The Airdrie spray park has officially opened for the 2022 summer season, a few weeks earlier than usual.
Located in the Chinook Winds Regional Park, the spray park is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day until early September, depending on the weather.
Although the park is open to anyone, most users are under the age of 12, according to Cherylee Sargeant, a coordinator with the City of Airdrie’s parks department.
The popular summertime amenity features in-ground sprays, a toddler water table, a spraying archway, a musical piano that sprays water with each tap, a water stream, and four slides.
“The highlight is probably our big yellow dump bucket,” said Sargeant. “The kids like to congregate underneath it and count down until it spills on them.”
Those looking to use the park can activate the water by pressing one of the easily accessible buttons. The feature will eventually time out, so guests do not need to turn off the water when leaving.
Located in Chinook Winds Regional Park, close to the spray pad are picnic tables, washrooms and change rooms, in addition to a playground, baseball diamonds, walking/biking trails, and a skate park. Younger kids are able to splash around in the water while older kids can brave the skate park, and parents can relax nearby in the sun or shade.
Typically, the park opens in July, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City has tried to open the park earlier in the past two years, according to Sargeant – a tradition that will continue despite the lifting of public health restrictions.
During the last two summers, the park offered families a fun and safe way to enjoy the outdoors and socialize, while adhering to the COVID-19 restrictions outlined by the Alberta government. Opening the park in June rather than July allowed families to soak up as much outdoor socializing as they could.
However, weather plays an important factor in opening and closing the park. During warmer summers, the park is able to open earlier in June and stay open until September, but in colder summers, the park is only able to open from July until August, Sargeant explained.
“[The City is] feeling really good about [opening]. We’re waiting for the 30-degree temperature, it will be a little more fun when it’s warm,” Sargeant said, adding that the happy screams of kids can be heard during these hot days.
“It’s a good, fun, friendly atmosphere.”
