PORT ANGELES — Construction of the Generation II Dream Playground at Erickson Playfield is substantially complete thanks to the efforts of about 200 volunteers who contributed their labor during a two-day build session on Friday and Saturday.
Swarms of workers spent Saturday sanding down sharp edges, applying ornamentation and leveling dirt in the play area with shovels and rakes.
However there are details that still need attention.
Steve Methner, president of the non-profit Dream Playground Foundation — which is orchestrating the playground — said Saturday that there are numerous items that still need to be done, but none are substantial enough to halt safety certifications.
“We got a lot of good stuff done this weekend,” he said. “We got all the concrete poured yesterday, which was a huge task. Now we’re working on punch list items, a lot of stuff to finish up and button up.”
The original construction plan called for the play equipment to be assembled over a six-day period in June, but a shortage of volunteers combined with record-breaking temperatures caused the project to fall short of its goal, despite the work of nearly 500 people who braved the heat to take part in the build.
A small crew of volunteers set the stage last week for this weekend’s bigger build by finishing off numerous smaller tasks.
Now, a section of fence along the back side of the playground is awaiting additional material delivery and numerous decorative flourishes are still to be applied.
Several kiosks adorned with the hand prints of children who took part in the original playground were awaiting new roofs after they were vandalized earlier this year.
Methner said those may be finished later in the day on Saturday, but those were outside the main play area would not affect the overall timeline.
“We’re very optimistic that we’re going to get done with all the important stuff that needs to be certified and be ready for the play surface to be installed in the first week of August,” he said.
A wave of excitement swept over the worksite Friday with the arrival of a pair of concrete orca sculptures, donated as surplus by a contractor to Port Angeles.
A concrete sculpture of an orca stands guard on Saturday near the entrance of the Generation II Dream Playground at Erickson Playfield in Port Angeles after it was installed on Friday. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Tim Tucker, a member of the Dream Playground board of directors, said Saturday that seeing the progress made during the weekend build alleviated his worries that the major construction would not be done on time.
“I feel really good,” he said.” We’re getting to the point where it’s merely finishing work as opposed to ‘Oh my gosh. Are we going to get this thing up?’ ”
The Generation II playground replaces the original mostly-wood Dream Playground, built by community members over six days in 2002.
That playground was razed in March amid safety and maintenance concerns.
The new playground will have clear sight lines for parents to keep watch on their children. It also will feature an improved artificial turf play surface, replacing the former wood chips that could conceal hypodermic needles and other dropped objects.
Like its predecessor, the project was designed to incorporate the dreams and wishes of area school children.
The non-profit Dream Playground Foundation raised nearly $600,000 to build the new play area, which was originally scheduled for 2020 but was pushed back a year by COVID-19.
The new incarnation is scheduled to be opened in mid-August and formally dedicated in September.
Tucker said the Dream Playground had firmly taken shape and he was confident that the project would be completed by the August deadline for play surface installation.
“You can start seeing what the kids and families are going to see,” he said. “And that’s pretty exciting, picturing them running around and playing with stuff.”
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Photojournalist Keith Thorpe can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 59050, or at photos@ peninsuladailynews.com.
