Kids Castle 5K: Cranberry Breaks Ground on New Playground

The new Cranberry Kids Castle playground at Community Park got off to a running start Saturday—literally.

To celebrate the closure of the wooden Playtime Palace, which is being replaced by the Kids Castle, a 5K and 1-mile race was held to support the new playground.

 Playground committee member Corrine Satriano, who organized the race, said event should raise more than $10,000 to benefit the playground. About 143 runners and walkers participated in Saturday's 5K, she said.

The mother of two young children, Satriano, who lives near the playground, said she’ll miss Playtime Palace, but she’s also excited for the park’s future.

“I’m just so excited to give back to the community,” she said. “I think this will be a great, active, healthy thing for the kids to do in Cranberry.”

Aided by members of the local Cranberry Area Girl Scouts troop, Supervisor Mike Manipole also unveiled plans for the “Today” portion of the Kids Castle during a groundbreaking for the project prior to Saturday’s race.

The “Today” section, which includes a clock tower and a variety of slides, is based on drawings by 3,500 local students in the community.

Cranberry Supervisor Chairman Bruce Mazzoni, who also is treasurer of the nonprofit Cranberry Township Community Chest, said the 5K officially kicks off fundraising efforts to build the playground. April and May will be the project's final push for donations.

The goal is to raise $495,000. So far, Mazzoni said about $325,000 has been given for the project, including a $175,000 donation from the nonprofit Cranberry Community CUP. Cranberry officials approved $82,500 in funding to be used towards the playground’s design.

Several local businesses, including Moe's Southwest Grill and Battery Giant of Pittsburgh, also have pitched in to raise funds for the project.

“We’re heading in the right direction,” Mazzoni said.   

On Monday, volunteers from Westinghouse Electric Company and Alcoa in Cranberry will begin the process of dismantling Playtime Palace.

Mazzoni said two wooden spirals from the playground would be used as the entrance to the new Kids Castle. The plan is re-purpose more than 70 percent of the Playtime Palace structure into the new Kids Castle.

“I know a lot of people are sad to see it taken down, but that’s part of the overall process of trying to renew it and get it in operation,” Mazzoni said.

Volunteers from the community will build the “Today” portion of the playground over a period of five days in July. The Kids Castle, which also includes a “Past” and a “Future” section, is expected to open to the public in late September. 

Do you have a memory of Playtime Palace you'd like to share? Are you excited for the new playground? Tell us in the comment section below.

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