WARROAD, Minn. – June 24, 2019 –  The entire community is invited to the dedication of Allison Park on Wednesday, July 3rd.  The formal dedication will start at 12 o’clock noon, with food, fun and games to follow throughout the day. A community picnic begins at 3PM with brats, hotdogs, potato salad, and chips served until 5PM.

Located east of the Warroad downtown district along Lake Street NE, the park has been known as the Warroad Community Park.  The park has been made possible because of generous donors and the hard work of the volunteer-driven planning committee and the City of Warroad.

“It’s been an 8-year project, constructed in three phases and it’s very exciting to see it all come together and celebrate with the community,” said Brian Schaible, Park Committee Chair.  

The main features of the park include an outdoor amphitheater, indoor pavilion, a grand gazebo, picnic shelters and a kid-sized splash pad and playground.  Already, several groups have hosted community-wide events, weddings, reunions, and local families and tourists have enjoyed the park year-around.

John Marvin II reflected on Allison, to whom the park is dedicated, and shared, “Allison left us way too early.  Her fun-loving spirit impacted so many in a positive way and her passion for kids showed in all that she did. It’s my hope this park and Northern community will provide a safe, fun place to build strong and life-long friendships.”   

In preparation for the July 3rd celebration, the public will begin to see the installation of sculptures and signage at the park. Their stories will be told at the dedication.  Events for the day include pony cycle rides, water balloon toss, face painting, corn hole, chalk art, music, popcorn, ice cream and more!

Please join in the July 3 dedication of Allison Park at 12 o’clock noon and bring your family and friends for the day’s activities.  This is free and open to the public. All are welcome to attend!

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About Allison Marvin (1969-1992)
Every day was a celebration in the life of Allison Marvin – a celebration to be enjoyed to the fullest, to be shared with family and friends, and later to be remembered with delight.

A good all-around student and athlete, Allison especially enjoyed track, basketball, and softball, her 4-H activities, music, Tae Kwan Do, and, above all, training and riding horses.  Because of her love for people and her ever-enthusiastic desire to share, she naturally turned to teaching as a profession. As a recent graduate of Bemidji State University, she was at the threshold of this new and exciting phase of her life with a position in an Atlanta, Georgia school when that bright light that was Allison ceased to burn.  She had just turned twenty-three. 

– This excerpt was taken from the BSU Allison Marvin Scholarship application that was established by her dad, Jake W. Marvin and continues to be offered to Warroad High School seniors with plans to attend Bemidji State University.

About Allison Park

In 2011, The City of Warroad and a Warroad citizen-led volunteer planning committee embarked to create a family-friendly park in the center of Warroad on a land parcel where the first Warroad Hospital and later Senior Living Center stood. The work began with hiring an architect, Widseth Smith Nolting and Associates in Bemidji, Minnesota.  The next step was to seek community input through an online survey and a master plan was designed from that input. The park became known as the Warroad Community Park and was thoughtfully developed in three-phases with completion in the summer 2019.

On July 3, 2019 the park will be dedicated and renamed, Allison Park, a tribute to Allison Marvin and her lively, adventuresome spirit; and enjoyment of life that is also reflected in the children that live and play in Warroad today.  We are Northborn.

Past and Present Park Committee Members include:  Brian Schaible, Kathy Lovelace, Rod Kutter, Brad Baumann, Scott Borros, Jeff Parker, Mike Kvarnlov, James Jaros, Glenda Phillipe, Mark Marvin, Marg Marvin, Brenda Baumann.  

Architect:  Denise Koenigsberg, AIA, Widseth Smith Nolting & Associates

General Contractor:  Scott Johnson Companies – all three phases