During the 5 day period of September 27-October 1, 1995 more than 2,200 volunteers built the new "Rainbow Dreamland" playground in the East Palestine City Park. When construction was completed, E.P. Playground, Inc. donated the playground, valued at $250,000, to the City of East Palestine.

The construction of the playground was the fulfillment of a goal that was initiated by the East Palestine Rotary Club. In 1993 the local Rotary Club was challenged to "dream the impossible dream." The East Palestine Rotary Club accepted this challenge. The Club decided that our City Park was one of our strongest community assets, and it settled on building a new playground to replace the out-dated equipment. The Club kicked in seed money in the amount of $5,000 to get the project going. This project was viewed as an investment in the future of our City-our children.

The playground was a community based and built project under the direction of the engineering firm of Leathers and Associates from Ithica, New York. Leathers has helped build over 1,000 playgrounds world-wide. A non-profit corporation, E.P. Playground, Inc., was formed, and all members of the community were invited to become involved. In the fall of 1994 a core committee of 30 members was formed that became the driving force of the project..

Design Day was held on December 6, 1994. On Design Day the architect from Leathers spent the day meeting with every child in the East Palestine district grades K-6. He discovered what they wanted in their playground He then prepared a preliminary sketch of the playground based on what the kids told him. A public kick-off meeting was held at the East Palestine High School . On design day the playground was named "Rainbow Dreamland." Our playground is unique because it was designed by our children. It is fairly certain that we have the only playground that has a Bulldog tunnel slide, a flying unicorn and an angel.

The Core Committee was divided into various sub-committees. Each sub-committee had an enormous task that was critical to the overall success of the project:

· The Fund-Raising Committee raised more than $111,000 to pay for the playground. This was enough money to complete the playground, and establish a fund for the continued maintenance of the project.
· The Materials Committee obtained all the materials and supplies necessary to build the playground. Many of the materials were donated or realized at cost.
· The Food Committee fed all the volunteers lunch and dinner all 5 days during construction. Almost all of the food and kitchen supplies were donated by area restaurants and organizations.
· The Tools Committee borrowed all of the tools needed during construction week from members of the community.
· The Childcare Committee provided a Day Care facility in the park during Construction week, so that parents could work. On Saturday more than 100 children were in the Day Care facility.
· The Volunteer Committee worked hard to recruit the more than 2,200 volunteers who helped with construction. The diversity of the volunteers was impressive. Every segment of the population was well represented.
· The Public Relations Committee provided weekly press releases. The project received newspaper, radio and television coverage.
· The Special Needs Committee ensured that the playground was handicapped accessible.
· The Children's Committee fostered the involvement of the children and the schools in the project. The children were involved in the project from start to finish.

We were blessed with picture perfect weather during construction week. Many volunteers came back day after day until the job was completed. On Sunday afternoon the ribbon was cut and the children started enjoying their new playground. Everyone involved was touched by the sense of community spirit that was rekindled during Construction Week.

The construction of "Rainbow Dreamland" demonstrated the strength of our community in East Palestine. We all pulled together and made the impossible dream come true. You can see a shining example of the pride and high quality of our citizens when you visit the East Palestine City Park. We are "A little Town with a Big Future."

Click here to see more pictures of our beautiful park.