Story Trail Celebrates Diversity at Friendship Park

Story Trail Celebrates Diversity at Friendship Park

• Posted on 5/11/2017

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  Gahanna Parks & Recreation will host a ribbon cutting celebration on Friday, May 26 from 6:30 – 8 p.m. at Friendship Park, 150 Oklahoma Avenue to mark the opening of the Story Trail. Link on summer reading

• This year’s story, The Friendship Bridge, celebrates the beauty of diversity as two young girls from different cultures meet on a bridge and form a lasting friendship. The celebration will kick-off with a ribbon cutting, followed by an acoustic musical performance by Casey Redmond. During the event, the Gahanna Mobile Activities Center (GMAC) will be on site providing activities and games. This year’s story trail is in collaboration with the Columbus Metropolitan Library and Gahanna Lincoln High School and is part of the Gahanna Library’s Summer Reading Program encouraging families to engage in the outdoors through reading throughout the summer.

• “We are excited to collaborate with our partners on this year’s story trail which celebrates the diversity in our community,” said Gahanna Mayor Tom Kneeland. “This year’s theme is an extension of the rich history of Friendship Park, which was once home to one of the first African-American country clubs in the nation.” The Friendship Bridge was written by students Emerson Fry, Najma Gureye, Frankie Nuss, Mikayla Barbe-Cox, Amun Jama and Natalie Fry. The story is beautifully illustrated by Alyssa Lee, a junior at Gahanna Lincoln High School. Lee’s artwork is best described as vector illustration, an industry standard used by design professionals for creating sequential imagery similar to the concepts used in storyboards, cartoons and graphic novels. “I’m glad that I could do something for the City of Gahanna that will be seen and appreciated in the community as a whole,” said Alyssa Lee. “This project gave me real-word experience working as an illustrator – which has really helped me validate my interest in pursuing art as a career.”

• The story is appropriate for readers of all ages. Storyboards are set low to the ground for children to explore each piece of framed art and the Ready to Read prompts are provided by the Gahanna library. Attendees can visit the story trail all summer and during park hours. For more information about the story trail, contact the Gahanna Parks & Recreation department at 614.342.4250.Link more reading