The Park Avenue Community Association has raised roughly $50,000, enough funds to purchase all the equipment for the proposed splash pad at David F. Watkins Memorial Park thanks to its recent Souper Soup Sunday.
Held Feb. 26 at The Club House, 118 Arbor St., the fundraiser is set to become an annual event as PACA enters the next phase of the project.
A total of 13 restaurants participated, feeding several hundred people, the Splash Pad Committee chair for PACA, Briana Moore, said. Raising right at $3,000, PACA has already purchased most of the equipment and stored it on city property and the group will now look at the cost of assembling the new water feature.
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"I'd like to think that we're getting closer," said Moore, who co-owns Red Light Roastery Coffee House with her husband, Adam, in the Park Avenue neighborhood. "But we still have a little bit of a ways to go."
The park, located at 811 Park Ave., features an open section of Hot Springs Creek, a playground, an amphitheater, restrooms and a mural painted by Canadian-based artist Danae Brissonnet with the help of local youths. The splash pad is set to be constructed near the Park Avenue entrance in a grass clearing.
Several awards were given out at the event, such as people's choice and judges' choice. First place winners of the people's choice award was Melinda's Cafe & Coffee while Emma Lee's won the judges' choice awards. Professional chefs Alex Hampo and Adolph Thum judged the latter.
The latest in a series of events to fund the project, Souper Soup Sunday was followed by a yard sale with live music as well as a potluck last year. Moore said the group will host the soup event again because of its success.
"We had a great turnout and a lot of people had a lot of fun," she said.
On top of support from those living in the area and the greater Hot Springs community, the group has been helped along the way by a number of grants, sponsors, local businesses and other partners.
Sponsors for the event included Clampit's Country Kitchen & Meat Market and The Club House while the organization has also seen support from Weyerhaeuser, Arkansas Community Foundation, and Arvest Bank.
PACA has also been aided by other neighborhood groups with a common goal of revitalizing their corner of the city, including the Gateway Community Association and Whittington Valley Neighborhood Association.
"I want to thank everyone that has supported this project so far," Moore said. "It's definitely been a grassroots fundraising."
PACA meets monthly every third Monday at 6 p.m. in the park, which is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Briana Moore, the splash pad committee chair for the Park Avenue Community Association, is shown in front of a mural painted by Canadian muralist Danae Brissonnet with the help of local young artists. - Photo by Lance Brownfield of The Sentinel-Record
The Park Avenue entrance of David F. Watkins Memorial Park, 811 Park Ave., is shown with the site of the future splash pad in the background. - Photo by Lance Brownfield of The Sentinel-Record.