Oakland's Great Oak Park Pavilion, 14 years in the works, to debut Saturday with concert
After 14 years in development, the Great Oak Park Pavilion will debut on Saturday. Here's what you need to know about opening day. Oakland's Great Oak Park Pavilion, which has been in development for 14 years, will debut with a five-band concert on the Great Lawn from noon to 5 p.m. The event will feature a dance team, five bands, and food vendors. The Dance Theater of New Jersey will perform. The park was purchased for $2.2 million in 2010 with a $1.6 million Green Acres grant and a pledge that no public tax funds be used on the site. The 40-acre park was once the site of a farm that became Muller's Park and was later divided between the FRG Sports Complex and Pleasureland Amusement Park. It opened for passive recreational use in 2016 and is currently being used for walking paths.
Publicados : 3 semanas atrás por Marsha A. Stoltz, NorthJersey.com no Entertainment
Oakland's Great Oak Park Pavilion, 14 years in the works, to debut Saturday with concert
OAKLAND — It's show time — at last!
After 14 years in development, the Great Oak Park Pavilion will debut on Saturday with a dance team and five-band concert rotation on the Great Lawn from noon to 5 p.m.
"We ask people to bring a lawn chair or picnic blanket and expect to spend the full day enjoying the event," said Mike Guadagnino, chairman of Oakland Recreation. "There will be plenty of porta-potties and we are working with food vendors."
In addition to the Dance Theater of New Jersey, bands to perform include Mark Sganga, No Picnic, Unprofessional Development and The Core. Vendors include Jackie's Breads and Bakes, Soulfully Vegan, the Bronzed Leaf, Knights Blooms, Kelli Cobwebs, Nancy's Woodburning Discs, and Toni's Art.
Bad weather canceled several attempts to premiere the park's newest facility last fall, stalling recognition of the many volunteers who made the 14-year clearing and construction effort possible.
"We will be thanking a lot of local volunteers and dignitaries who helped build the park," Guadagnino said.
Parking is at the Pleasureland Parking lot off Doty Road and the lower lot of ShopRite. Bandshell parking is reserved for those with handicap placards and entertainers. The rain date is Sunday.
What is now a 40-acre park was once the site of a farm that became Muller's Park. The property was later split between the FRG Sports Complex and Pleasureland Amusement Park. A fatal gunfight during the Jamaican Independence Day celebration in August 1985 first closed FRG and later Pleasureland. The property was left to become overgrown while owners and municipal officials debated its fate for 25 years.
The borough bought the adjoining sites in 2010 for $2.2 million with a $1.6 million Green Acres grant and the pledge that no further public tax funds be used on the site. Volunteer groups and businesses have spent the last 14 years clearing the area bit by bit.
The park opened for passive recreational use in 2016. The Great Lawn facing the Pavilion was cleared and graded in 2019 and used for passive recreation. A dog run south of the Great Lawn was opened in 2021 following a 12-year fundraising effort by Ryan Schwertfeger, who originated the idea as an eighth-grade project.
Construction of a band shell promoted with the park's opening was first delayed by COVID, and subsequently replaced with a less costly metal-roofed stage.
The park is in the Highland Preservation area, with a resulting 300-foot buffer restriction on the Little Brook Pond that runs through the site. This has eliminated the possibility of building sports fields on the site, but work continues clearing debris to make way for walking paths.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Oakland's Great Oak Park opening after 14 years