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Date: 6/20/2023
HOLYOKE — Holyoke Heritage State Park will be the site of a summer kickoff party for children and families as the Party in the Park — Day of Family Fun is set for Saturday June 24.
Featured inside the park is Holyoke’s famous merry-go-round, which will be open for unlimited rides throughout the 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. event. Children attending will also be given free admission to the Holyoke Children’s Museum and the Volleyball Hall of Fame during the afternoon. A rain date is scheduled for the following day, Sunday June 25.
The event is organized through partnering groups the Children’s Museum, the Holyoke Merry-Go-Round, Department of Conservation and Recreation Massachusetts and the International Volleyball Hall of Fame, and is sponsored by Marcotte Ford. Unlimited carousel ride tickets are $10 each and a family four pack of tickets is $35.
Holyoke Children’s Museum Executive Director Abigail Scanlon told Reminder Publishing with already having past and other annual events for children centered around the park and the merry-go-round, a day of family fun to kick off the summer as the school year ends seemed like an good opportunity for a family oriented community event.
“We’re so excited to do this and we really hope lots of families come out and have a blast,” Scanlon said.
Along with the free museum admissions, there will also be a wide variety of other activities available including face painting, balloon sculptures, a visit from Spider-Man, Spider-Gwen and many children’s favorite animated dog, Bluey.
Scanlon said collaboration and the history behind the merry-go-round make putting on an event like this a “unique” situation the city has for a resource.
“That’s the great part about having Heritage State Park is that it’s a pretty unique situation, you have this state park nestled in the downtown in the city that is anchored on one end with this historic carousel, and on the opposite end with the children’s museum that has been around for 40 years at this point, and the Volleyball Hall of Fame,” Scanlon said.
She added the educational opportunities in general and about the Holyoke’s history between the different venues gives families many options for the day of family fun. She also said inside the visitor center at Heritage State Park there would be exhibits still up about the city’s 150th anniversary.
“They’ve got some great exhibits about the history of Holyoke and the industry so it’s a great way to get families in there to learn a little bit more about the city,” Scanlon said. “We love seeing people from different areas, people coming back because they love the museums or merry-go-round, and we think its just a great way to kick off people’s summer.”