Langdon celebrates public park revitalization

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Langdon Community Association hosted a grand opening for the revitalized Langdon Park on June 14 to mark the completion of the project.

According to Chrissy Craig, executive director for the Langdon Community Association, the revitalization of the park has been a donation and grant-funded project that has taken place over the past two years. 

“We have worked really hard to change our park from an empty field to what we see today. We had our grand opening for the tennis courts, basketball courts, the connection courts, as well as the gathering gardens, and our new Qualico Resource Centre which is the home to our library and youth centre,” she said. “It has been a very big project over the last two years. There has been a lot to it, (and) a lot of moving pieces. It has been very challenging, so it is amazing to be able to come together and celebrate this amazing new space for our community.”

Craig explained the project was kicked off thanks to a donation from a community member who wanted to see basketball courts installed within the community for youth to use. 

Following that, support for a revitalized recreational space snowballed, including the receipt of several grants and donations. Ultimately, $1.2 million was raised to support the redevelopment project. 

“The community is loving it. They have been out, the library and youth center have just opened up this (past) week, the courts have been opened up for about a year now, and the gathering gardens were used all winter from the girl guides, to the scouts, and families gathering together,” said Craig. “This space is going to totally change what we can use for our community. We can have so many meetings and so much recreation, and just a place where our community can come together and be together.”

She added despite the influences and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large majority of the project goals for revitalizing the park were met on time and on budget. 

The only delays, Craig explained, were in regards to opening the Qualico Resource Center, and even that only suffered a three-month delay due to requiring specific permits to be in place, and similar documentation. 

“We are a community of just under 6,000, and to not have a library is uncalled for in Alberta. It is absolutely amazing to have this space now for everybody to come and not only get books, but also have a place to do homework and all the stuff that they need to in here,” she said. “We had to really think outside the box to come up with a home for this place, and we thought of a few different locations, but they just did not pan out. Then, we came up with the idea for these portable structures to be here and to make it more of a permanent installation.”

More information regarding the library, as well as the youth center, is available online. The public outdoor recreation spaces are open 24/7 to the community.