Falls Park celebrates 10 years!

We joined the Mayor of Greenville, the Greenville Brass Quintet of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra and renowned architect Miguel Rosales to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of Falls Park on Sunday. The City of Greenville has a unique treasure in Falls Park, which has played a role in many of the awards won by Greenville on the national stage. Even though I first visited Greenville before the addition of the park and Liberty Bridge to downtown Greenville, I can’t imagine our little city without them, and on a beautiful fall day such as this one I didn’t want to be anywhere else.

The amphitheater in the park had a tent covering the stage, and chairs had been set up for a few hundred people. Many spectators opted for more natural park seating, either on one of the surrounding walls or on blankets spread on the grass. Having received a commemorative reusable bag (insulated, perfect for a Falls Park picnic!) we took our seats for the concert. The sounds of the brass and percussion instruments floated over us, stopping cyclists, dog-walkers and runners in their tracks. I was grateful for the opportunity to hear the quintet from the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, as even though the boys are relatively well-behaved, I don’t see us attending the symphony any time soon; an outdoor, condensed experience was perfect for us.

The official portion of the event (which we witnessed from afar) included an address by architect Miguel Rosales (who designed the Liberty Bridge), Andrea Mains (the landscape architect who created the park master plan) and Mayor Knox H. White. But by far the most memorable portion was John Philip Sousa's March "The Liberty Bell" resonating across the park and up to the Liberty Bridge on this crisp, sunny autumn day, in honor of the vision that created this beautiful space.

For the history of Falls Park see my post Liberty Bridge and Falls Park on the Reedy River

The City of Greenville official press release is here