A celebration will be held this Sunday in South Haven to mark the completion of the new wintertime gathering place in Dyckman Park.

The gathering place features an outdoor fireplace that’s been in the works for about three years. SHOUT for South Haven’s Bob Copping tells us it took a combination of SHOUT funds, city-obtained grants, and public support to make the fireplace possible.

“We have about $115,000 in it and we’ve had contributors, over 100 contributors, from Florida to the east coast to, of course, South Haven,” Copping said.

SHOUT contributed $25,000, the city got $50,000 in grants, donors made the rest of the project possible.

Copping says the fireplace will give people a place to congregate as a community.

“It’s a delight. It’s for a lot of people. A safe, warm gathering place in the winter.”

The fireplace has been operational for a few weeks, but its official celebration will be Sunday at 2 p.m. during the South Haven Ice Breaker Festival. Everyone’s invited to stop by for some hot cocoa. The event will include a ribbon cutting.