About the Pocket Park
ABOUT THE POCKET PARK
The Pocket Park is a gem for those needing a quiet moment in a stressful day. The design of the Park is based on three roundels connected by a serpentine path. At the entrance, the first roundel is a large circular graphic, the 'Ripple', in hand-painted stained-concrete. Leading onward past a circular rain garden, the path incorporates a children's hopscotch court to inspire some old-school play. The path then leads to a labyrinth, created in the pavement with glass mosaic. Our labyrinth is based on an ancient seed design; a meditative walk along its spiraling path brings you to a circular bench at its heart.
The seven curved benches and dozen or so boulders do more than provide seating--they are designed and located to encourage conversation and to allow small groups to use the Pocket Park for meeting. The boulders will be engraved with words of welcome, in English and in other tongues currently spoken as first languages by children in Maple Valley's Tahoma School District. The 'Ripple" graphic invites meditation on the theme of the individual's effect on the community: The three benches located near the center of the 'Ripple' will each bear one section of the motto "From each small act...the ripples spread...ever outward".
The small stage at the far end of the Park is designed for lunchtime or summer evening concerts, poetry readings, etc. Maple Valley has a thriving music community, with local performances already occurring at the Maple Valley Creative Arts Center and other community locales. This new venue will give more opportunities to local performers and will increase their audience by luring in shoppers who will stop to listen. A public artwork in its own right, the Park will also include brightly-colored children's mosaics in the hopscotch court and in game boards built into the benches.