 For a limited time, Port Angeles Dream Playground beanies will be available at Swain's General Store in Port Angeles. Beanies are $30 and all the proceeds will support the Dream Playground endowment, which is tasked with the perpetual care and maintenance of the playground.
We're incredibly grateful to Swain's for hosting these cozy beanies and helping to spread the word about the Dream Playground and its rebuilding in May. Don't wait to pick up your beanie! They're only be at Swain's while supplies last! Swain's General Store is located at 602 E 1st Street in Port Angeles, WA.
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 Volunteer Shifts for the 2024 Dream Playground Re-Build Are Now Open! Thanks to massive public support from individuals, businesses, service groups, the City of Port Angeles, and other organizations, the Dream Playground Foundation is thrilled to officially announce the dates for the rebuilding of the Dream Playground! Just like in 2021, this will be a community build effort. We have already received dozens of messages from individuals who want to pitch in; as well as from contractors and other professionals who have expertise, skilled crews, and equipment to lend. The build will take place Wednesday, May 15 to Sunday, May 19 and will end with a casual celebration on Sunday afternoon.
To get involved, visit http://tinyurl.com/dreamplayground or click the button below and sign up for any and all shifts that you can commit to. We are using SignUpGenius to manage our volunteer signups. This is a preview of what you'll see at the SignUpGenius page:  We cannot thank you enough for the support you have shown to the Dream Playground in the wake of the December 20 fire. There is no doubt that we live in a community of caring, generous, DOERs. Let's get this done!
It's important that the community understands how critical public and business donations have been as well. Without the financial support of our community, we would not be able to rebuild the playground in time for the end of the 2023 - 2024 school year. These rapid donations gave us the immediate funds necessary to order the lumber, play elements, and other materials in time for them to arrive for a May 2024 build. Build Shifts Available Now!
Even better, the additional funds that have come in between December and February will allow us to reach back into the input we received from our community's school children when we began our discovery process for the 2021 build. The incredible support we've received from donors will allow us to make these kids' original dream even more of a reality. The Foundation feels strongly about honoring every dollar donated so far by making the rebuilt playground even bigger and more awesome than before! View some of the drawings made by local schoolchildren during the input process for the 2021 build: From here on out donations received from the sales of stickers, beanies, pickets, pavers, or in cash will go into the Dream Playground Endowment, which is tasked with the perpetual care and maintenance of the playground. However, financial donors or fundraisers are welcome to choose between improvements in the rebuild or helping build the permanent fund. Build shifts are now available for rebuild, May 15 - 18. We need both skilled and willing workers to rebuild the dream!   The wonderful folks at Field Arts & Events Hall are hosting a free pajama-party screening of The Mitchells vs. the Machines (PG) on Wednesday, January 31!!! Grab the kids' coziest pjs and come enjoy a fun family movie in one of Port Angeles' most beautiful venues. The event is sponsored by Green Crow Foundation, and presented in partnership with the Port Angeles Dream Playground as an opportunity to raise awareness and funds for the reconstruction effort. Kids AND adults are encouraged to wear their favorite pajamas for the screening. There is no fee for admission; donations will be collected throughout the event to benefit the Dream Playground. All food and beverage proceeds will also be donated. 4:30pm: Sunset Bar & Lounge opens to the public. The kid-friendly food and drink menu will include vegetarian meatballs, hot dog plate, and Caesar salad boats. A full bar menu will also be available. 6pm: The Mitchells vs. the Machines screening begins in the Donna M. Morris Theater. A robot apocalypse puts the brakes on a family's cross-country road trip. Now it's up to the Mitchells - the world's weirdest family - to save the human race. Starring: Danny McBride, Abbi Jacobson, Maya Rudoph. Space is limited for this event. Visit www.fieldhallevents.org to reserve seats. No RSVP is required to visit the Sunset Bar & Lounge – RSVPs required for movie goers only. “Field Arts & Events Hall has a mission to bring people together to strengthen our community,” said Steve Raider-Ginsburg, Executive & Artistic Director at Field Hall. “We couldn’t be more energized to strengthen our community through this important fundraising event. Let’s come together to and use the arts to help rebuild Dream Playground.”
This event is sponsored by Green Crow Foundation and Field Arts & Events Hall.  The support keeps coming! Blue Heron Acupuncture & Wellness is hosting a pop-up fundraiser for the Dream Playground as a way for you to do good while feeling good! The following details come straight from Blue Heron: Saturday, January 27 | 10am - 2pm 30 - 40 minute treatments Suggested donation: $50 - 100/person Help us support the Dream Playground Rebuild & at the same time, get a relaxing acupuncture session! I'm doing a pop up acupuncture clinic on Saturday, Jan. 27th, from 10am to 2pm. This is open to EVERYONE. You do not have to be an established patient. You can take this opportunity to try out acupuncture if you're acu-curious. This will be a little different than a referral session. I'll take you to your room, feel your pulse, and then place the points based on one of four treatments of your choosing:
So if you have a friend or spouse that you want to chill with on Saturday the 27th & both of your support the Dream Playground rebuild, please bring them. To help this fundraiser flow smoothly, I've created online booking for the event. Click below to book your session:
 Port Angeles' Mix-It Shack was one of the first businesses to spring into action when news of the fire at the Playground broke. They pledged 10% of their proceeds through Christmas to the Playground and challenged other local businesses to do the same. Port Angeles Dream Playground Foundation President Steve Methner picked up the final check and we're thrilled to announce that it totaled $432! We want to send out a huge thank you to Mix-It Shack owners Hunter Robinson and Brielle Murray!!! We encourage folks to visit the Mix-It Shack and we're grateful to everyone who patronized them during their fundraiser. We are grateful to live in such a supportive, active community! Mix-It Shack is located at 213 E 8th St., Port Angeles
March 27, 2024 Update: The wonderful Elks Riders were able to raise and donate $1,370 from their Mardi Gras event to the Dream Playground! We are so very grateful for their support. While the Dream Playground stopped all fundraising efforts once we received news of the insurance coverage, we are dedicated to honoring as many of these fundraisers as we can. We also want to emphasize that these private funds are the reason that we're able to rebuild the playground before local schoolchildren start their summer vacation. We believe this will be a huge benefit to our community's families and we have our donors to thank.  Original Post follows:  Mardi Gras Night Party Saturday, February 3 | 7pm Elks Naval Lodge; 131 E First St., Port Angeles $10 at the door or at the link below: From the Elks:
Celebrate Mardi Gras and dance to the music of DJ Dadda-Bass. Games will include Rock n' Roll Bingo, 50/50, Heads and Tails. Charcuterie cups and hot dogs will be available for purchase. Elks Riders 353 main mission is to help veterans by providing welcome home kits to our veterans. Many veterans moving from the street or a shelter enter their new homes with nothing. Elks can help by providing Welcome Home Kids of needed supplies to help these veterans establish their homes. The Dream Playground This special event is also to help raise money for the building of the Dream Playground. This Mardi Gras event will be a lot of fun and the monies will be put back into our community! Please purchase tickets and spread the word!  We are thrilled and grateful to announce a $10,000 donation from Ruddell Auto!!! While grateful, we aren't surprised by Ruddell's generosity. This is a company that truly embodies their mission, "Excellence Driven by People." The following words from Ruddell really resonate with us today:
"While we have experienced growth, our goal is not to be 'big business,' but to be a great business that provides: best-in-class customer experiences, services & value; excellent career opportunities for our team members; and a positive impact on our community." We hope you will support Ruddell, and all the wonderful local businesses that support our community. If you aren't familiar with Ruddell, they are a Washington State dealership that specializes in new Chevrolet and GMC vehicles, as well as all makes & models of used vehicles. They are home to the Peninsula's busiest and best Quick Lube. Ruddell Auto is the highest rated GM dealership in the Pacific Northwest and is the only new car dealership with a Google rating of 4.8. Since 1941, they have sold over 37,000 vehicles to thousands of customers from all over the Northwest. Thank you for your support, Ruddell Auto!!!!  We are beyond grateful for the support from the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, 7 Cedars Resort, and The Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course for organizing a golf tournament to benefit the Port Angeles Dream Playground. The fact that they launched this event so quickly and completely unasked is a testament not only to their generosity but also their expertise.
The tournament will raise money for the Playground in lots of ways:
Tickets and sponsorships are available at the link below. We invite you to participate in this awesome event! From the event description: Early Wednesday morning, December 20, 2023, our beloved Port Angeles Dream Playground suffered a terrible tragedy. As our community assembles efforts to rebuild this monarch of our community, the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, 7 Cedars Resort, and The Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course would like to help in the best way we know how -- by throwing an epic golf fundraising extravaganza!!! Get your squad together and come out to the Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course on February 24, 2024 for a fun day with all your friends!!!  Well, it’s been a whirlwind few weeks with the playground, and the outpouring of community support is simply overwhelming. The Dream Playground Foundation/build committee has snapped back into action, as has the community. The alignment across all walks of life, ideologies, families, businesses, service groups, community officials is just incredible. Apparently, this is part of who we are and we will be danged if we will let something as trivial as a devastating fire will get us down.
REBUILDING First, please know that while we want to keep everyone updated, everything is a moving target and some estimates and predictions will turn out to be very short or long of the target, so some grace is necessary. Things will most certainly change. -We’ve been checking with suppliers and our design/build coordinator, and we’re very optimistic that we can rebuild this year . The biggest issues are availability of the build coordinators through our design firm, availability of the turf installation this year, and the specialized construction material. It’s a big project. So far, all three look very promising for early/mid summer. The current version of the playground was completed in late August 2021, and dedicated on September 11, 2021. -We have already received signups for over 250 volunteers for the community rebuild. Keep ‘em coming! We will need all hands on deck for a planned week-long rebuild using volunteer labor, just like before. And pray for no heat wave this time! -The original build cost around $650,000. $180,000 was from public sources and local Lodging Tax grants, and the remainder was raised by the Dream Playground Foundation through private donations, local businesses, and foundation grants. We estimate very tentatively that the materials and play surface needed for the rebuild will be in the $400,000 to $500,000 range. Material costs have gone up by about 25% on average, but there is was great deal of prep/infrastructure work that will not need to be redone. -Amazingly, we have already received between $140,000 and $150,000 in private and business support, and we are told that more may be on the way! -The cooperation from the city has been just excellent. They went into action immediately after the fire, and have already reached out to confirm a strong partnership with the Foundation to get our kids back on their playground. -Speaking for our Foundation, the insurance situation is very unclear at this point. The playground always has been a partnership between the city, the Foundation, and the community. At the end of the day, it is a city facility, and the city is currently working with their insurer. We do know that there is a very large deductible for all such events and that coverage for play structures can sometimes be weak. For now we are proceeding as if we need to bear the major portion the rebuild costs. If we have excess funds after the dust settles, we may have some ability to do some neat extras, as well as to be able to plan for future replacements and improvements. -So far, we know that there is a golf tournament brewing, as well as some REALLY neat community events that organizations have already started planning. We’ll have some playground ‘Merch’ available in the near future, and we’ll keep communicating. OTHER STUFF It’s rainy and cold now, but when the sun peeks out again, and you long for your playground, perhaps take your little people on an different adventure: -Check out other city playgrounds you didn’t know about: Facilities • City Facilities & Parks (cityofpa.us) -Visit Salt Creek County Park- Salt Creek Recreational Area | Olympic Peninsula (scenicwa.com) There’s a playground AND amazing nature and hiking. -Zip up Race Street to the NPS visitor center’s hands-on area for kids: Visitor Centers - Olympic National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) -Take them on a walk by Hollywood Beach or the new waterfront park on the downtown waterfront together. -Visit awesome sea creatures with them at Fiero Marine Life Center: Marine Life Center in Port Angeles Washington | Feiro Marine Life Center Some folks have asked that we broaden our efforts to include other public parks in town. To be honest, we’ve had the same thoughts in the past, but our charter and our donors have all focused on just the Dream Playground for now, and we owe them the use of their donations as directed, and as we are organized. But keep thinking big about community recreation - it’s what makes us love this precious place. I’m almost in tears writing this. This town doesn’t just send thoughts and prayers; it takes action. To everyone so far, Thank You Thank You Thank You. Rise Again 2024! -The Dream Playground Foundation |
