Groundbreaking, open house set for Mahoning Valley Pride Garden

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Mahoning Valley Pride Center, 1523 Poland Ave., will have a groundbreaking for its new project, The Mahoning Valley Pride Garden, which will have an AIDS Memorial Tribute and Reflection Area.

The event will be at 3 p.m. Saturday near the center. A reception and open house at the center will follow at 3:30 p.m. Center officials said the garden will add beauty to that part of the city’s South Side.

On the guest list are state Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Canfield, D-33rd; Youngstown Councilman John Swierz, D-7th; and David Betras, Mahoning County Democratic Party chairman. Invitations have been extended to Mayor Jay Williams and state Rep. Robert Hagan of Youngstown, D-60th.

The project is estimated to take about a year to complete with the ground-breaking ceremony officially kicking off the fundraising to support the project, said Terry Esarco, center spokesman.

The first phase is to add the fill dirt and grade the property according to the landscaping plan. Esarco said center members then will begin any masonry work that can be done before winter.

If all goes according to plan, he said, the center will be able to plant in spring 2011 and have a ribbon-cutting ceremony next April or May.

Fundraising will begin in July with applications for grants and seeking donations from the community and business leaders. There also will be commemorative bricks available for purchase that can be inscribed with dedications to friends, families, community leaders and memorials for those who died of AIDS.

Esarco said the center hopes some local landscaping and garden centers would be willing to donate some manpower and/or planting materials.

There will be monthly meetings for the Pride Garden Planning Committee throughout the year, and the community is invited and encouraged to attend meetings and help with one of four committees: design and planting, AIDS memorial tribute/commemorative bricks, fundraising and publicity.

The next planning committee meeting will be at 3 p.m. July 31 at the center.

For more information, e-mail the center at info@mvpridecenter.com, or go to the website, www.mvpridecenter.com