This actually seems to be either a park within a park or a doubly named park. A large wooden
Blue River Community Park appears near the centre of the park, while a
Eleanor Lake Park sign is further north, at the beach. The town of Blue River offers no explanation, simply listing
Eleanor Lake Park under
Blue River Community Park in their Parks guide. We'll just call it
Blue River Community Park.
The name "
Eleanor Lake Park" is a giveaway that this park is on a lake, which conveniently happens to be within the confines of the town. With lakes, the usual accompaniment is a beach, and Eleanor Lake Park has a nice large sand beach with a beach house on the beach, with changing rooms, showers and restrooms. At the south end of the lake is a ball diamond, then a children's playground to its north, then a long expanse of grassed area with plenty of benches and picnic tables under shade trees. Finally, to the north is the beach and beach house. The beach provides a diving tower, docks, rafts and a slide. A volleyball court, gazebo, playground and fire pits add to the amenities at or near the beach.
Given that this is the only real park in the little town, each Canada Day, after the annual parade, everyone repairs to the park to participate in the rest of the day's activities, which include games, face painting, tug-of-wars, fire hose demonstrations, sand castle building, ice cream and birthday cake and more! Following is an account of the 2015 Canada Day festivities in the park.
Blue River celebrates Canada Day with fun
The parade was small but enthusiastic with the Blue River Volunteer Fire Department leading the way, ending at the park
The Clearwater Times | Jul. 9, 2015
Canada Day in Blue River is always a fun event and this year was no exception, organizers report.
There were just over 100 people at Eleanor Lake Park on the day. The parade was small but enthusiastic with the Blue River Volunteer Fire Department leading the way, ending at the park.
Barb Quinn once again organized the kids and adults for the singing of Oh Canada at noon on the beach.
Birthday cupcakes and ice cream started an eventful afternoon of games, face painting and lots of laughs, culminating in a tug-of-war that got everyone involved.
Benoit Simoneau and his helpers kept a wild tribe of energetic kids entertained all afternoon
The volunteer fire department staged an immensely popular demonstration with their fire hose.
Willow MacDonald and Tamara Salzmann painted faces – young and not so young!!
Heritage Canada provided a $500 grant for the event, while Blue River Powder Packers Snowmobile Club made a $250 donation. Lakes District Management donated sand for the beach and for the sandcastle building contest.
The Oakman family, Blue River Campground, Mike Wiegele Heli-Ski and Blue River Community Association also showed continued support of this event.
North Thompson Communities Foundation provided a grant to help offset the setup costs of a community garden, which was open for people to view during the day. The garden is located next to the Blue River Community Hall.
Skydive Salmon Arm participated in the day for the third year, providing people with a unique and exciting experience.
From the Clearwater Times