A Park for All Seasons

Way Park is the heart of a vibrant neighborhood on the west side of Northfield. It features: a musical playground; playground equipment and swings; pre-school equipment; a basketball court; picnic and grilling areas; a walking path; a warming hut and ice rink (seasonal); a small baseball/kickball diamond (seasonal); a large open field perfect for pick up soccer games and kite flying; and lovely rain gardens. Our organization, The Friends of Way Park hosts several events every year including Yoga in the Park, Pumpkin Fest, and a spring picnic event.

Saturday, September 05, 2015

Sept. 5th Yoga in the Park has been rescheduled due to weather.

This morning's Yoga in the Park has been rescheduled due to weather.  We will be moving this session to Saturday September 19th at 9am.

Thank you!

Friends of Way Park

Friday, July 24, 2015

Yoga in the Park!


A few weeks back we announced that Friends of Way Park received a Healthy Activities Grant from Allina Health Partners for another season of Yoga in the Park.

We now have the dates and details!

The sessions are open to the entire Northfield community and will be appropriate for all levels.
Classes will run from 9:00am to 10:00am on the following Saturday mornings:

  • August 8
  • August 15
  • August 22
  • August 29
  • September 5
  • September 12

Rain dates will be added if needed.

Children are welcome to join parents and try yoga, but free childcare will also be provided at the playground.

Bring a yoga mat if you have one. Some mats will be available for new yogis.

Come meet your neighbors and enjoy this healthy activity out in the fresh air.

Monday, June 08, 2015

Annual Meeting



The Friends of Way Park Annual Meeting will take place on Thursday, June 11th, at 7:00pm, in the Fireside Room at St. John's church.

Please join us to learn more about what's been happening and what's coming up for Way Park.

St. John's Lutheran Church
500 3rd St W, Northfield, MN 55057

Saturday, May 02, 2015

Explore the Outdoors!

Explore the Outdoors

Saturday, May 9th, 1:00-3:00pm

at Northfield's Way Park 


Join us again for the third annual Explore the Outdoors gathering at Way Park.  The Explore the Outdoors event was inspired by a PBS and NRPA initiative to get kids outdoors.  This year we are featuring a ton of events for kids of all ages, including: 
  • kite making 
    • parachute games 
      • volleyball 
        • badminton 
          • bocce ball
        • Kubb
      • ladder toss
        • bean bag tic tac toe 
          • pee wee golf 
            • hula hoops
          • (Viking Chess) 
        • outdoor art
      • music lemonade and MUCH MORE! 
See you in the park between 1:00 and 3:00pm!



Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone that came out to "It's Jazz and Desserts"! We hope that you had a wonderful time and enjoyed the music and desserts.

Thank you for all the amazingly generous donations towards the Kids' Musical Plaza. Your support means everything to the continued success of Way Park.

A special thank you to Dave Hagedorn, Eric Hanson, and Kevin Clemens (and expected guest Bat) for your wonderful performance.

Finally, thank you to those that made and provided desserts, they were delicious!

The sudden change in weather has provided a new level of excitement and anticipation as Way Park has begun to green up.

Looking forward to Spring!











Wednesday, February 25, 2015

It's Jazz and Desserts!



Please join us for the annual Friends of Way Park benefit concert. This year... It's Jazz and Desserts! with Dave Hagedorn on xylophone, Eric Hanson on drums, and Kevin Clemens on bass. 

The concert will begin at 7pm on March 7 at the First UCC, and everyone is welcome to stay afterwards for coffee and desserts.

Come enjoy the music and the treats, and support the dream of an outdoor musical plaza in Way Park.

First UUC is located at 300 Union Street, Northfield, MN 55057

To learn more about the musical plaza ideas, view our previous post, or visit the Freenotes Harmony website (the creators and manufacturers of the instruments).  The image below is a proposed design for the plaza and the layout of the instruments (click the image for a larger version).


Saturday, February 14, 2015

Ideas for an outdoor musical plaza at Way Park


The Friends of Way Park, in collaboration with the Northfield Rotary Club, some local music educators, and the city, is exploring the possibility of an outdoor musical plaza for the park.


The instruments, pictured to the right, are the Contrabass Chimes (tall, on the left), the Swirl (orange, toward the back), the Imbarimba (yellow), the Pegasus (blue) and the Tuned Drums.
Jackson Square Park in Minneapolis
A similar collection of instruments was recently installed in Jackson Square Park in Minneapolis.

You can hear and read about the instruments on the Freenotes website.

The video below, from Freenotes Harmony, shows a musical plaza embedded in a naturally landscaped space.



Frequently Asked Questions

Where will they be?  On the north end of the Park, centered between east and west borders. Our plan is to place them on a small plaza on the south side of the sidewalk that runs below the wall and steps.

How will they sound?  They are tuned to produce harmonious sounds when played together.

Will they disturb the peace?  The company has measured decibel levels. At their loudest (right next to them) they could approximate the level of a lawnmower; 30 feet away, the sound level is that of normal street noise; at 150 feet, the level is that of normal conversation.

Will they survive the winter outdoors?  Yes. They are winter-hardy and have been placed in parks in Utah, Colorado, Alaska and Minnesota.

When will they be installed?  We are working through the process with the City right now. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) has approved moving forward with this project and will host a neighborhood meeting in February or March to answer questions and provide for discussion before further action. Assuming approval, we would hope to have the instruments installed sometime this summer.

Anything else we should know?  On a related subject, we are ordering plantings to screen the west border and northwest corner of the playground. These will form a visual boundary and a natural play-space for little kids, and they should reduce sound for the neighbors.