Organized by Clay County Parks and Recreation, the event was an end-of-summer celebration with fun for the whole family — filled with water activities, arcade games, face painting, food trucks, music and more. 

 Malan McCracken, Special Event and Marketing Specialist for Clay County Parks and Recreation, is the brain behind the soon-to-be annual tradition. She wanted to put together something special for the summer by bringing water activities to the parks —a way for everyone to have fun and stay cool. 

 McCracken emphasized that events like these could not happen without community partnerships. In addition to water slides and even Star Wars and Minecraft-themed bouncers supplied by Jacksonville Party Company, there were food trucks like Flavaz on the Move, Emangeo’s Brick Oven Pizza and Sunshine Poppers, a DJ, and interactive stations from AMI Kids, the Clay Charter Academy, Fun4ClayKids, the Clay County Public Library System and Florida Health. 

 “It’s very important to keep involvement with each other,” McCracken said. “So, while they’re here as an outreach for us, we go and outreach for them as well.” 

Clay County Parks and Recreation focuses on three main principles: community-building, health and stewardship of natural resources. 

“The community-building is what you’re seeing here today,” said Justin Pierce, Director of Parks and Recreation. “We're so very proud of Malan and the rest of the team and what they’re doing. Seeing the impact that we’re having on the community, it’s just a great feeling to have on a Saturday.”

In the latest Board of County Commissioners meeting, July was officially recognized as Parks and Recreation Month. 

The National Recreation and Park Association sets a different theme each July. This year, it is “The Power of Parks and Recreation,” focusing on six pillars: the power of connection, the power of play, the power of community, the power of nature, the power of belonging and the power of well-being. The local events for July were planned with this national theme in mind.

Pierce called this a “huge recognition” from the commissioners, explaining that not everyone realizes what Clay County Parks and Recreation offers the community.

Clay County Parks and Recreation oversees the Fairgrounds, Clay County Outdoor Adventure Park and Camp Chowenwaw. They have special events and popular recurring programs, like Airplane Adventures with Clay County Flyers in September and Big Cabin Holiday Open House in December. In total, they oversee 63 parks and open spaces, including Ronnie Van Zant.

Though “Last Splash” celebrated the end of summer, park resources are available all year. Even during this event, the rest of Ronnie Van Zant was full of parkgoers of all ages, playing basketball, soccer, tennis and disc golf. 

 “Go out and enjoy our parks," Pierce said. "It doesn’t necessarily have to be a program or activity that you come to, but you can just go out and play pickleball or tennis or basketball or enjoy any of our open spaces or walk a trail. All of those amenities are open to the public and are paid by taxpayer dollars. This is your park. These are your resources, and programs like these are just the extra that we add on to give back to the community.” 

To learn more, visit letsplayclay.com and follow Clay County Parks and Recreation on social media. Weekly event calendars are posted on their Facebook page and on their Instagram, @letsplayclaycounty. 

“We have free programs, free events, free admission,” McCracken said. “So even if we’re not having anything in the parks, they’re open dawn to dusk.