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Columbine memorial will crowd Clement Park

Arrive early.

That could be the one and only secret to getting a good seat for the Columbine memorial groundbreaking featuring former President Bill Clinton, which begins at 4 p.m. on Friday, June 16.

The event at Clement Park, which is next to Columbine High School off Pierce Street and Bowles Avenue, will have open, grass seating and open parking, said Columbine memorial spokeswoman Rose Corazza.

Spectators can either stand or sit. Clinton will address the crowd from a stage.

Corazza said organizers are not sure how many people will attend. Specifics of what should be about a 45-minute event are not being released, Corazza said.

The event will be at the site of the $1.5 million stone memorial. The site is next to Rebel Hill, which is in the park and just north of the high school.

“The public is more than welcome to come. We’d love to have them,” Corazza said. “It is a general groundbreaking event that is open to the public.”

Less than $500,000 of the total needed for the memorial still needs to be raised.

The memorial is being built in honor of the 12 students and one teacher who were killed by two student gunmen at Columbine High on April 20, 1999.

Clinton first visited the Columbine community in the wake of the 1999 tragedy. He returned as keynote speaker for a memorial fund-raising gala in downtown Denver in July 2004, where he made a commitment to the community to help raise the rest of the memorial money.

Groundbreaking for the memorial was planned for April, but when Clinton committed to a June visit, the April event, which coincided with a community fund-raising day for the memorial, changed to a dedication ceremony