The City of Lathrop is doing everything in its power to make sure that residents aren’t bored during the coronavirus shutdown.

After weeks of rolling out virtual recreational opportunities including physical activities, the city’s parks and recreation department has honed down a weekly schedule of activities and events aimed at providing something for everybody to stay entertained while staying indoors.

Monday through Friday the city is offering 4 p.m. classes covering everything from cooking to crafting to bingo – events that are available from the comfort of your own living room.

For those interested in learning a new recipe or a technique in the kitchen, a cooking class leads off the week on Monday at 4 p.m. followed by an active workout session on Tuesday, leisure classes hosted by contract instructors on Wednesday, crafting on Thursday, and Bingo on Friday.

“It can be dangerous if people are locked in their houses all day long – we’re all going to be fighting our own obesity in this situation,” Lathrop Parks and Recreation Director Zack Jones said when announcing the new offerings earlier this month. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t have some interaction and some activity all while social distancing and caring for each other.

“This is a little bit of an opportunity to take a break from the TV set, PE classes to keep kids physical, arts and crafts, and even virtual tours – you can actually ride all of the rides at Disney World from your living room if you’d like.”

The city is also organizing and hosting an e-sports league for video gamers who are looking to expand their friends list – offering a variety of different gaming leagues Monday through Thursday including Mario Kart 8, NBA 2K20, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Madden 20.

For families that are looking for something to do together, every Friday at 7 p.m. the city is hosting a family trivia night that is open to anybody who wished to participate. The sessions are hosted on Facebook Live though the city’s official video Facebook page.

After health department guidance and orders from the Governor recommended that cities close their parks to prevent people from gathering, Lathrop shifted its focus on providing recreational opportunities that can be enjoyed from home – from virtual trips to workout routines and even PE classes for students who aren’t able to go to school.

For more information about the city’s virtual and live offerings, visit the City of Lathrop’s Parks and Recreation Department page at www.ci.lathrop.ca.us/parksrec, or call 209.941.7370.

The nightly e-sports sessions will begin on May 4 and cost $12 to register for. In order to sign up, visit www.missioncontrol.gg/play-lathrop.

The City of Lathrop’s Facebook page can be accessed by visiting www.facebook.com/lathropparksandrec.