PORT ANGELES — Renowned Jamestown S’Klallam storyteller Elaine Grinnell will speak at a community salmon feast in Port Angeles on Saturday — the latest fundraiser to support the installation of a new playground at Shane Park.
Storytelling will begin at 4 p.m., with dinner served at 5 p.m. at the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 W. Fourth St.
The event will include a silent auction and live painting by local artist John Rickenbacher.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $8 for kids ages 4 to 12.
Tickets will be available at the door.
Children 3 and younger will be admitted free.
Auction items
“We will have several baskets full of wonderful items and a beautiful handcrafted piece of jewelry by Cindy Kochanek,” Shane Park Playground Committee spokeswoman Janet Young said in an email.
“This could possibly be our last big event for the park. We are planning on having some smaller events to raise another $10,000 to finish phase two,” Young wrote.
Over the past year and a half, the Shane Park Playground Committee has raised $69,000 for the purchase and installation of a state-of-the-art, 6,000-square-foot play set at the city park between Sixth and Eighth streets and E and G streets.
Other fundraisers
Past fundraisers have included community breakfasts, dinners, dice games at the Port Angeles Senior Center, a pickleball marathon and several bowling parties at Laurel Lanes.
“Every one of the fundraisers has been a total success, and I don’t see this one being any different,” said Port Angeles Parks and Streets Superintendent Corey Delikat.
The city of Port Angeles has invested $71,000 in the Shane Park playground.
“It’s a good joint project,” Delikat said.
Playset has arrived
The disassembled play set arrived at a city storage area earlier this month.
The community group needs to come up with another $11,000 for concrete and rubber safety tiles that will surround the second phase of the project.
Phase 1 will feature several slides, towers, monkey bars and a climbing wall.
Phase 2 will have a swing set and an upside-down merry-go-round called a “Neutron Spinner.” The second phase will be installed separately.
Crews began excavating at Shane Park last month. The play set will be located near the concrete restroom.
Andersen & Sons Gravel donated $3,000 worth of material for the foundation and hauled it to the site.
“That was outstanding,” Delikat said.
Help with prep
Ken Reandeau Excavating helped the city get the area prepped for the first concrete pour around the perimeter of the site, Delikat said.
“The park is looking great,” Young added.
“It is all cleared, and it looks like the ground is ready for the next step. . . . It is really huge.”
Delikat said it is realistic to expect both phases to be completed by the end of August or early September.
“We’re getting close,” he said
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
