The Intercity Summer Games at the Betty T. Ferguson Center, 3000 NW 199th St., was a partnership with Miami Gardens and Nickelodeon, as part of Nickelodeon's "Road to Worldwide Day of Play", Nike and the Up2Us Sports program.
Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert and Paola Andino, star of Nickelodeon's "Every Witch Way," play a giant game of bowling with kids at the Intercity Summer Games held at Betty T. Ferguson Center in Miami Gardens on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
Kids from summer camp programs in North Miami, Miramar, Opa-locka, Miami Beach, Doral and Miami-Dade County joined campers from Miami Gardens as they ran, jumped and even got slimed in Nickelodeon's famous green slime! The Day of Play also served as a kickoff for Mayor Oliver Gilbert's citywide fitness challenge.
Luis Celesolar, 7, gets slimed at the Intercity Summer Games held at Betty T. Ferguson Center in Miami Gardens on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
"Last year we just concentrated on adults, this year we’re concentrating on adults and kids because everyone needs to be healthy and everyone needs to be fit," Gilbert said.
Nickelodeon stars Paola Andino and Nick Merico, who played Andi Cruz and Daniel Miller, respectively, in Nickelodeon's hit magical series "Every Witch Way", said they hope the events will continue to encourage kids to pick playing outdoors over playing on smartphone apps.
Nick Merico, star of Nickelodeon's "Every Witch Way," and Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert dance to Silento's "Watch M" at the Intercity Summer Games held at Betty T. Ferguson Center in Miami Gardens on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
"I want to help kids see that they can go out every single day and have just as much fun playing soccer or throwing a football as they do on Instagram or something," Merico said.
Paola Andino, star of Nickelodeon's "Every Witch Way," chats with kids at the Intercity Summer Games held at Betty T. Ferguson Center in Miami Gardens on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
Joining Paola and Nick to encourage visitors get active were Nickelodeon's four mutant Heroes in a Half-Shell turtles — Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
Sebastian Soto, 8, poses after getting slimed at the Intercity Summer Games held at Betty T. Ferguson Center in Miami Gardens on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
Nickelodeon also presented a $10,000 check to Up2Us Sports to support their programs. Up2Us Sports has partnered with Miami Gardens in the past and places and trains coaches in different sports programs to encourage healthy living and to emphasize the impact sports can have on behavior and stress relief.
"Our goal is not just to show that physical fitness is good for physical health but also good for mental health," said Up2Us Sports founder Paul Caccamo.
The Intercity Summer Games were held at the field at Betty T. Ferguson Center in Miami Gardens on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
Up2Us Sports hopes to continue working in Miami Gardens and partnering with local schools and park programs.
"This can’t be a one-day event, we’ve got to get coaches trained and involved every day," Caccamo said.
Nickelodeon will continue traveling the USA celebrating kids' love of play this summer with "Road to Worldwide Day of Play" events that will visit cities across the USA, which will culminate with Nickelodeon's "Worldwide Day of Play" event on Saturday 26th September 2015, when the network will suspend programming from noon to 3pm in order to encourage kids to get up, get out and get active, and its partners host grassroots activities to celebrate play!
Mark your calendars, because Nickelodeon's WWDOP Tour is coming soon to a city near you!
Wednesday 12th - Thursday 13th August 2015: Fayetteville, NC
Wednesday 19th - Thursday 20th August 2015: Boulder, CO
Saturday 19th September 2015: New York, NY
For more information about Nickelodeon's "Road to Worldwide Day of Play", please visit nick.com/play!
Talaiyah Bradley, 7, plays a giant, inflatable game of Twister at the Intercity Summer Games held at Betty T. Ferguson Center in Miami Gardens on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
Paola Andino and Nick Merico, stars of Nickelodeon’s “Every Witch Way,” wave to kids at the Intercity Summer Games held at Betty T. Ferguson Center in Miami Gardens on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
Talaiyah Bradley, 7, plays a giant, inflatable game of Twister at the Intercity Summer Games held at Betty T. Ferguson Center in Miami Gardens on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
Paola Andino, star of Nickelodeon's "Every Witch Way," plays with kids at the Intercity Summer Games held at Betty T. Ferguson Center in Miami Gardens on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
Marlon Harry, 6, competes in a sack race at the Intercity Summer Games held at Betty T. Ferguson Center in Miami Gardens on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
Niyanna Jackson and Amari Lewis watch a presentation at the Intercity Summer Games held at Betty T. Ferguson Center in Miami Gardens on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
From left: Aniyah Bloom, 5; Alicia Gibson, 8; Brianna Mendez, 11; and Arianna Young, 10, dance at the Intercity Summer Games held at Betty T. Ferguson Center in Miami Gardens on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
Massimo Stoaa, 8, climbs through the bungee jungle at the Intercity Summer Games held at Betty T. Ferguson Center in Miami Gardens on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
Source: Miami Herald; All above photos taken by Jessica Bal, Miami Herald staff
You can find more fantastic photographs from Nickelodeon's "Road to Worldwide Day of Play" event at Miami Gardens here on Just Jared Jr.!
Additionally, to celebrate Nickelodeon's upcoming "Worldwide Day of Play" 2015 on 9/26, Nick USA has unveiled a fantastic video featuring Isabela Moner, Owen Joyner and Jaheem Toombs from Nickelodeon's brand-new original comedy series "100 Things to do Before High School" at Nickelodeon's recent "Road to Worldwide Day of Play" event in Nashville, Tennessee, on their official YouTube channel, which you can watch in the super online streaming video clip below!:
Worldwide Day of Play | On Tour in Nashville | Nick
The cast of ‘100 Things To Do Before High School’ is in Nashville playing tons of games!
Follow NickALive! on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, via RSS, on Instagram, and/or Facebook for the latest Nickelodeon and Worldwide Day of Play News and Highlights!
