Set up came from estate donation

The latest additions along the trail along Mill Pond is hitting the right note.

The city of Austin added large park instruments — two metallophones, three drums and the Grandioso, which features 15 chimes — to the trail along Horace Austin Park. Austin Parks and Rec Director Kim Underwood said they’ve already proved popular with people around town.

“It’s just fun and different and adds to that whole play area and just walking down the path if you stop and play a little tune and walk on,” she said.

Underwood found the instruments through a Flagship Recreation catalog, and Austin officials had previously toured the company’s Minnesota plant.

The instruments were added through an estate donation gifted by Lydia Lein, which aimed to add fun additions to the park. Those donations will also replace some of the signs around Mill Pond, according to Underwood. She also said memorial funds will also be used to add a statue to a planter in town.

The instruments were added along the trail so they’d be accessible per the Americans with Disabilities Act.