Sonya Thayer is part of the Friends of Couch Park group that has been stewarding, activating, promoting and weekly patrolling the park at Northwest 19th and Glisan streets. In keeping with their neighborly vibe, they call it “pa-strolling”—a blend of patrolling and strolling.
Last month, their creativity flowered in song written and performed by Thayer. Its theme, “there’s a million things to do in Couch Park,” draws from a comment by fellow park friend Max Steele.
Steele wants to project tolerance for diverse activities in park, limited to only a few prohibitions, such as drug dealing, vandalism, crime and threatening the safety of others.
“Max always says something like, ‘There are a million things you can do in Couch Park, and only about four things you can’t do.’” said Kara Colley, president of Friends of Couch Park.
Couch Park Song
By Sonya Thayer
There are a million things to do in Couch Park
A million things to do for free
There’s a million things to do in Couch Park
Cause the park is free for the community
Meeting friends, meeting neighbors
Drinking coffee, drinking tea
Playing cornhole, playing jangle
Learning birds and sketching leaves
Dog play dates and birthday parties
Crafting projects in the rain
Ice cream socials, people watching
Seeing tulips in the spring
Climbing, jumping, swinging, running
Playing on the xylophone
My daughter took her first steps here
Now see how she has grown
Egg drops, riding bikes
Winter solstice bonfires
Singing carols as a choir
Of Couch Park I’ll never tire of
Including learning about the history
just look around and you will see
Even celebrate a new year for trees.
