Town Point Park - The Good, the Bad and the...

Well... in a word, absurd.

On to the good. I attended the ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, July 3. As one who has anxiously awaited the grand re-opening, I thought there'd be throngs of Norfolkians at the ceremony. There was a slim crowd. Their loss. (Unless of course, they waited to attend the dedication ceremony which I did not). The atmosphere at the ribbon cutting was festive and fun - almost "Cirque du Soleil-ish." Very impressive.

The bad. No shade. Being out there in the sun with mostly concrete ... the heat was utter punishment. I thought I'd boil like a lobster. One poster on the Virginian Pilot's message board said it best.

I remember thinking when the park was first built how nice it would be when the trees matured and there was shade, and when they finally did - the city cuts them down and starts over.

The absurd. No water fountains. Don't parks do water fountains anymore? Is there some sort of conspiracy with bottled water companies? Mayor Fraim, according to the same Virginian Pilot mentioned above said they may reconsider adding back the two fountains that were removed. $11.5 million and we have to beg for water fountains!

Also absurd... and this has nothing to do with the the park infrastructure or aesthetics. Fireworks at 7:30 pm? Seriously? I'd like to hire the salesperson who sold that idea to the event coordinators. How much did the city shell out, I wonder.

While I didn't go to the dedication or any of the afternoon events of the grand re-opening, I did go to the fireworks event the evening of July 4. The park had sort of a carnival atmosphere. All those lights, the competing music, the jumbotrons. All that was missing was a ferris wheel and a Whac-a-mole arcade. But seated at the new Hard Rock digs, I was happy, content, comfortable.

Final verdict? For me, the jury is still out on this one. I'd like to take a stroll to Town Point Park on a weekend when there are no crowds. I want to be able to lay a blanket down and have a picnic with my loved one. I want to see a guy play frisbee with his dog. I want to see a jogger stop and refresh herself with a drink of water from a fountain. I'm looking for an oasis in the city.

But maybe Town Point Park isn't meant to be that type of "park." Perhaps its fashioned after the Georgetown's Washington Harbour. Which I love. But Town Point Park will never be a "Washington Harbour" until they do something about Waterside. But that's a whole 'nother can of worms.