Jimi Hendrix Park Grand Opening Saturday Features Music, Maybe Some Purple Haze

SEATTLE, WA - After years of planning and fundraising, the revamped Jimi Hendrix Park in Seattle will hold a grand opening ceremony on Saturday. The park was officially named after Hendrix in 2006, but, until recently, the space was largely just an open field. A group of community members had a different vision for the park - one that's more in tune with Hendrix' style.

The park features a walkway fashioned in the style of the neck of a Fender Stratocaster, the guitar Hendrix was known for playing (and, occasionally, lighting on fire). All along the pathway, you'll be able to read Hendrix lyrics and facts about his life. In the center of the park is a shelter - which was also the last piece of the park to be built - that can be used for performances.

Construction on the redevelopment got underway in spring 2015, and the Friends of Jimi Hendrix Park and the Jimi Hendrix Park Foundation raised over $2 million to fund it, including $100,000 from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. The Parks and Green Spaces Opportunity Fund gave $500,000 toward the project.

The completion of Jimi Hendrix Park also adds an important link in a number of institutions and parks in a historically black section of Seattle. The park is adjacent to the Northwest African American Museum, is just a few blocks north of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial park, and is near where Hendrix grew up in Seattle. The park is also an important link in a greenbelt - that will one day include a light rail station - stretching from Lake Washington to the north end of Beacon Hill.

The grand opening ceremony begins at noon at the park, 2400 South Massachusetts St. The event will be hosted by Michael "Wanz" Wansley, of "Thrift Shop" fame, and will feature performances from local bands The Hollars, Ayron Jones, Grace Love, Peace And Red Velvet, Henry Cooper, and School of Rock.

For more on the grand opening, view the event poster here.

Image via City of Seattle