While the Friends of Ironton sprayground will not be open as hoped for Memorial Day, the organization is still planning to celebrate.

The Friends will host Celebrate Ironton just after the parade Monday. Besides music, food and entertainment for the children, the event will offer the chance to tour the water playground project.

“They can go through the mechanical rooms and see what’s involved in this thing,” said Rick Jansen, a member of the Friends said. “Once they see what it is they’ll appreciate that it’s a pretty complicated system.”

Hank Haller, a musician who will play during the parade route on the Friends’ float, will also be performing at the festival.

Despite support from the community and some fundraisers, the project is not completed yet.

“It’s just waiting on materials,” Jansen said. “It’s being worked on. Optimistically we’d like to see it open for the Gus Macker, but really it will probably be the Fourth of July.”

The Friends are conducting a brick fundraiser to support the project and the Ironton Eagles recently held a fundraiser as well.

Despite those efforts the club is still about $32,000 to $36,000 short of its goal for the project.

While the club plans to have the sprayground operational this year, it may be later before the project is actually complete.

“It may not have a shelter or fencing this year but we definitely plan to have it open and operational,” Jansen said.

The Celebrate Ironton festival will begin after the Memorial Day parade until 6 p.m. at the site of the sprayground project 310 S Second St.