Don’t forget! You can personally participate in saving the Playground of Dreams!

From Save Our Playground.org, October 24, 2024. This is a repost so folks and families who are looking for something active, inclusive, and community-serving to do today can connect with Save Our Playground for a wonderful time. 

WHERE: Playground of Dreams (1992) in Benicia City Park (1849)
WHEN: Sunday, October 27, 8 a.m. to dusk
WHAT: Sanding and sealing the largest volunteer-built structure in Benicia. Weeding and detail painting are also planned.
 WHY: With the city’s budget deficit, the playground was being somewhat neglected for years until 2023. The current workday is a repeat of hugely successful work parties at the playground in the 1990s and September 2023.
WHO: Playground lovers, their parents and families, and Benicia Friends of the Playground.

Save Our Playground

We will be sanding and sealing the largest volunteer-built structure in Benicia. We will also be weeding and detail painting.

With the city’s budget deficit, the playground was being somewhat neglected for years until 2023. The current workday is a repeat of hugely successful work parties at the playground in the 1990s and September 2023.

Plastic gloves, masks and drinking water provided. If volunteers so choose, they can sport work clothes and hats, sturdy gloves, battery-powered sanders, sunscreen and sunglasses. Depending on weather and volunteer turnout though, you may not need some of that.

Building Community

We now have our official non-profit status and the ability to receive donations.

A huge wave of work, support and love of children by Benicia residents created the Playground of Dreams in City Park in 1992, and thousands have enjoyed it since. Now, another community effort is needed to save it.

Although the pine wood structure seems sturdy to the touch, city staff and a consultant have agreed it should be removed soon. The playground was maintained the first several years by Benicia Friends of the Playground volunteers, but sanding and sealing a wooden playground can take scores of work hours, and the city stopped doing it years ago.

In a time-honored Benicia tradition, that is the job undertaken by volunteers on September 15 and 16, 2023. The question is whether the playground outlives the two-year projection that city staff believes this work will extend its life.

Please join our campaign to protect and restore this beloved historic structure. Give us a way to update you on this form as we re-establish Benicia Friends of the Playground.

Contact the campaign at 707.747.6706 or contact@saveourplayground.org to learn more about how to donate and get involved.