Wanna Help Redesign Burlington's City Hall Park?
Have you ever walked through Burlington City Hall Park and thought, This place is nice and all, but it could really use some more public art. Or maybe regular circus performances, or a public garden?
Now's your chance to voice your opinion; Burlington City Arts just received a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to completely re-envision the park — and it wants to hear your ideas.
The grant, which is one of 51 awarded nationwide, is part of a new NEA initiative called Our Town, which aims to bring together "partners from the public and private sectors to strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, city or region around arts and cultural activities."
BCA's partners include the City Hall Task Force, the Burlington Business Association, the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, Merchants Bank, Preservation Trust of Vermont, King Street Center and the city of Burlington, as well as landscape architects David Raphael of Landworks in Middlebury and Jeffrey Hodgson of the H. Keith Wagner Partnership in Burlington.
The first step in developing a master plan for the park, says BCA executive director Doreen Kraft, is engaging the community — and not just through traditional town meetings, but also with activities that are a little more, well, arty. During BCA's annual Festival of Fools next month, for example, the organization will set up a StoryCorps-style recording booth, in which people can share stories of their experiences in the park. "We want to hear about everything you've done there that's great — or foolish," says Kraft.
So, go ahead, let your imagination go wild.
It is funny that we do not have enough money in the coffers of Burlington to mow and maintain our parks for our taxpayers and tourists that generate the funds to maintain our city, but OOOHHH we got a 50 thousand dollar grant that we can spend on some art to decorate a park that should be dedicated just to the the green aspects of life, and highlight the trees of the park along with the squirrels that reside their. If we are going to take the 50 thousand and use it foolishly, I would suggest we take it and then redistribute it to the Harry Chapin foundation that fights world hunger on the anniversary of his tragic death on Saturday July 16.
Harry Chapin was one of the first to open the worlds eyes to the hunger situation of the world, and this would be a great way to honor him and his fight of world hunger.
Strange how you never know how that taxi ride will take you, especially in a city rewriting taxi codes.
All my lifes a circle sunrise and sundown, everyone keep this going and help celebrate Harry's life.
Posted by: dale tillotson | July 14, 2011 at 03:32 PM
I remember a couple of years ago when somebody let loose a dozen turkeys in the park. Now that was interesting. Bring back the turkeys.
Posted by: Tim | July 14, 2011 at 04:06 PM
They could add some splashers to the fountain to make it a bit more dramatic. It's been dribbling rather sadly for almost 20 years now.
Posted by: Haik Bedrosian | July 14, 2011 at 10:06 PM
Honestly, one of the best things they could do to enhance the park is to add better lighting.
It's not a pleasant or safe experience to walk through the park at night because the darkness provides a haven for transients and illicit activities.
Perhaps they can add some dramatic lights to the fountain as well and classify it all as art.
I guarantee that without proper lighting, any "art" that's installed in the park will quickly be vandalized.
Posted by: Eric Benson | July 15, 2011 at 11:44 AM