It was the perfect spot for Daniela’s fourth birthday.
Blue Lakes Park, 4251 SW 92 Ave., with its new improvements was just the right place for the Ortiz and Suarez families and their youngsters to celebrate the Kendall tot’s big day — all with an Oriental flair.
“We love it with all the things they’ve done to make the park better,” said Paola Ortiz, Daniela’s mother, laying out a spread of Chinese goodies in the Blue Lakes picnic shelter for her daughter’s June 11 party.
Arriving with the finishing touch for her granddaughter’s birthday was Carmen Tondolo, displaying a birthday cake on tables decorated with Daniela’s favorite Chinese comic character, Kai Lau, the Nick Jr. cartoon character.
Surrounded by paper dragons, Daniela’s birthday menu featured fried rice, white rice, honey garlic and sweet and sour chicken plus macaroni and cheese with dinosaur chicken nuggets “for the children who didn’t like Chinese food,” explained Lesley Suarez. “We added fortune cookies to go with the birthday cake.”
Such celebrations are expected to be on the increase with new park improvements, including 12 new parking spaces that double the park’s former capacity, repave its surface and install new drainage at a total project cost of $213,000.
The new improvements were completed in June with funding from the Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond Issue Grant and the Quality Neighborhood Improvement Program, largely to reduce flooding during heavy rains.
The six-acre neighborhood park provides a shaded playground area, baseball field, tennis and basketball courts, and bench seating under shady live oaks for reading a book or simply enjoying a breath of the outdoors.
Commissioner Javier D. Souto led the effort to expand and improve Blue Lakes Park for its Bird Road area neighborhood recreation, including a perfect birthday place for your child.
