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Harrisonburg: New playground at Purcell Park to maintain ‘spirit’ of current design

Crystal Graham
Kids Castle playground at Purcell Park in Harrisonburg
Kids Castle playground rendering, submitted

Purcell Park in Harrisonburg will have its play area upgraded with work beginning later this year.

The community will have a chance to see playground design renderings and new fun additions for the play area at a public engagement meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 16, from 6 to 8 p.m.

After a presentation, community members will have the opportunity to speak with the design team and Harrisonburg Parks and Recreation staff about the new playground.

Design teams have created renderings of the new play structure and accompanying amenities based on input received from hundreds of people during the Purcell Park master plan process in 2019-2020.

With numerous drawings from local children to review and more than 1,000 responses from surveys and listening sessions, the design team had plenty of creative community inspiration to use in designing the perfect recreation area.

“We are thrilled with how designs for the new Kids Castle have turned out, because they have captured the best of both worlds – being respectful of the unique design our community has come to love while creating something completely new using the ideas of our community members and local students,” said Brian Mancini, Harrisonburg Parks & Rec director.

“Kids Castle has always been a one-of-a-kind playground, so we wanted to make sure this new playground keeps that spirit alive.”

No timeline has been released for construction.

The community engagement meeting will be held at Harrisonburg City Hall Council Chambers at 409 S. Main St.

The replacement of Kids Castle is one of six Harrisonburg parks and recreation projects selected for American Rescue Plan Act spending by Harrisonburg City Council. Other recreation-related projects include creation of a Splashpad at Ralph Sampson Park, adding lights and restrooms to the Smithland Athletic Complex, improvements to allow for an adult athletic field at Thomas Harrison Middle School and replacement of the Westover Park Skatepark.

Find more information on City ARPA projects and their timeline for completion at https://harrisonburgva.gov/ARPA.

Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show on PBS. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.