On May 4, Orion Township officials celebrated the opening of the Playful Dragon playscape and pocket park on the corner of Baldwin and Jordan roads with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

This is the first of two planned pocket parks along the newly transformed Baldwin Road corridor.

The playspace was created with the help of the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation and a $65,000 Play Everywhere Challenge Grant from KaBOOM!

“Huge shoutout to the two ladies behind the camera, Jenny Bhatti (speciall assistant to Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett) and Sam Timco (chief assistant to Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett) who, without them we wouldn’t have this grant and we wouldn’t have this playground,” said Township Supervisor Chris Barnett. “They get the most credit for this.”

Despite the hard times COVID has brought upon many people in the community, the opening of this park is a bright spot for the township.

“This is kind of another fun event and we’ve had a lot of great things happening in the community in spite of COVID,” Barnett said.

Among the collaborators were the AP art students at Lake Orion High School and a Lake Orion resident who works at Cranbrook. Both parties contributed additional features to create the story of The Playful Dragon which is posted around the perimeter of the park.

“We’re just really excited with the new playground addition and the interactive nature of this playground. We’re very grateful for the leadership in the community and the support of the community to really embrace recreation and green space from the love of what Orion is known for,” said Orion Twp. Parks and Recreation director Aaron Whatley. “With all that said, enjoy the park. Come on out and thank you everyone for your support and everything you do for our community.” — By Megan Kelley