California’s newest waterpark celebrated its oldest news station Saturday in an event that served as a kickoff to the waterpark season.

Wild Rivers Waterpark in Irvine rolled out the red carpet to KTLA 5 reporter Wendy Burch as part of the official grand opening for its newest attraction: Kontiki Cove.

The new waterpark space adds a wide array of children’s slides to the parks’ already impressive line of adult and older children-centric slides and rides.

The grand opening featured an official ribbon cutting with KTLA on-air talent, musical performances, a drumline, and special appearances by pirates and mermaids.

Kevin Kopeny, General Manager of Wild Rivers, said he was happy to welcome KTLA to be on-hand for the ribbon cutting to give a first glimpse of all the park has to offer.

“Wild Rivers guests will experience a lot more than tubular twists and spectacular slides this summer; we are bringing a lot more entertainment to our waterpark for maximum park enjoyment,” Kopeny said.

He added that if you’ve never been to the waterpark, located within Irvine’s Great Park, now’s the time to see it for yourself.

In addition to KTLA, Wild Rivers also welcomed two local nonprofits, Irvine 2/11 and the Irvine Children’s Fund, to spend the day in the park. The waterpark donated 1,000 tickets to families associated with the organizations to experience a day in the sun, free of charge.

“These two organizations do incredible things for the families across Irvine and all of Southern California, and we are excited to welcome them to our grand opening festivities,” said Kopeny.

Wild Rivers Waterpark operates on weekends from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Memorial Day weekend, when the hours expand to 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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