Friday, July 29 — POULTNEY — The Slate Quarry Park Group, Inc. and the town and village of Poultney announced the grand opening of the Slate Quarry Park located at 76 Main Street in Poultney on Friday, July 29, at 5 p.m. A cordial invitation was extended to the public.
Speakers at the grand opening will include Larry Sullivan, co-executive director of the Slate Quarry Park Group; Paul Donaldson, Poultney town and village manager; and Rep. Patricia McCoy, minority leader of the Vermont House of Representatives. Carolyn Stellatella, member artist of Stone Valley Arts, will recite her original poem “Poultney Rises” and a performance by the Hermit Hollow String Band will take place at 6 p.m.
Following a ribbon cutting ceremony there will be a tour of the new park which features slate flooring and seating walls, an amphitheater and three slate monoliths bearing carved plaques. The slate monoliths provide information on the geology of slate and the history of the slate industry in the valley, and include a poem by Wendell Berry.
The remarkable entrance to Slate Quarry Park is graced by a large marker, hand carved by stone artist Kerry Furlani of Poultney, who played a key role in the design of the overall park. The amphitheater floor displays a nautilus shell in slate, a spiral that appears throughout nature from the smallest sea creatures to the great spiral of our galaxy. The park flooring has all the slate colors produced in the region, all of which has been laid out with artistry and great attention to detail.
The Slate Quarry Park brings a meaningful new venue to downtown Poultney, which honors the slate industry on which the region was built, and provides a public place to gather and socialize, attend concerts, plays, poetry readings, etc.
