On Saturday, July 27, 2019 from 2 – 7 p.m., Dogwood Park in Wesley Chapel showed off the latest expansion, the opening of the new band shell at the amphitheater, with a Car Show and Music Festival. The Village of Wesley Chapel has also just acquired a professional sound system to complete the capability to host live music events.
John Lepke, a volunteer who is the Chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee for the Village of Wesley Chapel, explains, “From the very beginning of the process Dogwood Park has been a community project. It started with a comprehensive resident survey to identify what people wanted. The types of amenities identified as most desirable by our citizens were prioritized based on popularity. The search for a park site that could best accommodate those amenities began. All Wesley Chapel properties available at the time were evaluated and the current site was selected. It became named as Dogwood Park because of the abundance of mature Dogwood trees on the property.”
“The next challenges were to design a park that featured the amenities requested by our citizens and funding the project. Putting the features our residents wanted into the park design was easy. However, limited availability of funds forced us to create a construction plan in phases. First were the basics, infrastructure and grading. Where practical, we then phased other things based on the priorities set by the resident survey. In some cases, we were able to execute items further down the list with volunteers projects and other programs not requiring village funds. For example: A dog park was created by a Girl Scout group utilizing fencing recovered from a demolished tennis court; the pond was stocked with fish and a fishing pier (built by Dept. of Corrections) was provided and installed by NC Wildlife; unpaved walking trails through the wooded areas were installed by citizen volunteers; and there were many great Eagle Scout projects including installing the flag pole.”
“Phase One was a great start. We checked off a lot of things on the priority list (paved and unpaved walking trails, fishing, dog park etc.) and built the basis for Phase Two. Live music performances and a place for community gatherings were both a very high priority. In cooperation with WCFOPR, we have hosted many events at the park since we opened on July 12, 2014. Easter Eggstravaganza, Pig-in-Park BBQ cook off and the Fall Festival have become annual events. But, we didn’t have the capability to host live music performances, until now!”
“For the near future we have a children’s playground in the plan. We have submitted a grant request to the State for funding the playground, picnic shade awnings and some exercise equipment to be placed around the walking trails. We will hear result of the grant request at the end of August. Also, a longer term a community center with restroom facilities will be considered.”
“The greatest thing for me about this park has been the level of community involvement. Over the past decade, hundreds of volunteers have donated thousands of hours of their time to making the park and the events we have hosted the success it has been. Wesley Chapel does not currently have any parks and recreation staff as other towns have. It has been the efforts of community volunteers that has made it all possible. For me, that defines Community Park.”
Dogwood Park and Expansion Sponsors: PostNet of Wesley Chapel, Southbrook Church, Coca Cola, The Y, 201 Central, Harris Teeter.
Dogwood Park – 121 Lester Davis Road, Waxhaw, NC; The park is open from sunrise to sunset. Information about the park is available on the village website: www.ci.wesley-chapel.nc.us
