May 16, 2022 at 11:06 a.m.
Hodag Park upgrades begin with addition of stage
Hodag Park upgrades begin with addition of stage
By River News Staff-
City officials and representatives from the Rhinelander Community Foundation (RCF) gathered at the park adjacent to Boom Lake Wednesday for a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off construction of the performance stage.
The addition of a performance stage/amphitheater was one of several improvements to the park included in the Hodag Park Master Plan approved by the City Council in March 2021 following a multi-year process that involved the gathering of input from numerous stakeholders.
The concept is for the amphitheater to have a "Northwoods" feel to it, city administrator Zach Vruwink said during a July 2021 council meeting.
Mayor Kris Hanus, Vruwink and several alderpersons were on hand Wednesday to shovel dirt and celebrate the milestone.
"This is going to start the redevelopment of this park for the next couple years and make it more of a greenspace friendly for our community," Hanus said.
"After a long winter, we're excited to be down at Hodag Park to commemorate really the inclusion and the introduction of a new feature that will be available for generations to come," Vruwink added, noting that the "opportunities are endless" in terms of uses for the stage/amphitheater.
In addition to concerts, the facility can be used for "outdoor weddings, family convenings, poetry readings, open mic night," among many other things, he said.
"There's a whole host of ideas that the community has already shared with us about how they want to use this feature," he said, noting that "weather-permitting" the public will be able to utilize the stage this summer.
Gina Heck, president of the Rhinelander Community Foundation, which facilitated community support for the park upgrades, recounted the path that led to the groundbreaking, including the work done by the parks task force in researching park amenities.
"This has really been a journey," she said, noting that "the community was generous and we had a groundswell of support."
"We envision a lot of community special experiences starting to happen here with a lot of good community fellowship," she added.
The budget for the project is $400,000. The city pledged $100,000 and, thanks to a generous contribution from an anonymous donor, RCF matched the first $100,000 in donations to a non-endowed fund established in 2015 to facilitate lasting support for the park.
In total, nearly 70 donors contributed to the project, Vruwink said.
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