Residents and city officials celebrated the long-awaited reopening of the Tenino Quarry Pool, Saturday, June 22, with Tenino Family Fun Day highlighting the return of a summertime favorite within the region.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon officially celebrated the grand opening of the quarry pool, and Jessica Reeves-Rush, Parks, Art, Recreation and Culture (PARC) specialist for the City of Tenino, said the event has been a “long time coming.”
“So far, everything has been going great today. It seems to be running smoothly. It’s been a little nerve-wracking because we haven’t run the pool in five years, but it seems to be going well,” she said. “Last year, we had our 150th jubilee, and that was supposed to be an over-the-top event, and what I wanted to do was take what felt like the best things that happened at the jubilee and bring them this year to coincide with the grand opening of the quarry pool. It’s very exciting. 2019 was the last season it was open. We have to make a big deal out of that.”
Reeves-Rush added that there are all new lifeguards on duty at the quarry pool, and they’ll be staffed for the summertime season. The pool will be open regularly from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, until Sept. 2. School district residents can pay $4 for admission, while out-of-district residents must pay $6.
The pool grand reopening was just one of the activities enjoyed by residents on Saturday.
“Throughout the day, we’ve had live music going with three acts in total,” she said. “We have lots of activities. The bounce houses and balloon animals have been popular, and people have been eating lunch. All around, I think it’s been a pretty good day.”
The three performances included Guava Jam, Alex Zerbe Professional Zaniac and Backfire Band. In addition to the bounce houses and balloons, other activities included pony rides, a petting zoo, activities in the quarry pool, and food.
“People were clamoring to get in (the quarry pool). We actually had to scoot people back out so we could do the ribbon cutting because, before, people were sneaking in early,” Reeves-Rush said. “People have been really excited to get in there. We’ve had quite a bit of swimmers.”
She said, with people coming and going, the pool hadn’t yet reached maximum capacity, but it’s been close.
Reeves-Rush described herself as being “behind the scenes” for the City of Tenino but added it’s exciting and gratifying to see people enjoying the city’s family fun day event.
“That’s really what I’m in it for — to build healthy activities for people to do in a small town like Tenino. We don’t have movie theaters. We don’t have bowling alleys. So the more that we can do things that are good, old-fashioned, healthy fun — that’s a good thing,” she said. “One of my goals is to facilitate events for kids that create positive core childhood memories about their hometown of Tenino and Tenino City Park. Teaching kids to love the park will help ensure its care as a special place in the future.”
Up next for the City of Tenino, Reeves-Rush said Seattle-to-Portland bicyclists will ride through the city on Saturday, July 13, and potentially Sunday, July 14. Following the conclusion of the annual ride, Tenino will host Oregon Trail Days on July 26-28. The event is annually coordinated by the Tenino Area Chamber of Commerce and partners with a number of local organizations. The festival in 2024 will feature the Pioneer Village at the Depot Museum with 40 different hands-on activities for families to enjoy.
On Sunday, Aug. 18, Reeves-Rush said the Quarrymen Car Show and Motorcycle Swap Meet will occur at Tenino City Park. According to the organization’s website, the event will begin at 7:30 a.m. and conclude at 3:30 p.m.
Finally, on Saturday, Sept. 21, Tenino will host its Railroad Day and Heritage Fair at Tenino Park, Reeves-Rush said.
“So far, we have a lot of cool historical groups that are going to come,” she said. “There’s going to be some reenactments and different things like that. There will also be food trucks — the whole nine yards.”
