Weekly hoop jam starts Wednesday at Pullen Park

If going to Pullen Park — with the train, the merry-go-round, the playground — isn't about being a kid, no matter how old you are, we don't know what is. Starting Wednesday, it becomes even more so.

Hooping at least year's jam.

That's when the seasonal Pullen Park Hoop Jam revs up for the season. Starting this Wednesday, for every Wednesday as long as the weather stays nice, Carolyn Mabry will be leading a hoop jam session from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the popular Raleigh Park.

"I bring about 25 extra Hula Hoops and everyone is welcome to come and hoop with us," writes Carolyn. "The jam's are pretty big. We've had up to 11 drummers" — the Raleigh Drum Circle participates — "at one time, plus other musicians, and up to 20 or 25 hoopers. We often co-op whole families who are visiting Pullen Park."

So maybe you're thinking, Hula Hoops? I could barely keep one of those things going when I was 12 and had the hips of a ... 12-year-old. Here's the great thing I learned about hooping when I wrote about it last year: They make hoops in various sizes; the oversized hoops require less gyration and effort than the ones you grew up with. You actually can keep one up as an older hooper.

Yeah, you may be inclined to counter, but it's probably all kids and hipster doofuses. I wouldn't fit in. Hipster doofus? Haven't heard that one in a while. Here's what Carolyn has to say about that:

"Last summer, we had so much diversity in the people who would come each week, it was kind of mind boggling. I remember looking around and noticing so many different cultures, all hooping and drumming together. People of all ages and from so many different countries. We even had an extended family of middle easterners with four matriarchss, three of whom would hoop in their burquas. It was so cool! We also had a family visiting from Japan drop in and some drummers visiting from Haiti. The hoop is an allegory in that way -- a circle that includes everyone."

You can't possibly not fit in. So, again, that's Wednesday, 6:30-8:30 p.m., "meet in front of the big gazebo in front of the mandala of flowers just off the Ashe Avenue entrance next to the swimming pool." And, hooping counts as one of the weekly activities for those of you participating in our Get Fit Challenge. And for those of you who aren't participating in our Get Fit Challenge, you should. You can find out more about our Get Fit Challenge here.

Happy hooping.