Jefferson County Park to unveil amphitheater Saturday

FAIRFIELD — Jefferson County Park in Fairfield will hold a grand opening for its new Camp Kyle Amphitheater Saturday night.

The free event will run from 5:30-7 p.m. and include s’mores, a scavenger hunt and campfire songs.

The Camp Kyle Amphitheater is located behind the Jefferson County Nature Center, and includes rows of benches around a fire pit. Jefferson County Naturalist Brittney Tiller said conservation officials have always wanted a space to hold outdoor programs, and that desire grew stronger during the pandemic when it wasn’t safe to meet inside.

“It’s safer to keep everybody outside and around nature,” Tiller said.

Tiller said the conservation’s maintenance department, and especially Bob Leazer, spearheaded the project to create an amphitheater for outdoor educational programs. The funds came from surplus money from Camp Kyle, a memorial program to honor Kyle Longerbeam.

Longerbeam was a Fairfield resident whose goal in life was to move to Alaska to be a pilot and hunting guide. He lived in Alaska for about five years, and died in a plane crash. His family and the conservation board created a camp in his honor to encourage children to partake in outdoor activities. Camp Kyle is now an annual summer program that just completed its third year.