Polk County Conservation has announced dates for a dedication ceremony and opening weekend for the Athene North Shore Recreation Area at Easter Lake Park on the south side of Des Moines. A formal dedication ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on May 2 and an opening weekend event will follow on May 4-5, which will include free rentals, park tours and boat rides. Both events are open to the public. The project, which was developed with universal design principles to make the space accessible to all visitors, will complete $23.2 million in improvements to the park that began in 2018. The project broke ground in fall 2022.