In a ceremony with pink and purple balloons, iced cookies and a children's choir, a park where Christina-Taylor Green used to play was renamed Monday in honor of her short life.
Christina-Taylor's older brother, 11-year-old Dallas, cut a large, yellow ribbon to officially dedicate the Cañada del Oro Christina-Taylor Green Memorial River Park as balloons floated above a crowd of about 250 people, many of them Christina-Taylor's family and friends.
The final phase of the $7.1 million Pima County park was recently completed and now includes 3.1 miles of paved walking path along the Cañada del Oro wash on the northwest side.
Nine-year-old Christina-Taylor, the youngest of six people shot to death in the Jan. 8 Tucson shooting massacre, grew up playing in the first phase of the park near her home, her father said.
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"This is something that will bring the community together. There are a lot of different parts of it I think she'd enjoy," John Green said before Monday's dedication. "It is a tough time for our family, but this is an important thing for Christina-Taylor's legacy."
The park was renamed at the request of the Tucson National Estates Improvement Association.
"Our neighborhood will know it as Christina's Park," association treasurer Ben Tuchi said.
Joyful Noise, the children's choir from St. Odilia's Catholic Church, sang "God Bless America," "America the Beautiful" and "This Land is Your Land," in honor of Christina-Taylor, their friend.
Christina-Taylor belonged to Joyful Noise and also received her first Holy Communion at St. Odilia's last year.
Attendees walked under an archway of red, white and blue balloons - an acknowledgement of Christina-Taylor's love for her country.
The third-grader at Mesa Verde Elementary School was born Sept. 11, 2001, and was always aware that her birthday gave her a special affinity with a huge U.S. tragedy.
She took that affinity seriously and liked to not only show her patriotism but learn about government, which is what she was doing the morning she died.
"She's here. She's happy and smiling with the rest of us," said Suzi Hileman, the neighbor who took Christina-Taylor to Safeway Jan. 8 to see U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Hileman, using a walker because she's still recovering from being shot three times, attended the event with her husband.
County officials said they will put up a plaque in the park to commemorate the young girl's life.
"She was joyful, yet assertive, caring yet tenacious, intelligent yet thoughtful. Her legacy remains to inspire all of us," the program to the dedication read.
Pima County Supervisor Ann Day said Christina-Taylor was a unique child whose life story continues to touch hearts. She called the park in the girl's name, "an integral pattern in the tapestry of our community."
Green said his daughter showed the community how to come together and care for each other.
"I can see her big smile in heaven now as she shares with us the opening of this park," he told the crowd. "Thank you for naming the park after our daughter. We hope you enjoy it as much as she did."
Green and his wife, Roxanna, sat in the front row of the ceremony beside their son, Dallas, and all three held hands as speakers talked about Christina-Taylor's life, her talent for baseball and her desire to help others.
John Green, a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, said in an interview that it was emotional for him to drive by the park Monday morning before the dedication.
"We know she's not going to be forgotten," he said. "We just want people to remember a little girl with a big smile and lots of hopes and dreams."
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Contact reporter Stephanie Innes at 520-573-4134 or sinnes@azstarnet.com
