Students, residents and business owners will be “greening” Northwood Village as part of the City of West Palm Beach’s celebration of National Park(ing) Day this Friday, September 19, 2008 from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Northwood Village is part of the Northwood Pleasant City Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) district. Visitors will be able to stroll through more than a dozen temporary “parks” designed by local students from Dreyfoos High School of the Arts, visit an open-air “no house” and celebrate Northwood Village’s resurgence at the area’s many shops and restaurants.
As part of the celebration, the students will turn parking spaces in to temporary green space. They will create more than a dozen parking spot art installations showcasing Park(ing) Day themes, all designed by architecture and sculpture students from Dreyfoos High School of the Arts. The parks will occupy street and parking lot spaces throughout Northwood Village. The students will begin building the “parks” at approximately 4:00 p.m. Also, the windows of Eg2, an art gallery at the entrance to the Northwood Village district, will feature environmentally-themed banners by Bak Middle School of the Arts students.
“Transforming parking spaces into vibrant green space reminds us all about the importance of open space and sustainability,” said Mayor Lois J. Frankel.
Commissioner Molly Douglas said, “I am so pleased with the citizen participation in the north end. It shows clearly that the revitalization is well on its way. I encourage everyone to join us for the party at 6:00.”
Northwood Village’s businesses and Old Northwood residents will showcase their “Great Green Transitions” park(ing) space featuring native plants and an open air “no house” furnished creatively with items from local Northwood Village shops and will also host a cocktail party from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the corner of Spruce Street and 25th Street. The space mirrors a pocket park that will soon be a part of Northwood Village and the Old Northwood Neighborhood, bridging the business district and the residential area with green space.
National Park(ing) day is a nation-wide event sponsored by the Trust for Public Land. The goals of the event are to celebrate parks and promote the needs for parks in America’s cities. For further information, contact Mary Jo Aagerstoun (561-881-5658) and David Setaro (561-650-8139).
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For Additional Information:
Peter Robbins, West Palm Beach Public Information Officer
Office: (561) 822-1433 or probbins@wpb.org
