The Dreamcatcher Playground was built with specialneeds children in mind. But the park is appropriate—and entertaining—for children of all ability levels.

After five years of fundraising and several months of construction, the Conejo Recreation and Park District dedicated the newly expanded playground Sept. 20 in a special ceremony at Old Meadows Park in Thousand Oaks. As youngsters played the chimes, spun on the merry-goround and rocked on the bench swing a few yards behind the podium, it was clear the ribboncutting was merely a formality.

A $7-million park in the Lang Ranch area of the city is ready to break ground.

The Conejo Recreation and Park District board of directors voted 5-0 at its Sept. 14 meeting to award the contract for building Sapwi Trails Community Park to the Pasadena-based construction firm Access Pacific.

The Conejo Recreation and Park District’s final Summer Concert in the Park of the season will feature Melvin Seals and JGB (Jerry Garcia Band) at 5 p.m. Mon., Sept. 4 at the Conejo Community Park amphitheater, 1175 Hendrix Ave., Thousand Oaks.

The free Labor Day show is sponsored by the Thousand Oaks Acorn.

The Conejo Recreation and Park District has pledged $11.4 million toward improving local parks in the next year.

Approved in June, CRPD’s capital improvement budget for fiscal year 2017-18 includes funds for several different projects, most notably, Sapwi Trails, the final community park remaining in the district’s master plan. A separate $21.6-million operating budget was also approved in June.