Newton Parks & Recreation is offering FREE outdoor activities for families this summer at Lincoln-Eliot School located at 150 Jackson Rd in Newton.  Families can bring a picnic lunch and join youth interns and volunteers for field games, art projects, story time, playground and more.

Weekdays July 6 - August 14, 2026

10:30 am - 12:30 pm

Outdoors at Lincoln-Eliot School

What is Picnic and Play in the Park?  This pilot program is being offered to provide opportunities for families to play together during the summer and connect with members of the community.  It is open to families with children 18 and younger.  Nannies, babysitters, older siblings, parents and grandparents are all welcome to bring children to this program.   

This is an outdoor program.  The program will run in light rain, but in the event of thunderstorms or severe weather the program may be cancelled for that day.  Any cancellations will be posted at the top of this page.

Check in and Survey - We ask everyone that attends to check in each day and complete a short survey at the end of each week.  Why check in and complete a survey?  We are tracking attendance numbers and the benefits of participating in this program in order to apply for future program grants.  In addition to providing fun activities and special events, our hope in future summers is to be able to provide free lunch to children 18 and younger through the Summer Food Service Program with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Project Bread.  Gathering data this year will help us in future summers.  

Weekly Schedules - schedules will be posted the Thursday before each week so you can see the fun activities and special events that will be offered each week.   

Week of July 6th

Week of July 13th

Week of July 20th 

Week of July 27th 

Week of August 3rd 

Week of August 10th  

Volunteer with Us

Are you interested in volunteering to help run activities at Picnic and Play in the Park?  Newton Parks & Recreation is seeking people ages 14 and older who enjoy working with children of all ages to help plan and run a variety of outdoor activities.  Volunteers must be able to commit to at least 2 weeks of the program.  Please see the volunteer application for more information. 

Volunteer Application