Idaho Falls – The City of Idaho Falls and the Idaho Falls Civitan Club invite the public to join them Friday, June 29^th at 8:30 a.m. at Freeman Park to help build the city’s newest playground.

Anyone age 16 and over is invited to join city and civic leaders as they help assemble the state-of-the-art playground, located near the band shelter on the west side of the park.  Those who attend should bring work gloves, and, if possible, a socket set for assembling the playground equipment. 

Volunteers who participate will be treated to lunch and the first 40 who arrive will also be given a special shirt, commemorating the build event. 

The City has partnered with the Civitan Club to construct the new playground, which will include slides, swings, climbing structures, a tunnel, benches and a first-of-its-kind rope climbing apparatus.  The playground will also be built to be compliant with the Americans with Disability Act standards. 

In the past, the Civitan Club has assisted the Idaho Falls Parks and Recreation Department in building Civitan Park and the downtown Civitan Plaza. The club expects to raise more money to partner with the city to help build and upgrade other city playgrounds in the future.  The Club committed to raising funds that match, dollar-for-dollar, money contributed by the city for the playground replacements.   

“We have 16 playgrounds that need replaced and we are thankful to the Civitan Club for helping at Freeman Park,” said Idaho Falls Parks & Recreation Director Greg A. Weitzel.  “Community builds are a very fun, rewarding experience for all volunteers, this is a great opportunity to serve and the partnership is something we are very excited about, the new playground will be enjoyed by youth in our community for years,” he said. 

Once the playground is assembled and installed, Idaho Falls Parks and Recreation Department crews will continue construction on the playground to finish out the concrete work and prepare the structure for the ribbon cutting. That event is expected to take place at the finished playground on Friday, July 6^th at 2 p.m.  The public is invited to attend that event as well. 

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Media Note:  For more information or to schedule interviews with city staff, please contact City of Idaho Falls Public Information Officer, Bud Cranor.