CUMMING — The Cumming Aquatic Center is no stranger to hosting birthday parties, but Friday night it will have a celebration of its own.

From 6 to 9:30 p.m., the center will celebrate its fifth anniversary and the opening of the outdoor pool and water park for the season.

Carla Wilson, facility manager, has been with the center since before its June 2011 debut and is amazed at how far the facility has come.

“It feels good,” she said.  “We’ve grown. Our programs, our swim teams, our rentals, basically everything that we offer has grown more than we could have ever imagined. And we’re really proud of the staff and what we’ve been able to accomplish in five years.”

Wilson said the first-of-its-kind event will feature food, music, prizes and other fun activities.

“We are having a grand opening party, which is the first year that we’ve done this,” Wilson said.  “We’ll have our concession stand open and we’re going to have games, and a DJ and a raffle.

“We’re going to award one family a family pass to the outdoor pool for the summer. We’re also going to do some specials on memberships.”

The outdoor pool and water park will be open only on weekends until May 28. After that, the hours will be 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1 to 6 p.m. Sundays.

On Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, the outdoor pool’s hours will be 1 to 6 p.m.

The center also features an indoor competition pool and indoor instructional pool. It offers swim lessons, room rentals for parties and is used for swim meets by local teams.

Those attending Friday’s event will be required to pay the normal daily admission fee of $5 for adults, $4 for kids ages 2-17 and those 60 and older and free for children younger than 2.

The Cumming Aquatic Center is at 201 Aquatic Circle, off Pilgrim Mill Road and near the University of North Georgia’s Cumming campus and the National Guard Readiness Center.

More information can be found at http://www.cummingaquaticcenter.com/.