Memorial Park grand opening

Event held last Saturday

The community celebrated the grand opening of Memorial Park and Chautauqua Amphitheater on Saturday with a ribbon cutting ceremony, speeches and an all-day lineup of music.

The new five-acre park, located at the intersection of Jefferson and Mt. Olive Streets behind the Siloam Springs Public Library, includes a splash pad, concession stand, gazebo, farmers market area, Killed in Action Memorial and the Chautauqua Amphitheater and stage.

The opening celebration came just one year and eight days after officials broke ground on the project. Funding for the park came from the 3/8 cent quality of life sales tax voters approved in November as well as a $300,000 Northwest Arkansas Design Excellence Grant from the Walton Family Foundation, according to a May 22 article in the Herald-Leader. The total cost was $3.26 million.

CARBO Landscape Architecture of Baton Rouge, La., was responsible for the design and Milestone Construction of Springdale built the park.

Mayor John Mark Turner thanked the many organizations and individuals who helped make the park a reality.

“The Memorial Park is a vision of this community fulfilled,” Turner said. “In 2014, the ideas for this park were just beginning to form through the Downtown Connectivity and Master Plan and the public — many of you — have helped shape this park and make it what it is today. Thank you for your input, your ideas and your accountability.”

Meredith Bergstrom, of the Walmart Family Foundation and former director of Main Street Siloam Springs, said the park is a Northwest Arkansas Design Excellence Program pilot project and a “stunning example” of how the program can bring together people and nature.

She described the park as a place to play, meet neighbors and bring friends and family.

“Throughout the planning and design process the community participated in the creation of this space, from early on when this was home to our hospital, to the downtown and connectivity plan in 2014 that solidified the vision for this, to the building of the beautiful community library and the veteran’s memorial, to all of the public engagement that was part of designing this space,” she said. “This park is also a symbol and a further expression of the remarkable revitalization of downtown Siloam Springs as a whole and today the park is open but it will continue to evolve.”

Next Saturday, the Siloam Spring Farmers Market will open in Memorial Park for the first time and the kickoff for the library summer reading will take place.

For more upcoming events, visit discover siloam.com.

Janelle Jessen/Herald-Leader Children laughed as they played as soon as the fountains in the splash pad were turned on.

Janelle Jessen/Herald-Leader The grand opening for the new Memorial Park and Chautauqua Amphitheater took place on Saturday. The park and amphitheater encompass five acres of land.

Janelle Jessen/Herald-Leader The opening of Memorial Park and Chautauqua Amphitheater was celebrated with a ribbon cutting on Saturday morning.

Janelle Jessen/Herald-Leader Members of the American Legion Post 29 honor guard posted the colors during the ceremony.

Janelle Jessen/Herald-Leader Mayor John Turner spoke during the opening ceremony for Memorial Park.

Janelle Jessen/Herald-Leader The Butler Creek Boys were the first band to ever perform on the new stage in the Chautauqua Amphitheater on Saturday.

Janelle Jessen/Herald-Leader Meredith Bergstrom, of Walton Family Foundation and former director of Main Street Siloam Springs, spoke during the grand opening of Memorial Park and Chautauqua Amphitheater.