For the fourth year, Somerville will host the annual American Rendezvous weekend (ARDV) gathering from June 24 to June 26, where parkour practitioners will participate in training sessions led by elite coaches from across the country and abroad. Parkour is a form of movement rooted in a variety of physical disciplines – gymnastics, martial arts, climbing, breakdancing, and track – and its popularity has grown rapidly in the Boston metropolitan area. Parkour was born in the banlieues (suburbs) of Paris in the 1980s and is now one of the world’s fastest-growing sports. The 2016 ARDV weekend is sponsored in part by the City of Somerville and Shape Up Somerville.

ARDV is open to adults and high-school students (age 14+), of all experience levels and athletic backgrounds.

It is designed as a “melting-pot event” for people to meet and train with each other in a safe, fun, and hard-working atmosphere, while celebrating a healthy and active lifestyle. This year, due to popular demand, a children’s event has been added for Saturday only, for youth ages 6-14. These sessions are specifically structured for children featuring games, technical instruction, “challenge sessions”, and all are led by a team of experienced coaches. A “Kids’ Zone” is also offered, featuring obstacles for them to navigate.

The event will kick off on Fri., June 24, from 4 to 8 p.m., with a half day of “Meet and Greet Icebreakers” and small group “Training and Challenge” sessions, held outside the Somerville High School gym (81 Highland Ave., atrium entrance). On Sat. June 25, the main event will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., both inside and outside the SHS gym. Participants will train on a specially built and very creative “Scaffolding City.” A 90-minute lunch halfway through the day encourages participants to eat at nearby establishments offering Shape Up Somerville appropriate menu items and offering discounts to registrants. On Sunday, outdoor “parkour hotspots” will be visited in Cambridge and downtown Boston, enabling participants to train in the type of urban settings that originally gave birth to the sport in France.

The registration fee for the full weekend workshop is $99/person, $89 for the Saturday-Sunday session, or $69 for just Saturday. Local high school students may also apply for partial or full scholarships, made possible through the generous sponsorship of several local businesses: Gentle Giant, Hubway, New England College of Business, Middlesex Federal, Redbones, and SPURR. Several local restaurants are also offering significant discounts to registrants and the team, including Meju Korean Restaurant, Mr. Crepe, and Sound Bites.

Tickets and info available at http://pkgamericas.com/american-rendezvous-2016/ or contact Blake Evitt, Director and Senior Coach of Parkour Generations Americas viablake@parkourgenerations.com or 617-302-7542.

Individuals with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication, written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures, in order to access the programs and activities of the City of Somerville or to attend meetings, should contact the City’s ADA Coordinator, Betsy Allen, at 617-625- 6600 x2323 or BAllen@somervillema.gov.