Playground-on-the-Green Dedication, 12 Noon, Sat, Aug 14, Eastsound Village Green
||| FROM ALICE HIBBERD for SJC PARKS & FAIR |||
The Playground-on-the-Green, the product of Orcas Island imagination, energy, and funding, and constructed by Orcas artists Chuck Greening and Zackarya Leck, will be dedicated to resident and visiting children on Saturday, August 14, 12:00 noon, at the Village Green.
The playground design, by Greenworks of Portland, Oregon, mimics what kids might find in the woods or on the beach — rocks to climb, logs to scramble, sand to mold — and features a sculptural slide, designed and constructed by Zackarya Leck. The nature-based design encourages kids to build confidence in assessing risk, and supports their coordination, orientation, and social skills.
The Playground Committee (Dan Burke, Chuck Greening, Ken Katz, Zackarya Leck, David Kau, Mark Mayer, Pete Moe, and Margaret Payne) thanks San Juan County for a Lodging Tax Grant to get the project going; San Juan County Parks for supporting the committee through three years of planning and construction: Moran State Park and the Port of Orcas for donating logs; Camp Orkila for rocks; West Sound Lumber for milling, treating, and storing logs; Joe Cohen and Martha Farish for funding the slide; the Orcas Island Community Foundation for support through “Give Orcas” and for donating landscape trees to celebrate its 25th Anniversary; Island Market for donating benches; a Ginny-Lu Wood Legacy Grant for the water fountain (and Eastsound Water for its installation);j and an anonymous donor for the large, flat rock that anchors the play area.
The anonymous donor wishes to celebrate Orcas Island volunteerism — the many awesome citizens and businesses who donated time, talent, and funding for this exceptional playground.
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Surely there was a better use of this corner of the park than this eyesore of playground design, complete with the jagged rusted metal sculpture which looks like a souce of tetanus for the whole family.