NORTHAMPTON — After four years of planning and fundraising, new bocce courts opened last month at Look Park’s Dow Pavilion.
Larry Hott, one of the leaders of the effort to get the courts constructed, said he was looking for a social activity when he found bocce and quickly learned it was more popular than he had known.
“It’s a way to be active without getting hurt,” he said, explaining why he plays on Sundays. “It’s such a social game with so much time to talk and laugh, and it has a learning curve of 30 seconds to a minute.”
When Hott first started playing, he would join others at Nonotuck Park in Easthampton. But the idea to play on courts closer to his home in Florence came about in 2022 when he was installing a memorial bench at Look Park for his wife, Diane Garey, who had recently died.
The fundraising started shortly thereafter and the group was able to convince staff at Look Park to finish the job. The courts were opened in late September and have been getting a lot of use, said park Director Justin Pelis.
