St. Tammany News

KaBOOM!, playground builder extraordinaire which recently held a build in Lacombe, is hosting a free seminar at the Marriott Convention Center in New Orleans to offer insight to community members on successfully building playgrounds.

Located at 859 Convention Center Blvd., the function is part of KaBOOM!’s We Play! series that provides instructional seminars throughout the U.S. to give community members guidance on proven methods for building playgrounds. “Anyone who has an interest in building a playground, whether it’s for your kids or a park, is welcome,” Mike Vietti with KaBOOM! said.

The seminar is July 25 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will feature a light breakfast and lunch.

“We’re hopeful we can get not only people from just the New Orleans area but others from across this region,” Vietti said.

He also said they have space for 70 more people to attend and walk-ins are welcome, but he encourages everyone to visit www.kaboom.org/weplay and register for the event to guarantee a reserved seat.

The national nonprofit organization, founded in 1995, is dedicated to providing playgrounds for children across the country through their Operation Playground program, which is an ongoing initiative to build 100 playgrounds in the Gulf Coast areas affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

So far the group has helped construct nearly 50 play structures across the state, five of which have been built in St. Tammany, with the latest occurring at Bayou Lacombe Middle School last month. The organization has plans to build playground number 100 in Bay St. Louis, Miss., later this month. The organization will continue its building efforts in the region indefinitely, Vietti said.