Lake County Parks celebrates 50th anniversary
First phase of an addition to Bellaboo’s to start soon
The Lake County Parks Department on Wednesday marked its 50th anniversary at one of its newest parks.
Chris Landgrave, chief operating officer, said Lake County Parks started with Lemon Lake County Park and now has more than 7,000 acres of park land, including Bellaboo’s Play & Discovery Center in Lake Station.
“We came from humble beginnings. Today is not just about celebrating the last 50 years but also celebrating the future so we can continue to grow,” Landgrave said. “We’ve had a great turnout (Wednesday). The point was, we’re a parks department, we want people to come out and recreate. We have cooking events, face painting, create your own T-shirt and, of course, the park to enjoy.”
In addition to more than a dozen parks and facilities, Landgrave said the first phase of a possible two- or three-phase addition is just getting started at Bellaboo’s.
“With Bellaboo’s we have a great indoor facility, but we’re also working on an outdoor facility. It’s about kids learning through play,” Landgrave said. “We’re going to have a pirate ship area, a stage, an amphitheater, so we hope to have the kids learn through play out there like they do in here.”
Landgrave said while nothing has been decided regarding the possible second and third phases, they have many options in mind.
“We’ve done a lot of master planning, but this first phase is mainly going to be a pirate/water area,” Landgrave said. “We’ll see what the kids like and gravitate in that direction (for the additional phases).”
Emily Trisler, communication specialist, spread the credit around for the success Lake County Parks has sustained over the past half century.
“We’re 50 years in and still doing a lot of things. We’re still learning, still growing,” Trisler said. “We wanted to look back and say ‘thank you.’ Nothing would have been possible without our supporters and sponsors.”