Town Park Talk
Submitted photo
Over 200 people attended the second annual bonfire at Canonsburg Town Park Oct. 13.
Submitted photo
Canonsburg Town Park’s pickleball courts
Courtesy of Doug McKenery
Canonsburg Town Park’s pickleball courts
Courtesy of Doug McKenery
Workers prepare the surface of the new pickleball courts.
Submitted photo
Bill Schmidt poses for a picture at one of Canonsburg Town Park’s pickleball courts.
Submitted photo
Submitted photo
From left: Silver: Ian and Connor Simms; Gold: Joe Spalick, Francesca Scenna; Bronze: Nick Cooley, Thomas Anderson
Bonfire
The second annual bonfire at Canonsburg Town Park was held on Oct. 13. Over 200 people joined in the family fun with live music by Tom Terling. Face painting by Nicole Grayson from Busy Bee’s Arty Party was a hit with all the children. Everyone enjoyed the s’ mores, bobbing for apples and apple cider along with cheeseburgers, cookies and chips. McDonald’s in Canonsburg donated paper products and ice and gave a discount on the cheeseburgers, while the Friends of the Park picked up the tab for all the other goodies provided. Attendance for this free community event seems to double every year. Canine friends were out in abundance this year, enjoying the Halloween treats and socializing. Residents of all ages enjoyed socializing and reconnecting with each other. The park was a flurry of activity, and folks stayed around the fire in a large circle relaxing with family and friends well into the evening. The weather was Goldilocks – not too hot and not too cold, some sunshine, and a little darkness toward the end. The Fire Department attended with two trucks handing out goodies and safety info for the kiddos, along with the lights on the truck, and several firefighters came to enjoy the evening. A couple of our police officers stopped by to visit, as well.
Thank you to all of the volunteers and sponsors that made this free community event possible.
Please support our sponsors if you get the opportunity; without their support, events like these would not be possible.
Pickleball
The inaugural Canonsburg Youth Pickleball Tournament was held Aug. 10. The double-elimination eight teams tournament was a success, and the open tournament format created an impressive gold medal round. The Simms brothers, the youngest in the competition, lost a hard-fought contest to the oldest team of Francesca Scenna and Joe Spalick. The second annual tournament is slated for July 2020.
All welcomed Bill Schmidt’s surprise appearance at the youth pickleball tournament. Bill was excited and impressed with the courts and the club’s commitment to the youth of Canonsburg and the residents. He congratulated us on what a great accomplishment for our club and benefit to the community.
We are fortunate that Bill’s relationship with Mayor David Rhome, Nikki O’Brien, John Somsky and Doug McKenery helped inspired Bill to join our project. Bill’s success in the 1976 Summer Olympics encouraged Doug to seek Olympic naming rights.
The inaugural youth pickleball tournament was a huge success.
Congratulations to the medal winners.
Bench program
This summer, we were finally able to implement our bench replacement project, and it was a huge success. We set out to add/replace 15 benches throughout the park and ended up with 18. This doesn’t include the new benches surrounding the new pickleball courts. Thank you to all those who donated these beautiful memorial benches to our wonderful park.
In the Velma Jefferies playground, a new handicap swing was added and has been an excellent addition for our community’s children with disabilities. Friends of the Park provided funding.
Unfortunately, our application for Greenways Trails and Recreation Program financial assistance was not awarded this year. There is much competition for these funds, and while our projects are very worthwhile, there were simply others in more desperate need. We will continue to apply for financial assistance through varying agencies and organizations.
We had another great summer at Town Park Pool this past season! Despite a wet and rainy start to Summer 2019, we had a lot of great memories that made it a successful Town Park Summer! We continued to have an excellent turnout for our after-hours pool party rentals.
This past summer saw 51 parties booked at Town Park Pool. We also had an outstanding showing for our two sessions of swim lessons in June and July. Around 50 kids participated in the program this year, which continues to help support our efforts to teach the youth within our community how to safely enjoy the water. We had several booming Night Swims this summer, including a very popular Trivia Night that saw over 230 patrons visit the pool during evening hours. Overall, it was great Summer 2019, and we look forward to seeing everyone back at Town Park Pool Memorial Day 2020!
Waterfall
There is a natural spring waterfall located in the middle of the park below the pickleball courts. The site had been vandalized and hence abandoned since its first implementation approximately 20 years ago. The general concept of architecture is being designed, and bids are being gathered to recreate this beautiful natural water feature. It was initially named Louga Falls, as Lou Gadani was instrumental in its first creation. The new renovation of this area will be constructed with boulders and landscaped with flowers when complete. It will not be too deep for safety reasons, but it will be a beautiful enhancement to our park. If you would like to help with this project, please contact Lou at 724-724-7968.
We are always looking for volunteers on the Park Board and Friends of the Park. Please let us know If you would be interested in volunteering.