Laguna Beach Boys & Girls Club celebrates opening of Dream Play Yard
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Not quite three years have passed since a gathering in the backyard of the Boys & Girls Club in Laguna Beach promised funding for a playground of kids’ dreams.
Local dignitaries and public officials returned to the site on Friday to participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the now open Dream Play Yard at the branch located at 1085 Laguna Canyon Road.
“They’ve been waiting, years of just gossip about the playground potentially happening,” said Kelsi Briggs, director of the Laguna Canyon branch. “I’m sure it felt like decades for them. … The day it opened and we were allowed to play on it, we let [the children] do it right away. We opened the doors, they ran out, smiles literally ear to ear from kids and staff.
“Kids were rolling on the grass. They haven’t seen grass out here before, so it was a big, huge thing for them. … We haven’t opened our games room very much recently because they just want to be outside, which is something that today, we don’t see a lot of.”
Dozens of children sat at colorful, kid-sized tables eating lunch, and the public officials on hand spoke to them as their primary audience.
“This is a place for you to play, a place for you to make friends, and a place really for you to explore and flourish,” said Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-73), who in October 2022 presented the club with a check for $400,000 in state funding for the project.
Laguna Beach is now part of California’s 72nd district, represented by Republican Assemblywoman Diane Dixon.
“It is so fantastic,” Dixon said. “We, as elected officials, often go to openings of freeways, and big buildings, or bridges, which are important to the state of California, but this is really the fun. This is really what we’re all here for — is to watch the smiles of young people enjoying this gift from the state of California, and thanks to Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, because it’s important to support the parks and other amenities that are a part of our community.”
Mayor Alex Rounaghi, Petrie-Norris and Dixon were among those who went down the slide on the playground following the ceremony, joined by various boys and girls eagerly awaiting their turn.
The amenities on site now include handball courts, basketball hoops, skate ramps, and a green turf for further outdoor activities.
“Play has always been an important part of a child’s development, just as it’s always been an important part of our Boys & Girls Club” said Pam Estes, the chief executive of the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach. “If we want resilient and well-adjusted kids, we must let them play. Play is the natural way that kids learn. They develop empathy, creativity, communication and collaboration through it.
“Playing outdoors in the fresh air, it can have a special and powerful impact on their health and wellbeing. In today’s world, free play has an even more important role in helping children understand themselves, the real world, and how to navigate, negotiate and contribute to it. We should all remember that play relieves stress and creates happiness.”
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