A re-dedication ceremony is being held to celebrate improvements made at DePina Landing at the 29 River Road site at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14. (Photo Courtesy Buzzards Bay Coalition)
MARION — Town Administrator Geoffrey Gorman is pleased to share that the Town of Marion, the Department of Public Works, the Marion Historical Commission, the Council on Aging, and the Friends of Marion Recreation are holding a re-dedication ceremony for DePina Landing at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14, to celebrate improvements made at the public park and kayak launch site during a revitalization project this summer.
The re-dedication ceremony at the 29 River Road site is the culmination of planning by the Marion Historical Commission over the past two years and on-site work throughout this summer by the Department of Public Works, including the installation of three new benches, two picnic tables, signage, and a memorial garden.
The riverfront property, owned by the town, was also cleaned out this summer and last year in preparation for the new installations.
The revitalization of DePina Landing, a popular launch site on the Sippican River, is a $5,000 project being funded by the Friends of Marion Recreation.
In addition, the project will bring a dogwood tree and a historic plaque to DePina Landing, to be placed on a large rock at the site as part of the new memorial garden. The plaque, which dates back to the 1950s, was previously located at the site of the Marion Harbormaster Building. The plaque and tree are dedicated to Mary DePina and her husband John DePina, a Cape Verdean community leader and businessman from Marion, who donated the riverfront property to the Town in 1953.
Originally, the one-acre property was known as DePina Beach, where local kids once took swimming lessons. More recently, it has been used as a kayak launch and public park, becoming known as DePina Landing.
A sign describing the history of the site is being installed at DePina Landing with funds provided by the Friends of Marion Recreation.
The plans to revitalize DePina Landing resulted from a series of public forums at the Marion Council on Aging, where members of the Cape Verdean community reminisced about their childhood memories of the park as the focal point of their summertime recreational activities. The Marion Historical Commission then assembled a large group of town residents and members of the DePina family at the riverside park in August 2023 to consider the past and future of the site, leading to a push to revitalize the property.
After that, the Marion Historical Commission and the Marion Department of Public Works joined forces to upgrade the DePina Landing, leading up to the improvement project undertaken this summer and the Aug. 14 re-dedication ceremony.
“Before all of this, not many people knew that this park existed, except for some from the Cape Verdean community. They knew about it, but haven’t used it much lately,” said Meg Steinberg, chairperson of the Marion Historical Commission. “When we held our forums at the Council on Aging, we had community members share stories of being little kids who ran down to this swimming hole once their morning chores were done, getting swim lessons and hanging out on the dock. It was like a summer camp atmosphere for kids. Now, we’ve revitalized DePina Landing, bringing it back so everyone in the Town of Marion can enjoy this amazing community resource.”
“We look forward to our re-dedication ceremony for DePina Landing, to celebrate an amazing revitalization and all the hard work that’s been done to bring it back to its former glory,” said Town Administrator Gorman. “This has been a great community effort, bringing together so many Marion residents to help make this possible. DePina Landing will now continue be a great resource for the town, as a cherished, shared space for community building and recreation.”
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DePina Landing is a popular launch site on the Sippican River, providing a convenient place for kayakers to keep their vessels. (Photo Courtesy Town of Marion)
The re-dedication of DePina Landing is being held at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14, at the 29 River Road site. The re-dedication is the culmination of planning by the Marion Historical Commission over the past two years and on-site work throughout this summer by the Department of Public Works. (Photo Courtesy Town of Marion)
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