It’s rare when someone has an opportunity to honor both their past and future generations. But Marilyn Berman did just that recently with the renovation of the Berman-Weinstein Preschool Playground, located on the campus of Pikesville’s Beth El Congregation.
A Cockeysville resident and longtime Beth El congregant, Berman — along with her husband, Gary, brother, Steven Weinstein — originally dedicated the playground 23 years ago in honor of their sons’ b’nai mitzvah.
But the Bermans and Weinstein — and Weinstein’s wife, Julie Bernstein — recently noticed that the playground needed some sprucing up, fresh landscaping and new equipment. So they decided to fund and organize a makeover of the playground in honor of the memory of their parents, Susan and Elliot Weinstein.
But Berman, an artist, noticed a nearby retaining wall that she felt required some creative attention so she designed a special mural to enhance the playground space. Since the playground was for children ages 2 and under, she designed the wall to feature flowers, lady bugs, butterflies, caterpillars, the sun, worms, turtles and frogs.
Three weeks ago, they held a community project day that attracted more than 45 volunteers from the congregation, including Beth El’s Rabbi Steve Schwartz, to help paint the mural.
“It was a really beautiful, joyful day,” said Marilyn Berman, who this week put the finishing touches on the mural. “It was great. we had family members and friends helping out, middle school kids and preschool parents. I also worked closely on it with my friend Sherri Weinblatt.”
The playground will be officially dedicated on Sunday, Dec.1. Among the youngsters who will enjoy the renovated playground and adjacent mural will be Berman’s own grandchildren, who attend Beth El schools.
“It’s very colorful and beautiful,” Berman said of the mural. “Everybody – all the kids – kept peeking over the fence to see it. It’s a labor of love for me. For my parents, family was everything, so they would get so much joy from seeing their great-grandchildren play on this playground.
“This is the first mural I’ve ever done, and it was really fun, wonderful,” she said. “I’d love to do more of them.”
Amanda Beitman, Beth El’s director of development, said she worked on the playground project from its inception.
“They wanted to do something meaningful,” she said. “Marilyn’s mural is incredible, and we wanted to invite our community to help. It was a lot of fun. It’s hard not to smile when you see the playground. We’re very proud of it.”
Berman said she hopes the playground will benefit generations of Beth El families and others in the community.
“I just hope it brings joy to everybody,” she said. “We could certainly use it right now.”
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