Happy Friday! Megan here.
Weather check: We won't judge if you want to put your Christmas lights up while temps are still above freezing
Bingo check: Have you picked up your BIN-GO Shop Local card yet? Make sure you snag one while they're still available, and don't miss your chance to
This week, you'll get a look at the long-term master plan for the city's namesake park. And speaking of Falls Park, a member of the city parks department sat down to chat about all of the behind-the-scenes of the annual Winter Wonderland decorations. Plus, learn about an easy way to gift experiences, and catch up on some Super Simplified news.
And now, news:
CITY
Here's a look at the future vision for Falls Park
Simplified: The city this week unveiled the master plan for Falls Park, including year-round activities, stuff for folks of all ages to do, expanding the park's boundaries and updating how people both walk and drive around the park. Here's a more in-depth look.
Why it matters
- The Parks and Recreation Department has been working on seeking public feedback on the Falls Park Master Plan for a couple of years now – including feedback on a citywide parks plan back in 2019 and awarding designer Confluence with the bid to do the full master plan back in 2021.
- Largely, people said they want to preserve the park's landscape and history, add amenities – bathrooms, play spaces, additional recreation, etc. – and improve how both cars and individuals navigate the park.
- The master plan's overarching goal is to create a year-round "signature park" that's a destination for people of all ages. That'll include a new pedestrian bridge, improved park access, a new visitor center and observation tower, a reworked farmer's market and more.
"Our vision is all about, whether you're 5 years old, 50 years old or 75 years old, there's something for you to do," said Jon Jacobson, principal and vice president at Confluence.
Tell me more about what's in the master plan
SIMPLIFIED PRESENTS
Gift memories – not stuff – this holiday season
This is a paid piece from the Children's Museum of South Dakota.
Simplified: It's the season of gift giving, but not every gift has to come in a big, wrapped package. The Children's Museum of South Dakota has some great options for gifting experiences.
Why it matters
- An annual membership to the children's museum is a gift that will keep giving again and again all year long, while toys collect dust in the closet. And if the membership feels like too big of a commitment, you can also gift individual Play Passes, which are each good for daily museum admission.
- Visiting the Children's Museum in downtown Brookings is also a way to really get to know the children in your life by watching them experience the world through play. There are more than two dozen exhibits that let kids do everything from grocery shopping to farming to climbing to creating.
- Worried about not having something to open on Christmas morning? You can also find a toy in the museum gift shop to pair with an annual membership. Or, you can wrap up passes in a big cardboard box that doubles as a toy in and of itself.
"You're gifting memories. You're gifting time together," said Kerrie Vilhauer, director of marketing for the museum. "When you gift an experience, that's carving out hours of family time that you just get to be together."
Tell me more about the Children's Museum
TL;DR
Super Simplified Stories
- No P!nk for you. Musical artist P!nk has officially canceled her Sioux Falls show, the Denny Sanford Premier Center announced Thursday. The show was intended to be a celebration of 10-year anniversary of the Premier Center.
- More like anni-cursed-ary. What's extra wild is this is the second anniversary-related performance canceled this year. Back in June, Broadway star Sutton Foster was scheduled to perform as part of the Washington Pavilion's 25th anniversary celebration, but the show was canceled last-minute.
- Turkey for all. Feeding South Dakota will be distributing 1,500 Thanksgiving meals on Saturday morning for families facing food insecurity. The event is hosted by Knife River and supported by a matching donation gift from Greg and Pam Sands. The event will take place 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday at Knife River.
- It is The Falls. Falls Park got a rebrand with a new logo and new terminology to better incorporate the entire area (Jacobson Plaza, Levitt, etc.). It's now called "The Falls," which, as City Communications and Culture Officer Allie Hartzler notes, is colloquially what folks already call the park. The total cost of the rebrand – including signage and a new website – was $30,000. Here's a look at the new logo, which was designed in-house.
GET SMART
Get smart about Winter Wonderland with Josh Johnson
Josh Johnson is a park operations manager with the City of Sioux Falls and has worked with the city for 16 years. He sat down with Sioux Falls Simplified to talk about all of the behind-the-scenes of the annual Falls Park Winter Wonderland display that lights up this weekend.
Answers are edited for length and clarity. Responses are all quotes from Johnson.
Tell me a little about what goes into the annual Winter Wonderland display.
The team at Falls Park, our operations staff, maintenance team – they kind of have creative freedom in learning what displays will fit within our means and what we're capable of hosting.
- They create a lot of different displays they may have seen (or gotten the idea) from somewhere else. They have that freedom to do it.
Do you guys reuse a lot of decor? How do you decide what goes where?
The majority of our displays are reused every year. We did retire a few items this year and create a few different displays we're excited about.
We've been fortunate to tour some other cities and see displays and kinda borrow some ideas. We also determine that stuff based on our facility's capacity, too – that weighs heavily on a lot of the placement.
How far in advance does planning start for Winter Wonderland?
That work typically starts in June or July, and, in fairness, it kind of runs all year. It's a constant, continuous improvement. They're always looking to innovate and use our resources as best we can for the community.
See the full interview here
THIS AND THAT
What I'm falling for this week:
ICYMI
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Megan Raposa
Megan Raposa
Megan Raposa
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