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Read the press release here.

Chopin Park Playground Opens After Renovation

By Heather Cherone | November 20, 2014 5:27am
  Chopin Park got a new playground as part of the Chicago Plays program.
Chopin Park Opens
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PORTAGE PARK — With temperatures set to rise this weekend, Portage Park kids will have a new playground to explore at Chopin Park before the winter chill returns.

Chicago Park District officials, joined by Amy Rule, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's wife, celebrated the opening of Chopin Park playground Tuesday, which was renovated through the Chicago Park District's Chicago Plays program.

“The mayor is investing in playgrounds in neighborhoods across the City because they are important community places that provide children, families and neighbors with safe spaces to gather and play,” Rule said in a statement. “These refurbished playgrounds will serve as community hubs for years to come.”

Chopin Park, 3420 N. Long Ave., features a blue, green, yellow and maroon main play structure with two slides, a bridge, ladders and activity centers.

The existing swing set will remain, with new seats, and the size of the playground will remain the same.

The playground also features a Saddle Spinner, which allows kids to use their weight to spin themselves around, a stand-up seesaw and a Double Bobble Rider, which allows tots to rock in all directions.

Members of the Chopin Park Advisory Council said they hope improvements to the park would "snowball" and benefit the entire neighborhood by encouraging families to get more involved in nearby institutions such as Rineberg Elementary School.

Chicago Plays!, which is a program administered by Friends of the Parks, plans to renovate 325 playgrounds throughout the city over the next five years.

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