BANGOR – The birthday party looked like a wet one early on, but the skies cleared Friday night in time for kids to take a dive into and make a splash in 50-year-old Dakin Pool.

More than 80 people brought their appetites and their swim suits to the Pine Street pool to celebrate the opening of the pool, exactly 50 years ago. Councilor Gerry Palmer manned the grill, balloons were tied to folding chairs, and the cake was sliced.

“I wasn’t here when it opened, but I swam here in the ’50s,” Palmer said, with smoke flying back into his face. He served 20 pounds of hot dogs and 20 pounds of hamburgers.

For a pool that was on the verge of getting the ax two years ago, the turnout at the neighborhood barbecue showed the pool still has a lot of life left in it.

“The pool is coming alive again,” said Linda Dunn, 41, of Bangor, whose children learned how to swim at the east side pool. She said once the city placed a sign on Stillwater Avenue publicizing the pool, attendance dramatically increased.

“People weren’t aware – now they are making use of it,” Dunn said.

Friends of Dakin Pool, a non-profit organization, is seeking to raise $100,000 in community donations to make facility improvements.

About $25,000 has been raised to date.

After the rain halted and the sun came out, the kids took the opportunity to cool off.

Swimmers at Dakin had dwindled to just 20 a day. On a good day now, the pool has 100 kids splashing, Parks and Recreation Director Frank Comeau said as he watched kids begin to jump into the water for an evening swim.

“It is a good turnout whenever the weather is decent,” he said.

In comparison, Beth Pancoe Municipal Aquatic Center has between 500 and 800 swimmers a day.

Dunn, a member of Friends of Dakin Pool, which hosted the event, said the summer hangout is a good contrast to the Pancoe pool, calling the west side pool a water park.

“Dakin is a great community place for families,” Dunn said.

Many neighbors of the pool showed up at the party in the showers to show their support for the facility.

“It’s good to know the community supports and cares about us,” Mike Robinson, Friends of Dakin Pool president, said with his 5-year-old son in his arms, who was eager to put on a lifejacket and go swimming.

The community rallied behind the cause 17 months ago and managed to keep the pool open, even when its future was bleak.

“We live in a great neighborhood. It is the best place to live,” Candy Doucette, 50 and a stay-at-home mom, said of the surrounding area near Dakin.