SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Springdale hosted a revival weekend to reopen the renovated Luther George Park.
The $14 million project reopened to the public on Friday with all new features to the expanded 14 acres. Native plant spaces, picnic tables, a new playground, and a performance pavilion are amongst the new features.
"My granddaughter said this is the best place ever and that she could see everything from up there. So she's very excited about being here," Shannon Havens said.
Havens was out enjoying Luther George Park with her granddaughters before the revival weekend.
"We usually go to JB Hunt Park, so we wanted to check this out. And it's a great surface, so many fun places, even for littles, and there's so many places to explore," Havens said.
At the center of the park is the performance pavilion which designer say was fabricated in the Netherlands. They wanted it to blend with a park while providing an event space for downtown.
"We wanted this to sort of be this sort of Beacon, something that you had curiosity about, that reflected the landscape in the background, but it was something that drew you into the park," West Michaels with SMM.Studio said.
The downtown Springdale alliance capitalized on the new jewel of the park by kicking off the reopening with concerts. Performances featured a hip-hop experience, presented by the medium, and even the award-winning Jenee Fleenor. The organization reiterated at the space was for the community, opening up applications to the community for next year's program of events.
"We've got some programs that are already in play, but we're going to have a lot more ideas that come to us. And through the public events committee and the downtown Springdale Alliance, we will help shape and support those programs every way that we can," Executive Director Jill Dabbs said.
Right off the Greenway and downtown Springdale’s Emma Avenue, it’ll serve as a community backyard as Springdale continues to grow.
"It's just going to be a very well-loved park and an integral piece of the development in our continued revitalization to downtown,” Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse said.
Sprouse added that the park had already inspired the city. They are now developing a greenhouse with a horticulturalist.
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