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SummerFest: Camden's Summertime Activities

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CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- Camden residents get out and about to see the city's summertime spirit.

Diva Richards is getting people moving every Thursday at Cooper's Poynt Waterfront Park with a free fitness boot camp.

"We're going to have them running, jumping, really just pushing themselves to the limit in a family-friendly environment," Diva said.

SummerFest Heads To 'Summer Symphony Camp' At Rutgers Camden Campus

Free fitness activities are being offered several days a week as part of Connect the Lots, which brings people together in Camden's outdoor spaces.

"The opportunity is here for building that culture of fitness and health, having those arts and cultural programming that really help to make the community a livable space, are all here in the city of Camden," said Meishka Mitchell of Cooper's Ferry Partnership.

Other times of day, you might catch the sound of a lunchtime serenade. Across from City Hall at Roosevelt Plaza Park, food trucks and the new CK Café LunchBox give people a place to grab and go, with free live music Tuesdays at noon.

Bookworms can venture to the 300 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard to spot the Walt Whitman House, the famous poet's last residence and a National Historic Landmark.

Curator Leo Blake, who has worked there for 18 years, said, "If you like history and you like literature, this is a great stop. It is a restored home that has had a major restoration done to it. Many of the artifacts here are things that Walt Whitman owned."

SummerFest Heads To The Camden Waterfront

Interested people can schedule a tour of this tiny house and see through Whitman's eyes.

Inside the Camden County Library Branch at Rutgers-Camden, Head Start kids are acting out a fishing adventure with storyteller Kyle Jakubowski. This is part of the Rutgers Summer Arts program for community groups. Inez Simmons is one of the Head Start teachers.

"They are learning a lot of artistic things, how to be creative," Inez said.

"And then it's a springboard to the school year for them, creating their own stories," Kyle said.

And there's more community fun to come this fall. On Saturday, Sept. 15, kids and grownups can enjoy free hands-on activities outside Adventure Aquarium at Camden River Day.

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