CHILL IDEA: Cool collaboration adds relaxation enhancers to Heritage Park

There may be better relaxation combinations than a hammock and a good book, but not many.

Thanks to a unique collaboration between the Canton Public Library and Canton Leisure Services, the township’s Heritage Park has been equipped with a pair of hammocks just west of the library where visitors are encouraged to read while laying in the cloth relaxation enhancers.

“It’s a neat partnership between the Canton Public Library and Canton Leisure Services,” said Laurie Golden, director of the library’s engagement and design department. “We purchased the hammocks last year and leisure services personnel put in the posts and hung them.

Relax and read

“The hammocks are within walking distance of the library, so people can find a good book and head straight to the hammocks to relax and read.”

As far as Golden knows, the hammocks-in-the-park project are unique to southeast Michigan.

“The idea came from Charlevoix’s Hammock Park, where people can bring their own hammocks and hang them on existing posts,” Golden said.

“We’ve received a lot of positive feedback. People love the hammocks and we can see them from the library, so we know they’re used a lot.”

The hammocks, which are located just west of the library and a short walk southeast of the Heritage Park Amphitheater, are used on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be reserved.

The library and the leisures services department have also collaborated, along with Blue Cross Blue Shield, on the Heritage Park Story Trail, which consists of a few pages of a featured book that are posted at several stations along the trail, allowing families and friends to enjoy a special story as they walk the path and take in fresh air and scenery of the park.

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