A new community playground popped up in El Cajon over the weekend – built in less than six hours by volunteers.
About 200 volunteers came together Saturday to create the new “KaBOOM” playground at Bill Beck Park located at 543 N. Pierce St. Construction began at 8:30 a.m., and by 2:15 p.m., a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the new play space.
City officials said the existing playground at the park was in need of replacement, so volunteers – including off-duty Heartland Fire & Rescue firefighters, El Cajon police officers and City staffers – rolled up their sleeves and got to work building the bright, custom playground designed by the City of El Cajon, Foresters, Stoney’s Kid’s, the Kiwanis Club of El Cajon Valley and KaBOOM, a non-profit organization that has built more than 3,000 playgrounds.
City officials said playground was inspired by personal drawings and input from local community members collected during a special design day on April 20. Ideas for the play area came from residents of all ages – from kids to senior citizens.
Adults will enjoy the space too, as the City also installed a new outdoor fitness area right next to the playground featuring some exercise equipment.
The new playground will be officially ready for use this Friday.
