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Date: 8/29/2022
SOUTH HADLEY – The public is invited to join community leaders and other residents on Sept. 10 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. for a celebration of community young and old in officially designating the playing field and playgrounds surrounding the new South Hadley Senior Center as Woodlawn Park.
The event will start with an official dedication of the park by Town Administrator Lisa Wong and other community leaders. Following the dedication, celebrations begin with a handful of family-friendly activities.
Selectboard and Council on Aging member Carol Constant said plans for the surrounding area at Woodlawn Field started as plans for the new Senior Center building were finalized. The goal was to broaden the area for different activities to go with the already present field.
Constant said initial plans after the construction of the new Senior Center was to incorporate a new playground at the location as it would provide a nice option for families when attending games at the field. As that project began, other projects for the area were being worked on as well.
According to Constant, Director of Planning and Conservation Anne Capra has begun writing up grants to secure funds for fitness equipment for adults located in the area, as well as a new walking trail to surround the area.
At the same time, a generous donation from Peoples Bank gifted the Woodlawn Café (which sits inside of the Senior Center) and the Senior Center a tiger figure that will be posted within the new park. With all these new features to the area being built in, there was only one thing left for South Hadley officials to decide.
“There was some conversation about how we will designate this area, so everybody knows a place where all generations are welcomed. They came up with many ideas and I thought, ‘let’s just call it a park,’” Constant said.
Constant added through research they confirmed the area had never been designated as a park, so the decision came easy. Nearing the official dedication and celebration of the new park, the Council on Aging and the Friends of the South Hadley Senior Center have been preparing a fun-filled day that encourages members of all generations to see the new park and have a fun time.
The first part of the day-long event will be the Intergenerational Family Fun, Fitness and Friends from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. This portion of the day will have free family activities including face painting, a wiffle ball home run derby, yoga, neighborhood trek, fitness equipment instruction, music with DJ Kstylez and Foley’s Franks available for purchase.
Starting at the same time and ending at 5 p.m. is a cornhole tournament where players 13 years of age (parent or guardian must register anyone under the age of 18) and older can team up and compete for prizes. It is a $40 entry fee per team and food, alcohol and soft beverages will be available. To register you must go through the Scoreholio app: Celebrate Woodlawn! Tournament.
In addition, the Senior Center will be offering tours of their building throughout the afternoon.
From 6:30 until 9:30 p.m., there will be an adult evening of music, dancing, food and fun. This is also a free admission activity and will be on the Senior Center patio and indoors where the 19-piece Bad News Jazz and Blues Orchestra will perform throughout the evening.
Food specialties from many of South Hadley’s most popular restaurants will be available for the public to sample free of charge. As of print, Boathouse, Ebenezer’s, IYA, Johnny’s Bar and Grill, the Hangar and many more local favorites are expected to be at the event. Students from the South Hadley High School Culinary Program will also be on hand to assist in serving. Alcohol and soda will be available for purchase.
The event is sponsored by the Friends of the South Hadley Seniors and a grant from the South Hadley Cultural Council, which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council.
Constant is looking forward to the dedication and celebration as it marks a moment in time where the town worked together to create a new park for all generations of South Hadley residents to enjoy.
“An important piece of the South Hadley Master Plan is pocket parks to make a community more livable. This is a chance to let the community know this is here and that it’s open for business and it’s a park that’s in our neighborhood,” Constant said. “A park that was kind of functioning as a park but wasn’t called a park. It feels like a nice time to have a party. We’ve been holed up for long enough and it’s going to be an outside celebration for the whole community.”