City of Missoula to mark Caras Park upgrades with June 24 celebration
Downtown Missoula Partnership announced the completion of the Beartracks Underbridge Playspace and the Caras Park Canopy replacement/pavilion repainting, and will celebrate the projects on June 24 at 12:30 p.m. in Caras Park during Out to Lunch.
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Downtown Missoula Partnership announced a community celebration for the completed Caras Park canopy project and Beartracks Underbridge Playspace on Tuesday, June 24, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in Caras Park during Out to Lunch.
The group said the projects wrapped up two major updates in downtown gathering spaces, making the areas more welcoming for people to gather, play and connect.
The Beartracks Underbridge Playspace changed a former parking area under the bridge over the last three years, according to the Downtown Missoula Partnership. The space now includes cornhole boards, bike racks, a basketball hoop, picnic tables and table tennis.
The area also added painted ground features, colorful bridge pillars and painted dumpsters. New color-changing lights turned on nightly at 5:00 p.m.
“These projects are exactly the kind of community investments the Missoula Downtown Foundation is proud to support,” said Hailey Kern, president of the MDF Board of Directors. “From the transformation beneath the Beartracks Bridge to the renewed Caras Park canopy, these improvements create inviting spaces where people can gather, play, celebrate and experience the heart of Downtown Missoula.”
The Caras Park project replaced the park canopy and bandshell and repainted the pavilion structure and bandshell, the partnership said. It explained the older canopy was installed in 1997 and had reached the end of its lifespan after nearly 30 years of weather exposure.
The Downtown Missoula Partnership said Caras Park will host community celebrations, concerts, markets, cultural events and family activities for decades and that the upgrades are meant to keep the space functional, safe and ready for continued public use.
More than $1.8 million came from the Missoula Downtown Foundation and donors over the last six years, along with $317,500 from Missoula Parks & Recreation with more than 150 businesses and individuals supporting the work, the partnership added.