The "Little Swimmers Play Land" will be dedicated at the Lehighton municipal swimming pool at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Mark Hoffman, president of Lehighton Area Pool Pals, said the newest addition to the pool is a play land for the younger patrons to use when they want to do something other than enjoy the water.Funding for the play land was made possible through a matching grant provided by Horsehead Community Development Fund Inc. and matched by the Pool Pals.Hoffman said the group's mission is to try to give the pool something "fresh" to enjoy every season."The play land is this year's addition and is something that will be enjoyed for many years to come," he said.Hoffman said he is thankful for the grant supplied by Horsehead, adding that Horsehead was also instrumental in helping the Pool Pals generate enough money to put up the large, colorful umbrella within the kiddie pool area that provides shade.The Pool Pals were organized in 2006, and their success in raising over $135,000 hinged not only on finding creative ways to raise funds, but to also find ways to work with other groups within the community to help with their fundraising efforts.Hoffman said the partnership they have with Horsehead "is another perfect example of the 'working together' success the Pool Pals have enjoyed.""Purchasing the play land was step one, assembling it was step two, and continuing down the path of 'people helping people,' Declan Behan from Jim Thorpe stepped forward and offered to assemble the play land at no cost to the Pool Pals as part of his Eagle Scout project."This assembly took Declan many days to complete.One other item to be officially named on Saturday will be the huge blue slide at the 4-foot section of the pool. The slide is going to be officially named "The Skipper Dipper" in honor of Pool Pals founding member Skip (Lawrence) Conarty.Conarty, known throughout the community as "Skip," was comically known within the Pool Pal community as "the best hot dog salesman ever," Hoffman said.The Pool Pals president said, "Skip would not hesitate to put on his famous hot dog hat and bring out his antique washboard to bring the crowd in to buy hot dogs or whatever else the Pool Pals were selling. Skip was also a lifelong member of the Lehighton Fire Company and was instrumental in getting the fire company to contribute their time and resources toward the pool's fundraising efforts."The next event the Pool Pals will be hosting is the popular Family Fun Night scheduled for 6-10 p.m. July 19 at the pool. The night will have fun and games for both adults and children, culminating with a goldfish scramble."The joy and excitement exhibited by the children trying to catch a goldfish is priceless," said Diane Hoffman, a Pool Pal member.For more information about Family Fun Night, call Diane Hoffman at 610-377-5275.