SOLEDAD – The Soledad Pool has finally reopened and is back face to face with the Soledad-Mission Recreation District.

The pool is currently operating at 50% of its capacity in a short period of time to help the district familiarize itself with the operation of the new staff and manage the crowds.

Secretary-General Francis Bentson said residents were anxious and had many children crying when they first entered the pool or when they simply had to be surrounded by a group of people. She said reopening the pool was like a sense of security for the community.

“The past year has been tough,” Bentson said. “It is very important that children can see our faces. We need to be present and to feel understood by others.

She explained that not only the customers but also the staff wanted to know that someone cared about their health.

This applies to the neighborhood’s summer theme, “Come back and find your happiness”. The goal is to reduce the tension and anxiety that people have been feeling for over a year while stopping the Covid-19 pandemic.

Swimming lessons are more popular than ever, Bentson says, as is recreational swimming. The district is overseeing a non-aquatic program that will return in the coming weeks.

Art therapy, day camps, and movies in the park remain on the list. Martial arts are underway, but new products include parkour and capoeira.

“It’s a very cool program that combines dance, martial arts and Brazilian culture,” Bengtson said of the Capoeira program, which is scheduled for the next two weeks.

The park’s evening premiere is June 25, with Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” screened on the side of the pool building. The film slated for July 9 was still being voted on among the other three Disney films.

The opening on June 15 was the first opportunity for a new lifeguard to enforce the rules and protect pool patrons. Before that, they had only attended training.

The pool has 26 employees and 8 will be back. Bengtson said pool workers typically stay at the top for three years, but some staff have not returned due to a year of downtime due to the pandemic shutdown.