Several campaigns to promote use of public parks have been in full swing and we decided that while parks make for great fun, so do cheap tents you can take to the park, set up and get a little shade while watching concerts and other things. In California, an organization called California Park & Recreation Society has many municipalities on board, promoting a branded campaign called Parks Make Better Life. Not to be outdone, CocaCola has a campaign going on a national level, America is Your Park, where you can vote for your favorite park and help it try to win a grant for $100,000. From June 29, 2011 to September 6, 2011, people can go to LivePositively.com to cast a vote for their favorite park.

Cheap tents make life in parks more fun. We went shopping for a cheap tent and found some of the best deals at Walmart and Target. Walmart's cheap park tents start at around $14 for a Kids 4 X 5 foot dome tent. It's really cheap, as you can tell by looking at online at Walmart.com. Sturdier choices and slightly larger start at around $39 and up. Coleman, Ozark Trail, Stansport, Swiss Gear and Wenzel are some of the brands you'll find there. Walmart sometimes allows you to order your tent on the website and pick it up at a local Walmart store, saving shipping costs.

Some of our favorite Walmart cheap tents include:

• Swiss Gear Montreaux, a 10 man tent
• Coleman Instant Tent, a 6 man tent
• Coleman Sundome Tent, ranging from a 2 man tent to a 6 man tent.

Coleman is a well known name in the camping industry, and its products are generally well constructed. However, cheaper tents make use of lighter materials, so keep that in mind. If you're just wanting to enjoy the park and a little shade, start with one of the cheap tents and see if you like it. You can always "buy up".

A word of caution about buying cheap tents-California's beaches in popular locations don't generally allow tent camping, and the tents they allow for day use at the beach are open faced tents. One of the greatest challenges in taking tents to the beach is the wind. Some beaches with constant wind, or beaches experiencing windy days don't go well with cheap tents and you may find your tent shredded or blown apart in a matter of minutes. Our recommendation is to stick to placid public parks for your first cheap tent purchase. Have fun!