By JENNIFER PETERSON

Special to The Gazette

Stevens Point is known for its appreciation of diversity and cultural differences. The community has really begun to shrink its world through its outreach efforts, and Monday, May 1, that world will get a little bit smaller.

The Rotary Club of Stevens Point is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a dedication event that will recognize the future location of the Cultural Commons gardens and educational space. The celebration will take place at noon in Pfiffner Pioneer Park, 1100 Crosby Ave., Stevens Point. Light refreshments and desserts will be served immediately following at the Smith Scarabocchio Art Museum, and the public is welcome to attend.

The Cultural Commons is a project that members of the Rotary Club of Stevens Point, the Russian Sister City Project, the Polish Sister City Project and the Nicaragua Partner City have collaborated on to celebrate Stevens Point as a member of the global community.

Susan Burns Zach, co-chair of the Russian Sister City Project, said the park is a way to celebrate Stevens Point’s ties with communities around the world.

“It really does put a face on Stevens Point that says, ‘We’re a part of a wider world,’” Zach said.

The four organizations plan to create the Cultural Commons in Pfiffner Park, just north of the lagoon and the Riverfront Art Gallery and south of the band shell. It is intended to serve as a garden and an educational green space for members of the community to come learn, reflect and relax.

Sara Brish, executive director of the Stevens Point Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and Publicity Chair for the Rotary Club of Stevens Point, said there is a reason they chose Pfiffner Pioneer Park as the location for the Cultural Commons.

“It’s a significant area because it’s where Stevens Point began, so it really ties into the history part of the community, but it also celebrates our connection with other communities around the world,” Brish said.

Within the Cultural Commons, the three sister cities to Stevens Point, Rostov Veliky in Russia, Gulcz in Poland, and Esteli in Nicaragua, will be represented through key geographical features within the park. The gardens will be split into thirds, with each one-third dedicated to representing the culture and physical environment of each city.

The project will be separated into three building stages, with Phase 1 focused on creating the gardens, which will display the plantings and features conducive to their respective cities.

Phase 2 will focus on developing an outdoor classroom for teachers, local historians and community members to use as a gathering space. Phase 3 will bring a labyrinth for visitors to stroll through and reflect and will bring kiosks and more sculptures to the gardens. Both phases 2 and 3 will be developed as the project continues to receive more funds and be tailored accordingly.

The section of the park dedicated to Nicaragua will display a stone sculpture created by Alberto Gutiérrez Jirón, 76, a hermit who has been carving figures into the cliffs of his family’s coffee farm in the Tisey Natural Reserve outside Esteli, Nicaragua, for more than 30 years.

Amy Wiza, executive director of the Wisconsin Nicaragua Partners and member of Esteli Partner City in Stevens Point, was a member of the group that received the sculpture from the Nicaraguan artist.

“He has a beautiful little paradise in the mountains,” Wiza said. “My first thought was, ‘how can we bring a piece of this to Stevens Point?’”

Wiza said that she and Dennis Tlachac, another member of Esteli Partner City, along with two Esteli firefighters and a travel guide, were visiting the artist in his secluded home in the Nicaraguan mountains when he offered them the stone sculpture. It was too heavy for only one person to carry, so Tlachac and the two firefighters ended up cutting down a thin tree, suspending the stone from the center of the trunk with rescue rope, and balancing the ends of the trunk on their shoulders to carry the stone down the mountainside.

It took eight months to ship the heavy sculpture from Nicaragua, and Wiza is excited to have it ready to place in the rock gardens of the Nicaraguan section of the park.

“Just being that it came from a gentleman that resided his whole life in Esteli, just having a little piece of that in Stevens Point,” Wiza said. “The whole idea of the park is to give people a little piece of other places.”

The Cultural Commons project is collaborating with the city of Stevens Point but relies solely on donations for its funding. Currently, the project has reached 70 percent of its goal for Phase 1. As it continues to receive funds, the project will begin work on Phases 2 and 3.

“It’s a real community effort,” Wiza said. “When I think of Green Circle Trail and KASH, these are enhancement to the Stevens Point community that came about because people in Stevens Point made it happen. We are privileged to witness such miracles that can happen when people truly come together for the good of others.”

Anyone wishing to donate to the Cultural Commons project has the options of contributing by check or by credit card. Donors can also purchase benches and pavers to commemorate a special person or recognize an influential business. Directions for how to contribute using each donation option can be found on the support page of the project’s website at www.spculturalcommons.com.