CENTENARY celebrations will get under way on Friday to mark 100 years since Coventry’s much-loved War Memorial Park was officially opened.
Although events will be limited due to Covid, The Friends of the Park will still be marking the milestone with some fitting tributes to the park, the Coventrians it commemorates and to all of the people who use it now.
The group has been planning for the birthday since 2019 and several of the projects are now ready to launch in time for the start of the centenary year.
Friends vice-chair Trevor Cornfoot said: “We’re proud to play our part in celebrating the park’s 100th birthday.
“We can’t welcome crowds as we’d hoped, but we can celebrate a fantastic asset for the city at the start of what will be a memorable centenary year.
“As restrictions ease, there will be lots more to come.”
Over the weekend, the Friends of the Park will display 53 stories of the fallen, on the trees which commemorate them.
They have produced a map and printed guide to the historical trail and created a new community sensory garden.
Working with Coventry Resource Centre for the Blind, the Samaritans, Grapevine and volunteers, the new corner of the park is wheelchair-accessible, and full of plants to stimulate all the senses.
It is a community project with a variety of people involved in planting and maintaining it.
The Friends are also launching the first phase of the new audio Bench Tour, which gives visitors the chance to hear the human stories behind some of the memorial benches – recorded by the families who dedicated them.
Throughout the weekend, members of the Friends group will also be in the park to help guide visitors around the projects.
Visit www.fwmpcoventry.org.uk to find out more.
