A fitting challenge for awning in play yard (Condition Report)

FITTING THE AWNING’S SUPPORT POSTS is proving to be extremely challenging. 

If it is true that the sukkah must fit entirely within both the awning’s posts and its overhead frame, then here are the results after laying out the sukkah frame in the yard today:

[Update added 6/9/25] Various stakeholders consulted about this blog post have replied that the proposed arrangement, while it would obviously compromise the sukkah to some extent, is nonetheless tolerable. This consensus has now been reported to the awning vendor.

Below the jump, I provide links to photos, and more discussion.…

Security/shade covering for play yard: Best design and bid identified (Activity Report)

OUR PLAY YARD is used for many types of activities: as the preschool’s primary outdoor space, as a venue for Shabbat dinners, as the site of our annual sukkah, as the entryway into our sanctuary for wheelchair users, and more. Whatever approach to a security/shade covering that we install to protect the yard, it needs to be flexible enough to allow for all of those uses. It also needs to be durable, because equipment with a short lifespan is a hassle for our busy staff to deal with.

Awning at the Shalom School in Sacramento

That is why we are going with a slide-wire awning design, from a manufacturer of reliably durable products. 

Yet flexibility and durability do not come cheap. Which is why we now need to raise some donated funds above and beyond the amount of the Federation grant that we were awarded last year.

Below the jump, this post describes the selected design and the winning bid.…