Splash Pad Grand Opening at Tom Varn Park Brings Joy

By 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, several families had already gathered for the 11 a.m. grand opening of the much-awaited splash pad at Tom Varn Park. Small children and their parents strolled around a fire truck that stood in the adjacent parking lot, with friendly neighborhood firefighters giving children plastic firefighter helmets and giving tours of their trucks. Between the new splash pad and the beloved fenced-in playground, a few open tents were set up for serving food, seating at picnic tables, and enjoying the lunch and refreshments provided by the Kiwanis Club.

(Very) brief formalities were observed, with City of Brooksville Recreation and Community Manager Jordan Metzel, City Council Member JW McKethan and Brooksville Kiwanis Representative Rick Carlton saying a few words of appreciation to those gathered. And within minutes, happy shouts of children rang out as the water to the splash pad was turned back on, and the play continued.

City of Brooksville officials and Brooksville Kiwanis Club members mingled with visitors and took in the sights of happy children.

Even though the heat only topped off in the low seventies, youngsters still enthusiastically engaged in play with each other, dodging cold water cannons, running through falling water, and tossing around the inflatable balls provided for the day. The sound of children’s laughter and happy shrieking brought joy to all who participated in the event.

Most of the families who attended were regular visitors to the park’s playground, which is right beside the splash pad. Yeceny Mansfield said that when she arrived with her family for their regular Saturday playground visit, they were surprised and delighted to discover the grand opening. They promptly returned to their nearby home to dress their children in swimsuits and came right back to join the fun. Local mom Crisana Smith said that she and her three children come to the park most weekends to relax outside and are very excited about this new addition of a splash pad for overheated children to cool down during the hot months.

The community members in attendance were very appreciative of the efforts of the City of Brooksville and the Kiwanis Club, who each paid half of the cost of the project. Local mom Whitney Dinu, who lived in Tampa for fifteen years, is very pleased to have a fabulous amenity in her own neighborhood that is comparable to what she enjoyed in Tampa. Similar to many of Saturday’s visitors, Tanya Carlson and her family are park regulars. She expressed how thankful she was for a nice place for her three children to play and keep cool this summer.

Just like the playground at Tom Varn, the splash pad is likely to become another cherished place by locals and a source of pride for our community.

Splash pad hours of operation are between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily.

Splash Pad Opening

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