School's Out For Summer: Ring In Summer On Friday Afternoon

DENVER (CBS4) - Among the traditions lost in the spring of 2020, that ringing bell signaling school is out for the summer. Now Great Outdoors Colorado wants all of us to ring a bell for summer Friday, May 29 at 3 p.m.

"We've been stuck in side for the last few months and kids have missed out on everything from graduation ceremonies to prom to continuation ceremonies," said Chris Castilian, the executive director of GOCO.

"We wanted to have a signature moment ... to get everyone outside and ring any bell that they have, jingle bells, banging a couple of pots and pans together to signify the start of summer.

"It's the last day of school that we all missed in so many places this year. Ringing any kind of bell has been traditionally kids running out of the school and running into the summer."

And the organization wants everyone to take pictures and video of the bell ringing and post them on social media with #RingInSummer.

The event is an outgrowth of GOCO's Generation Wild campaign.

"Over the last few years we've seen a gradual deterioration of kids just having unstructured play outside," Castilian said.

"We know that has tremendous impacts on both physical and mental health for these kids."

That's where Generation Wild comes in, pushing kids and parents to get outside to simply play.

"On our website you'll find a list of 100 things to do before you're 12 as well as innovative backyard hacks that will hopefully inspire parents. You don't have to have a ski pass or to drive all the way to the mountains to enjoy the benefits of the great outdoors."

LINK: Generation Wild