Friday, May 1, was the grand opening for Turtle Place, otherwise known as “The Running of the Turtles.” We couldn’t have asked for better weather– crisp blue sky, warm sun, and just a little bit of a breeze. It was the perfect day to launch the newest public park in Vancouver!
Students from Hough Elementary marched over through Esther Short Park, following the Columbia River High School Marching Band. When they arrived at Turtle Place, they met up with about 200 local families, businesspeople, and interested passers-by. Umpqua Bank handed out Umpqua Ice Cream bars, C-Tran offered tours of its hybrid buses, Clark Public Utilities had an information booth, and Kazoodles and Bad Monkey Bikes were represented–among many others!
Project manager Carl Dobbs (Lawnchair Guy himself!), VDA President Lee Coulthard, Jerry Nutter of project contractor Nutter Construction, Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard, and La Center Mayor/C-Tran Board Chair Jim Irish all spoke to the enthusiastic crowd….but the stars, by far, were the visiting tortoises who held court on the plaza in between the water feature and the marching band.
To close it out and officially launch the park, our speakers christened the water feature with a fire hose provided by the fire department!
We were happy to have CVTV on hand to record the event — check out their coverage here.
