COLUMBIANA, Ohio (WKBN) – Members of the Columbiana community are coming together to help the Restoration and Beautification Committee raise funds to help build a dog park at The Harvey S. Firestone Recreational Park.

“It’s a project I believe in,” Councilman Richard McBane said. “I’ve lived in a lot of different places that have dog parks, gone to a lot of different dog parks around the country, and I consider them a fairly valuable asset to the community.”

McBane said the parks are important because it brings people and communities together over a common love of dogs. To spearhead this effort, he’s offering to match up to $20,000 in the month of April for the park.

The location will be next to the pond behind the baseball field. Individuals can follow the walking path on the first-base side of the field and they will run right into the park.

The park will sit on one acre. It will be fenced in with separate runs for small and large dogs. There will also be benches, water stations, waste stations/dog depots and shade trees.

“This is just another addition to the great things the community is putting into the park,” said Greg Snyder, of Birdfish Brewing Co. “It’d be nice when you’re on your walk to just unleash and let them have it.”

Snyder said Birdfish is a dog-friendly spot, and to help the cause, they’re holding a couple of fundraisers with proceeds going toward the park. The first is Saturday and will feature Indian cuisine, the Frytanic food truck and Lamp Post Farms providing food. The brewery will also be giving $1 from every pint sold of their Park IPA toward the dog park.

On June 12, they’re collaborating with Blue Ribbon Chiropractic down the street from them. Owner Dr. Lisa Braden will be offering adjustments to humans and dogs, while Birdfish serves up their collaboration imperial stout called, “What’s Crackin’.” They will also have a dog show that day with anyone who brings their dog and signs up. All of the proceeds from that event will go toward the dog park.

“I feel that the dog park is very important. It’s going to let the people of Columbiana bring their four-legged friends and family to the park and be able to play and exercise. We want our dogs to be healthy just like we are…they’re an extension of the family now, so why not be able to give our four-legged friends somewhere to exercise if maybe they don’t have a backyard they can play in?” Braden said.

On October 9, the first Craft Beerfest will be going on to raise money for the dog park. It will feature local breweries, bands and will be held at TownCenter at Firestone Farms. All of the proceeds this year will go to the dog park.

“An addition of a dog park will just add to everything that’s there [The Harvey S. Firestone Recreational Park]. Everyone has dogs now. You see people walking their dogs all the time in the park. It’d be nice to let a dog unleash and let it run a little. We’re all for it,” Sean Zentner, a committee member for the dog park and Beerfest said.

In the future, they hope to host the Beerfest yearly and plan to give the proceeds to the park for anything it needs.

The Restoration and Beautification Committee’s goal is to raise $80,000, and Zentner said they want to break ground this summer. A completion date hasn’t been set yet.

“The support’s been really, really good. We’re getting Birdfish plus the other breweries involved behind this fundraising effort, so we’d like to get as many participants, as many people as possible to come enjoy the beerfest and benefit the dog park for this year,” Scott Hrivnak, co-chair of the Beerfest committee, said.

To donate, individuals can go to Restore Columbiana’s website and click on the dog park tab.