SPENCER — It took a bit of luck, but the Spencer Town Park opened up on Saturday for a concert and just in time for the N.C. Transportation Museum’s fireworks show.

“This has been in the works for many years. It’s one that I really think our community, at least the many people that have lived here for many years, have wanted to see a park here ever since the last one was torn down. It’s just exciting to be able to bring that dream into a reality,” said Spencer Mayor Jonathan Williams.

The park is a revival of a previous space the town had in the same location. That park served as a place for people in town and working at the Southern Railway station across the street to gather, relax and enjoy as a community.

The new park brings that relationship into the modern era, with town and state officials saying the connection between the park and the nearby N.C. Transportation Museum played a big part in greenlighting the project and its subsequent planning.

“We had the belief that people were coming to the museum, they have 170,000 visitors a year, and they were not engaging with downtown and we needed that visual connection between the downtown and the museum. That’s why with our first event we’re partnering with them on their fireworks that they’re having tonight and our opening and we’re hoping this will be an ongoing collaboration,” said Joe Morris, special projects coordinator for Spencer.

As part of the “soft opening” of the town park, the town held a Motel Soap concert throughout the afternoon on Saturday, which led into the museum’s annual “Fireworks Over Historic Spencer Shops,” which included the fireworks display at 9:30 p.m.

“That collaboration (with the museum), that fundamentally is the bread and butter for Spencer. We’ve lost our industrial base, so we’re pivoting to a tourism economy (for our downtown), and this is just the beginning of that new era. We’re thrilled to have that partnership, and with the state of North Carolina Department of Commerce, the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, no one has told us no. Everybody has been supportive of this effort” said Morris.

Liz Parham from the N.C. Main Street and Rural Planning Center stopped by to see the opening of the park and said that her department was thrilled to be able to support the town through multiple grants.

“It’s just a great project for the heart and the center of the downtown district. All downtowns need something like this, in Salisbury you see that great park (the Bell Tower Green) and the utilization. This may be a smaller scale, but it’s equally as important,” said Parham.

The soft opening had a few hitches, with a storm coming through for part of the day and the brand new turf not being able to support people walking and sitting on it throughout the evening. However, the event was still well-attended, with dozens of Spencer residents stopping by to see the new town amenity.

The town plans to officially open the park with a formal dedication ceremony, likely in the fall.