Groundbreaking celebration planned Sunday for Gipson Play Plaza
Families can celebrate the groundbreaking of Raleigh's newest play plaza this weekend.
City officials and the Dix Park Conservancy will break ground on the Gipson Play Plaza on Sunday, Aug. 14. A celebration is planned 5 to 7 p.m. and will include ice cream, music, arts and more fun.
The 18.5-acre Gipson Play Plaza will feature a collection of playgrounds and gathering spaces for children of all ages. There will be climbing towers, a picnic grove, waterfall wall, large sand pit and civic plaza for festivals and performances.
The project received a $10 million donation from the Gipson family in December.
The official groundbreaking ceremony will be at the site of the future plaza, 701 Palmer Drive. The ceremony will last from 5 to 5:30 p.m. with activities continuing until 7 p.m.
“The Gipson Play Plaza will feature exciting one-of-a-kind play spaces, a family-friendly picnic grove, a restored historic house and gardens, and an amazing water play mountain that will keep the kids entertained for hours,” Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said. “When people experience this space, they will fully understand the potential of Dix Park — and what it means to the future of our City.”
The space is being designed by renowned landscape architect firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. The firm’s other projects include Brooklyn Bridge Park in NYC, Gathering Place in Tulsa, Maggie Daley Park in Chicago, and the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
The Gipson Play Plaza is expected to open in 2024.
