It’s been a long time coming, but today marks the long (long, long)-awaited groundbreaking for Town Lake Park. The South Austin Culture Club is co-sponsoring an on-site luncheon with the Austin Parks and Recreation department to celebrate the development of open space adjacent to the Palmer Events Center and the evolving Long Center. The festivities start today around 11:30, and feature music, food from Chango’s and Manuel’s, free garage parking, and a foggy photo op for Will Wynn’s re-election campaign.

A new park is certainly worth celebrating, especially since this one has been in gestation for years. The SACC held a symbolic ground-breaking a couple years ago to call attention to the unrealized park and unused bond dollars while the stakeholders haggled over what to do with Riverside. Eventually what we’re left with is a half-assed reduction of Riverside that still bisects the park, ignores bikes, and probably hacks off the dozens of commuters who insist on using Riverside instead of Barton Springs or 1st St.

While none of the interest groups are fully satisfied, the end result is still that Austin gets more park space in the urban core, which is no mean feat. If you’d like to help celebrate today, bring your shovel and scoop some dirt in delight. Or just wait till it’s done and enjoy the hell out of it.