To the delight of many families, the newly-built Centennial Park Variety playground, 333 Mountain St., opens Monday, July 11.

A grand opening celebration runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. that includes speeches, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Town of Cochrane will be handing out frozen treats and refreshments, and local food trucks have been invited to attend.  

Variety reached out to the Cochrane Kiwanis Club to help spearhead a push to replace out-of-date equipment and create an inclusive playground. Several local service organizations and volunteers came together to start assembling the equipment on June 9. 

Larry Horeczy, chief operating officer for Variety - the Children's Charity, says the project has a total value of about $300,000 and has been made possible by the community coming together.

"It doesn't happen without everybody pulling together, so I'm very pleased that we have such a broad group of people, all the different businesses, that have contributed to making it possible."

Kiwanis president Ron Gosselin is anxious about the opening and slipped by the park regularly to watch the progress.

"It's going to be there for a long time, and it's something we can be proud of."