Q&A

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After six years of planning, construction on New England’s first whitewater park is underway on the Winnipesaukee River in Franklin, with the first of three water features expected to be completed in December. The new park also includes a landbased portion, Mill City Park at Franklin Falls, which opened to the public in June. Marty Parichand, founder and executive director of Mill City Park at Franklin Falls, discussed the project, including the park’s features and what makes it unique.

The mills gave Franklin a reason to exist. They were churning out products and [provided] jobs and opportunity for people. … The river drains Lake Winnipesaukee, which is a ton of water … and it drops pretty steeply into downtown, so as a mill town Franklin relied on that river. … When the mills ended, [the town] turned their back on the river [because] it was no longer the economic engine of the town. … What’s interesting about Mill City Park is the juxtaposition between nature and [the mills] that used to be there. … New Hampshire does a really good job with preserving natural beauty — places like the White Mountains and Bear Brook State Park — but in Mill City Park, you have nature taking that site back.

It’s not like a place with water slides or an infinity pool or anything like that. The whitewater features aren’t built for running whitewater rapids; they’re built for playing and surfing inside of the river. Because the water comes down the river from Lake Winnipesaukee, we don’t have to wait for water from other places, so you’ll be able to surf inside the river 365 days a year. … We’ve engineered three different whitewater features: two for people on boogie boards and whitewater kayaks to sit in one location, and [one] that’s a wave feature for people on surfboards.

Mill City Park was based on an idea for a free 13-acre adventure park. It includes a parking lot, about three quarters of a mile of trails and historic viewing spots of [mill] ruins, the trestle bridge, the upside-down covered bridge and the graffiti wall. … We’re still planning to build a bathhouse and a timber-frame pavilion in the upcoming year.

No. There are 300 whitewater parks across the country, but not one in New England.

Marty Parichand. Courtesy photo.

It’s free outdoor recreation, a place where the public can interact with the river. … It’s a fun place to sit down, watch [water sports], play or have lunch. … It gives people [a reason] to come here and [patronize[ the downtown businesses. It’s increasing the value of our town, attracting more businesses [and] developers here. … [The park] isn’t even fully built yet, and there’s already been a positive impact on the community.

I had a good-paying job as an engineer … but I wasn’t around much for my kids, and I was always preoccupied or thinking about work. One day I woke up and realized I wasn’t doing the things in life that I really cared about. I [thought] about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and decided that I wanted to really prioritize having fun while making a positive impact. I love spending time on the water. I’ve been around whitewater since 2000, and I’ve seen how it brings people together. I’ve seen how vibrant towns and cities that have this free outdoor amenity can be. … Now I live in Franklin, and I really wanted to see that in my town.

This year we’re building a pedestrian walkway, an amphitheatre and one of the whitewater features. We’re hoping to have construction on those done in December. — Angie Sykeny