Darien Celebrates 10th Birthday of Playground by the Sound

10th Birthday Celebration of Playground by the Sound A Successful Family Affair

Darien celebrated the 10th birthday of the Playground by the Sound on Saturday, June 1 at the Third Annual Weed Beach Fest. Approximately 400 children took part in the fun in the Kids Cove, an area hosted by The Darien Foundation, which was on the beach next to the Playground. “The Parks & Rec. team did a fantastic job setting up games and activities, including badminton, volleyball, a massive tug of war and water sprinklers and toys for all aged children,” said Sarah Woodberry, Executive Director of The Darien Foundation. “It was a true family affair and everyone had a blast with kids running back and forth between the playground and the Kids Cove,” she added.

Lisa Nelms, proprietor of Sprout Chefs, created a highlight of the day by sponsoring a table with home-baked mini cakes, where children were invited to decorate their own personal masterpiece. Chef Lisa oversaw 67 young pastry chefs and then provided each with a box to take their cake home!  “Darien has some amazing pastry chefs and most of them aren’t even in middle school yet," said Chef Lisa. "I brought the ingredients and materials, and the kids brought high levels of creativity with a big slice of inspiration.” 

Sprout Chefs offers cooking classes and tailored birthday parties designed to introduce young people to the pleasures and benefits of preparing healthy food. They will be offering a kids cooking camp through Parks and Rec. at Weed Beach this summer. For more information, please visit, https://www.sproutchefs.com/

The Darien Foundation handed out 160 Playground by the Sound t-shirts and 200 commemorative stickers to children. “We enjoyed meeting the kids and parents who love the Playground by the Sound,” said Woodberry. “One mom told me she had been bringing her children there to play since the first day the playground opened.”

The enhanced, nautical-themed Playground by the Sound first opened to Darien residents in July 2009, thanks to an impressive grassroots initiative led by a group of parents including Courtney Darby, Meghan Moore, Mary Pasierb, and Susan Daly (then Parks & Recreation Commissioner), who formed The Playground by the Sound, Inc. 

This volunteer, nonprofit group worked tirelessly to obtain town approval and raise the needed $250,000.The Darien Foundation, then known as The Darien Technology and Community Foundation, provided a $57,500 leadership grant to fund the playground. “Due to a difficult financial climate when we started our project, the town paused work on the renovation of Weed Beach,” said Daly. “But when the Foundation agreed to be lead major donor for the playground, it opened opportunities for us with other sponsors and donors. I think we can truly say that this playground would not have happened without the support of The Darien Foundation.”

Indeed, the playground has become such an integral part of the community—serving as an anchor for Weed Beach park—that it is hard to imagine it has only been here for ten years.“The Playground by the Sound was one of the first projects we funded after we expanded the scope of our mission to include capital projects that would benefit the Darien community,” said Ward Glassmeyer, Chairman of The Darien Foundation. “It is rewarding to see that it remains so popular with children and their parents.”The popular waterfront playground includes swings, slides, monkey bars, rope climbing ladders, and play areas—all set on a sandy pitch with a view of Long Island Sound. 

The Third Annual Weed Beach Fest, presented by Ring’s End, welcomed approximately 1,500 people who enjoyed the sunshine and picnicked on the beach. “There was a great crowd who came out to the Weed Beach fest,” said Woodberry. At 4 pm, kids and families gathered in front of the stage to sing Happy Birthday. “There was a real hometown vibe,” she added 

In addition to the Kids Cove, the Weed Beach Fest included live music from three bands (Gunsmoke, Chasing Day and Alex Shillo - a Bruce Springsteen cover band!), as well as hot food vendors including a clam bake, games and contests for all ages. The Weed Beach Fest started the summer fun for the Darien Parks & Rec Department.  For more information on activities and classes offered, visit: http://www.darienct.gov/parkrec

When you think about summer, most people think about vacation, so it’s really nice to kick off summer by bringing the community together for a day of recreation and relaxation at this beautiful setting, right in our own backyard,” said Jami Gore, Program Supervisor for Darien Parks and Recreation.