It was a chilly day for the grand opening of Elkford’s new playground on Saturday, but the kids came out in droves nonetheless.
After nearly six months of planning, fundraising and building, the Devonian playground in Elkford is finally complete, in all of it’s shiny, colourful glory.
The project was organized through the Elkford Community Enhancement Society, who determined the need for a new children’s playground after a community consultation.
After plotting out the design, volunteers went to work fundraising, to cover the cost of the $180,000 playground.
The group received grants from Columbia Basin Trust, the Elk Valley Thrift Shop, the municipality and more.
“We had so much support from the community,” said Kathryn Kitt, a volunteer project manager for the playground. She says that when it came time to build the structure, over 70 volunteers came out.
What was supposed to take three days to put together, was done in two with all the helping hands.
“It wasn’t just a bunch of parents that came out to build this,” said Kitt. She saw grandparents and community leaders pitching in to help with the build.
“There was obviously a need for it,” she said, noting that the old playground was in terrible shape, and was removed by the municipality to help make room for the new one. When the playground was officially unveiled, parents and dignitaries smiled as children raced around the slide, monkey bars, swings and more.
“They were running from the time they were brought to the time they were taken home,” said Kitt. “It was a very proud moment.”