By 1808Delaware
There’s a new landmark on West William Street, and it doesn’t look like anything else in Delaware.
This week, Mayor Carolyn Kay Riggle, City Manager Paul Brake, Boardman Arts Park Executive Director Roxanne Amidon and a crowd of supporters cut the ribbon on the Whimsy Stage Canopy. The resin-and-steel structure rises from the park’s festival field like something out of a storybook, its colorful canopy catching the light. The stage is the centerpiece of the park’s “Whimsy Venue,” a plan to turn its 2-acre festival field into a one-of-a-kind destination for concerts, theater and community celebrations.
A stage that grows out of the ground
The stage was designed by artist Tony Ball of Tork Collaborative Arts. His concept is a towering, organic form that appears to sprout from the earth, crowned with a canopy of colorful steel and iridescent resin. It is built to work as hard as it looks. The park lists the stage at roughly 58 by 38 feet, big enough for full bands, a symphony orchestra, dance troupes, theater, comedy and outdoor movie screenings.
The stage has already earned its keep. This summer it hosted Symphony @ Whimsy with the Central Ohio Symphony on Aug. 8 and open-air theater from Arena Fair Theatre on Aug. 22.
From unused lot to outdoor gallery
Boardman Arts Park began in 2017 as a volunteer effort to reclaim an unused green space. Today the 2.2-acre park is an outdoor art gallery with walking paths, benches and sculptures, drawing about 28,000 visitors a year.
The Whimsy Venue took years of groundwork. A 2023 grant from the Delaware County Board of Commissioners funded the stage’s design. In 2024, state Sen. Andrew Brenner announced $1 million for the project from Ohio’s One-Time Strategic Community Investment Fund. The first visible changes arrived in summer 2025: an artistic wrought iron fence replacing the old chain link, ornate gates, a community-made mosaic entrance off William Street, added parking and new paths. The stage canopy completes that first phase.
Next up, a glass house
The park isn’t finished dreaming. Its next goal is the Kaleidoscope Glass House, a year-round event space with a glass roof, turrets, a gingerbread facade and colorful glass doors. Plans call for a caterer’s kitchen, a bar, a dance floor, and seating for 150 inside and 150 more on the patio.
The park is running a $2.65 million capital campaign to complete all three parts of the Whimsy Venue. Supporters can also buy an engraved brick for “Whimsy Lane” on the grounds. The Delaware County Convention & Visitors Bureau estimates the finished venue could bring $7.5 million a year into the local economy.
See it for yourself. Boardman Arts Park is at 154 W. William St. in Delaware and is open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Its annual Ghost Walk tours return Saturday, Oct. 10. Details and donation options are at boardmanartspark.org.
Photo: City of Delaware
