Hearing all the giggles and seeing all the playful smiles as children and families splashed around in Vernon's new Peanut Pool, made it worth it for city officials to swallow the $4.77 million price tag.

The new Lakeview Wading Peanut Pool and Spray Park officially opened with a special ribbon cutting Thursday, July 11.

With the sun beaming down, officials gathered while kids cooled off in the East Hill amenity, which replaces the original Peanut Pool built in 1958.

Marnie and Bobbe Mackenzie were just kids when it was built and recall their dad signed the note for the Vernon Lions Club to build the original pool.

"There had been suggestions about building a pool here, mainly for the kids who couldn't make it out to Kal Lake. So the Vernon Lions Club got really involved in it," said Bobbe, whose dad was the charter president of the club in 1945.

That support came full circle to 2024, as the club donated more than $14,000 for a wheelchair and transfer lift at the new pool.

Nine-year-old Olive Stitt got to test out the wheelchair Thursday thanks to the accessibility design of the pool.

Born with Rett syndrome, Olive's mobility is severely impaired. But she was all smiles as her dad Michael wheeled her into the pool. 

Having worked on the project as a construction supervisor, Michael also wore a grin to see his daughter be able to access the water.

Even Vernon mayor Victor Cumming was ready to take a dip, showing up with his shorts, beach towel, flippers and goggles.

"We have retained the spirit of the original 'peanut' pool and introduced features that cater to today's needs," said Cumming. "These enhancements reflect the community's input and modern accessibility standards while preserving the nostalgic essence of the original pool."

Sarah Cockburn grew up in Vernon and loved the old Peanut Pool and was sad to see it go, but likes the bigger, more accessible place to cool off for all.

"It's nice there is a pool. We don't even have an outdoor pool in Victoria," said Cockburn, who now lives on Vancouver Island.

Bringing her one-year-old twins back to the park was nostalgic as they played around in the new splash park.

While the pool came in over budget, funds were received from groups such as the Lions, as well as Vernon Minor Baseball - for a storage room door to access equipment for the diamonds in the park.

Federal and provincial contributions of $1.8 million were made, Vernon contributed $2.8 million with $1.7 coming from the Recreation Services Reserve Fund, supported by $340,055 from Coldstream and $125,284 each from Areas B and C.

The project was more than $1 million over budget, partially due to significant upgrades required.

"Not everyone can afford a pool in their backyard," said North Okanagan-Shuswap MP Mel Arnold. "This is the pool in the backyard for those who can't afford one at their home."