Lions Pride Park, a partnership between Warrington Township and the Warrington Township Lions Club, celebrated its grand opening on Oct. 2, an event attended by local officials, legislators, business leaders and members of the community. The highlight was a ribbon cutting, which included park designers and developers, as well as area school children who had the first opportunity to explore the slides and other amenities at the park.
Located at 3129 Bradley Road in Chalfont, Lions Pride Park was built on the former site of the Twin Oaks Day Camp, and is a 17-acre, state-of-the-art, recreational, educational and Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant park for visitors of all ages and abilities. It is expected to be a draw for people from Warrington, Warminster, Chalfont and surrounding communities.
Phase 1 of the park includes the Lindy Communities Kids Mountain, the Toll Brothers Grove, a Music Alcove, and a walking trail around the park that connects to other township walking paths. The park will enhance the local environment with features such as a recently-completed rain garden and a future pond-to-wetland conversion that will have value for biodiversity and educational purposes.
The park also features:
– A smart phone app that will allow people to learn about features of the park and find their way around the site
– A giant chess board
– Checkers tables
– A branch of the Little Free Library, built by Warrington residents Theresa and Tom Molz, which consists of an outdoor cabinet that contains books for all ages. Little Free Library encourages people to both borrow and donate books for others to read and enjoy. Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world. Visit littlefreelibrary.org to learn more.
Refreshments for the grand opening were donated by Wawa, Walmart and Nothing Bundt Cakes.
“The grand opening of Lions Pride Park is the culmination of our community coming together over the past four years to transform our Lions Club vision into a beautiful, noble reality,” said Jim Furlong, campaign chairman. “It is our Lions’ fervent hope that this all-inclusive, multi-generational park will bring peoples of all ages and abilities together to enhance the quality of life, foster equality and enjoy recreation. The Warrington Lions are proud of the park, and even prouder of the partnership with Warrington Township and the Warrington community for this spectacular achievement.”
Donations for future phases of the park are still being accepted online at warringtonlions.org/lions-pride-park-donation. To date, the Warrington Township Lions Club, with support from community partners, has raised $1.7 million of their $2 million goal. Visit lionspridepark.org for more information.
