From a certain angle, the festivities at Trailside Park in Pequot Lakes on May 25th might have looked like a county fair. But ask anyone in the area, and they’ll tell you what brought the community to the event.

“They’re here for the Pequot Lakes Splash Pad grand opening!” explained Pequot Lakes Splash Pad Fundraising Coordinator Jenni Gonczy.

“It’s for all the kids that don’t have an opportunity to be on a lake,” said Community Action of Pequot Lakes Secretary Nancy Adams.

Back in 2021, the Pequot Lakes City Council approved the construction of the splash pad project. At Thursday’s opening, the public welcomed the new splash pad in full force, where there were also several exhibits and vendors on display for the community to enjoy.

“It was important when we started this project that the whole community had to be involved,” explained Gonczy. “All these people, they’re local vendors, they’re small businesses who’ve come to the park, they’re people in our school district and outside of our school district, they’re our neighbors, our coworkers.”

“There’s all sorts of different vendors, some non-profits, quite a few that benefit the kids,” said Community Action of Pequot Lakes President Kim Churack. “There was no charge for them to come, we just wanted to make it a big party.”

Naturally, the main attraction of the event was the excitement surrounding the splash pad, and seeing children swarm into the pad was the highlight of the day.

“If you were standing around that circle when Jenni hit the button,” said Adams, “you were almost run over by the enthusiasm of the kids that came.”

“I was brought to tears,” said Gonczy, “It was amazing to see it just swarm and be packed with kids.”

According to Gonczy, the team that worked to make the splash pad a reality are hoping to expand upon the attraction within the near future.

By — Justin Othoudt