Discovery Park celebrating 50 years with day of activities
Residents are invited to celebrate Discovery Park’s 50th anniversary with family activities and educational tours and programs in Magnolia this weekend.
Activities will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at different locations in the park. A shuttle bus will be available for transportation to different areas.
Becca Reilly, senior recreation program specialist for Carkeek and Discovery parks, said planning for this weekend’s festivities began more than a year ago and that organizers put much thought into the programs and activities on tap.
“This event has really been spearheaded by the committee and community organizations and other nonprofits and friends of groups that all love Discovery Park and wanted to see a big event happen to celebrate 50 years,” Reilly said.
Wildlife, historical and park enthusiasts have a number of activities from which to choose, from guided tours of trails, to presentations on the history of the park and its development.
Reilly said one of the programs conducted by the Friends of Discovery Park will be a presentation and tour talking about the 25 years of restoration at the old hospital site, from demolition to blackberry bush removal and the vegetation projects to reintroduce native trees and shrubs at the site.
“Now, it’s a thriving ecosystem that has been cultivated by decades of volunteerism,” Reilly said.
As well, there will be a presentation hosted by the Suquamish Tribe and Burke Museum on the archaeology of Discovery Park’s West Point, where ancestral tribal artifacts were uncovered during construction in 1992.
“So, we’re touching on a lot of historical aspects and current aspects of the park and all the different components of Discovery Park that make it so unique,” Reilly said.
In the middle of the day, the official ceremony will take place from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and include speakers from the city, including Mayor Bruce Harrell, tribal leaders and other representatives and dignitaries.
In addition, the Magnolia Historical Society has worked to create a junior ranger pilot program for Discovery Park and developed a self-guided activity booklet and stations all over the park. The program will officially begin Saturday, Reilly said. Children ages 5 through 12 are invited to participate and earn a junior ranger certificate and medallion sticker. The program is based on the Junior Ranger national and state park programs. Participants learn about Discovery Park and its animals, plants and human history, as well as park stewardship.
Children can pick up an activity packet, directions and crayons and set off on a one-hour exploration of wooded trails, beach, ponds and the Daybreak Star for indigenous history and art. Packets will be distributed at the Discovery Park Advisory Council Booth and Visitor’s Center.
Rounding out the weekend activities, on Sunday, engineering geologist and Friends of Discovery Park board member Bill Laprade will conduct a free geology walk from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. that will focus on geologic formations and deposits, as well as the geologic processes presently impacting the park. The tour will begin at the reader boards in the Discovery Park south parking lot. Participants should wear sturdy hiking boots and be prepared for any weather. Call 206-386-4236 or visit www.Seattle.gov/Parks to register.
Discovery Park is Seattle’s largest and encompasses 534 acres in Magnolia overlooking Puget Sound and features 11.81 miles of walking trails, including the Discovery Park Loop Trail, which was designated a National Recreation Trail in 1975, and runs 2.8 miles through the park. The park is also the home of the United Indians of All Tribes’ Daybreak Star Cultural Center, a lighthouse and a county sewage treatment plant.
For a complete list of activities and history of the park, visit www.discopark50.org, contact 206-386-4236, or email discovery.park@seattle.gov.