A new minigolf course in Phoenicia and playground in Shandaken aim to widen recreational opportunities for children and families, taking some of the sting out of the closure of the Phoenicia Elementary School in 2024, town officials said.
“Updating our parks is a bittersweet win for our town, given the recent closing of Phoenicia Elementary School,” said Barbara Mansfield, interim chair of Shandaken’s parks and recreation committee.
“We have these amazing parks,” said Mansfield, who is also the Democratic nominee for town supervisor. “We need them to not be ghost towns.”
The minigolf course started as an outdoor art installation for Labor Day’s Festival of the Arts, said committee member Christina Varga. Brendan Bo O’Connor and Liam Singer donated a Lucid Dream Minigolf course through the Bioart Ethical Advisory Komission.
The course has three holes and six more are being designed with oversight of the committee. Ribbon cutting is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 29, a day before the arts festival begins.
“Play is incredibly important in development, learning, and social connections,” Varga said. “I find it absolutely amazing that we can raise our children in this beautiful environment.”
The course cost just under $5,000 and was funded by donations, Mansfield said. It will be free to play and loaner golf balls and clubs will be available at the Nest Egg in Phoenicia and Ulster Savings Bank in Kingston.
The Glenbrook Park playground will feature a wobble bridge made from natural materials, a zipline parallel to an existing dog run, a pollinator garden, and bee habitat hotels. Committee member Autumn Brookmire said she was inspired by German playgrounds.
“My husband is German and we visit there,” Brookmire said. “I would see all these amazing playgrounds, parents and grandparents playing on the equipment with kids.”
Brookmire joined the recreation committee in 2021. Learning that the town couldn’t afford the playground she envisioned, she started a GoFundMe that raised $26,000 within three months.
“I did not expect people to pull through like that,” Brookmire said. Still, after exploring cost estimates for designs, she “realized how expensive playgrounds were,” and sought other funding.
State Senator Michelle Hinchey helped the town secure a $300,000 CREST grant. The town this month hired KOMPAN, a specialist in natural playgrounds, to build it.
Together, the new facilities will “serve many families,” Varga said. “I am excited to see how it in turn will benefit the small businesses in our community and the Town of Shandaken as a whole.”
Playground construction is expected to start in the fall, when 11 pieces of equipment will be installed at a cost of nearly $150,000. The remaining CREST funds will be used for excavating and fencing, she said.
Jim Rich is a reporter for The Overlook. You can reach him at jim@theoverlooknews.com.