Wilton’s Parks and Recreation Department is kicking off summer and showing off a refurbished Merwin Meadows by throwing a party for all Wilton residents. On Saturday, June 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Parks & Rec is hosting “Wilton Day at Merwin Meadows” and all residents are invited for free fun and festivities.
With proof of Wilton residency, attendees will be able to enjoy free food and activities for all ages.
Among the fun events and features will be face painting, music, corn hole, beach volleyball, inflatables (duel-sport combo bounce house, climbing area and slide), sack races, fencing demonstrations, playground and swings, and of course swimming in the Merwin pond. In addition, Parks & Rec has a new tug-of-war rope that stretches across the entire pond and teams will compete from opposite shores; the winning team is the team that pulls its entire opposing team into the pond.
Organizers will also have a barbecue with hotdogs, cheeseburgers, hamburgers and bottled water, all free for town residents.
As for what’s been refurbished, Merwin Meadows supervisor Brian Lilly says there have been some basic upgrades to several features of the park.
“What we’ve done so far is put all new buoy lines in. We have power washed the bathrooms and are in the process of painting them. We’re putting in new covered toilet paper dispensers, so when kids are wet and go in there, they don’t get water all over the toilet paper. We’ve cleaned it up, and there’s now a changing room for the ladies, where they can go, close the door and get changed,” he describes, adding that the last feature is something that’s been missing from the park for a long time. “It was used for storage, so I’ve taken everything out of it that was stored there. We’ve power washed it and repainted that as well.”
There are some other cosmetic touches Lilly outlines, including repainting some railings and benches.
All of it is designed to make the park more appealing, especially to residents.
“There are a lot of people who are new to Wilton who may not know Merwin Meadows. Or people who haven’t been there in a while that we want to bring back, and say, ‘Hey this is a really fun place to be.”