CLEVELAND – Summer is officially here, and all Deamont’e Smith wanted to do was make a splash.
“It’s a good day and we like to come out and have fun,” he said.
Smith, 10, was one of dozens of kids at Luke Easter Pool Friday afternoon. All of the city’s outdoor pools are officially open for business.
“My favorite part is that I get to do all my fun moves and plus I like the slide,” said 10-year-old Diamond French.
The pools expect to have 300,000 visitors by the end of the year, with a bulk of them arriving in summer. The City of Cleveland has 22 outdoor pools and about the same amount of indoor ones as well.
Cleveland Public Works Director Michael Cox said families should embrace the city programs, especially since many of them are free.
City pools, for example, offer free swim lessons every day for kids as young as eight. However, parents can enroll to take classes with younger children.
“Because we live on this beautiful lake, we believe people need to know how to swim,” Cox said. “We ask that everybody who wants to learn how to swim to come up and learn.”
In addition to free swim lessons, Cox says the city also offers week-long day camps and lunches for kids –
and it won’t cost families a penny.
“We want children where we can make sure they’re safe, that they’re having a good time and keep cool,” Cox said.
The City of Cleveland’s outdoor pools are open Wednesday through Sunday. If temperatures reach 85 degrees, the pool will open any day.
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