The Community Center has been increasing its efforts as a venue for weddings and other formal events. This formal garden is part of that push. Recently, interior renovations were aimed at making the building more functional for events.
The Community Center at the Lounsbury House on Main Street will begin building a formal garden complete with floral arbors and a gazebo, suitable for wedding photographs.
The project will cost about $150,000 in donated funds and begin immediately, following approval of a special permit for the work by the Planning and Zoning Commission at Town Hall Annex Tuesday, April 21.
The formal garden should be complete by June.
“It will be a place for significant life events, like weddings, 50th anniversaries, anything special,” said Kerri Glass, a volunteer with the Community Center working on the project. She spoke after the Planning and Zoning meeting.
The garden will also be open for the community to enjoy every day, said Louzette Dovaras, executive director of the Community Center.
“It will be open for the community to come sip their coffee and read the paper,” Dovaras said after the meeting.
The garden will be 50 feet by 60 feet. It will be surrounded by Green Giant hedges.
There will be several arbors, including a patio arbor and a bridal arbor, and a gazebo. A decorative centerpiece will provide a space for gathering.
The plans also show large planters on pillars at each corner of the formal garden.
That’s not all the Community Center has in mind for the garden. Directors will return to the Planning and Zoning Commission in the near future for a special permit to allow amplified music, meaning live musical performances, in the formal garden.