News Flash

Citizens are invited to attend a ribbon cutting at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 15 to celebrate the completion of Merschel Park at the corner of Fourth and Trade streets.

The park is named in honor of the late Wanda Merschel, who represented the Northwest Ward for 16 years on the City Council and was a supporter of downtown revitalization. The budget of $5.23 million for the park included bonds that voters approved in 2014 and $300,000 from the Millennium Fund for the sculptures.

The Winston-Salem City Council renamed Civic Plaza in Merschel’s honor upon her retirement from public office in 2013. Merschel asked at the time that the park honor all women.

Merschel had a fondness for kinetic sculptures, which are incorporated into the park. “Balancing Act,” the larger of the two pieces is dedicated to the women who find imaginative ways to balance their lives. The 16 spheres represent Merschel’s years of service on the city council, said Lyman Whitaker, who created the sculptures.

“The glint of the spheres gives tribute to Wanda as a tenacious, creative force who focused on the sparkle in her life,” Whitaker said.

The smaller “Ring Around the Rosie” sculpture is inspired by the nearby Kaleideum Downtown, which engages children and the community through play. The large central sphere represents a mother and the smaller pieces surrounding that represent six children.