — writing about starting school, home learning and everyday life on Auckland's North Shore.
More about Yussi →Frequently asked questions
- What is Families in Parks?
- Free pop-up family events in parks across the Kaipātiki area on Auckland's North Shore, run by the Kaipatiki Community Facilities Trust. Giant games, toys and physical play equipment are set up on the grass — no screens, no cost, no registration.
- What activities are there at Families in Parks?
- The day we went: a giant chess set, life-size Snakes and Ladders with the children as the pieces, torso-sized soft blocks, pogo sticks and stilts — alongside the park's own flying fox and swings.
- Do you need to book for Families in Parks?
- No — just show up. It's free, with no registration.
- When does the Kaipātiki Summer Fun Programme run?
- The event we found on Easter Monday was one of the final events before the winter break — staff told us they were wrapping up the summer programme. The same trust runs a Winter Fun Programme; check the KCFT website or Facebook for the current schedule, as venues rotate across different parks and reserves.
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