(WOODLAND PARK, Colo.) — A long-running community garden in Woodland Park will reopen in a new location on Thursday, Sept. 11, with a garden party.

The event, “In Full Bloom: A Garden Celebration,” will feature garden tours, food tastings, kid-friendly activities, and the chance to see firsthand how this new, expanded community space is supporting food access, sustainability, and connection right in the heart of Woodland Park.

Guests will be able to tour themed garden beds, sample fresh garden-to-table foods, and enjoy family-friendly activities such as painting a rock for Jake the Rock Snake, going on a garden scavenger hunt, and Q&A with a Master Gardener.

The event is organized by Community Partnership Family Resource Center (CP), and will be held from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. at Woodland Park City Hall – 220 W. South Avenue.

“This new location marks an exciting new chapter for our garden program,” said Jodi Mijares, President & CEO of CP. “It’s more than just plants, it’s about people, families, and community growth in every sense of the word. We are incredibly grateful to the City of Woodland Park and our partners for helping us create a visible, accessible, and welcoming space right in the heart of town.”

CP’s Community Garden began in 2012 with a vision shared by the late Lee Willoughby, a dedicated advocate for sustainability and community engagement. With Lee’s leadership, CP established its first raised garden beds at The Little Chapel in the Hills in Divide, Colorado. In 2015 expanding additional garden beds to the “Garden Above the Clouds” at Woodland Park Community Church. Over the years, CP’s Community Garden sites have provided fresh produce to families and local food pantries while teaching the community how to thrive in a high-altitude growing environment.

During the past ten years at Woodland Park Community Church (WPCC), CP relocated all the garden beds from earlier sites and gradually added 10 more, growing to a total of 27 garden beds. As the program flourished, CP eventually outgrew both the space and its capacity to expand further.

The garden includes 35 new galvanized steel garden beds, a greenhouse, themed gardens, pollinator plantings, demonstration gardens, interactive sensory gardens, and a dedicated food pantry garden bed.

“Community gardens are more than beautiful green spaces,” Mijares added. “They build social connections, promote food security, provide hands-on education, and foster wellness. And this is just the beginning, we envision the garden as a hub for sustainability, education, and connection for years to come.”