Break out your rakes and brooms, it’s time once again to Beautify Bonney Lake.

The annual community service event is scheduled for Saturday and this year, its ninth, the group is expanding to 22 sites in and around Bonney Lake.

Between 500 and 600 volunteers are expected to fan out across the city to help spruce up parks and other common areas.

“This year’s event is special because we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Ascent Park,” Executive Director Lillian McGinnis said.

Ascent Park is the official name of the small area at the top of Ehli Hill that welcomes drivers to the city. It was dedicated in 1992 and features a statue by local artist Larry Anderson, whose work appears all across the country and state.

McGinnis said the park was originally just the statue on gravel, but has grown over the years, particularly with the help of Beautify Bonney Lake. Along with cleaning up the park, the group has added most of the landscaping features, including the water feature, which volunteers installed five years ago.

The group also plans to install a new bench at the Dog Park this year, as well as work on the landscaping at the corner of Veterans Memorial Drive East (formerly Sumner-Buckley Highway East) and Main Street.

But unlike years past, there is no particularly high profile project on the list.

“We’re doing it as a maintenance year,” McGinnis said. “There’s no super big project.”

But even then, there will be plenty for the expected 600 volunteers to do, including a focus on the Downtown Core, including the Community Garden, the Public Safety Building, the library, the Justice Center and all points in between.

A new site added to the list for 2012 is Brookside Trails, near Bonney Lake High School.

This year BBL will also have a second school bus, donated by the Sumner School District, to help cart around the group’s growing number of volunteers.

In addition, Taco Time is sending its “Traveler” truck to be part of the day.

Refreshments will be served after the work party.

For more information, visit our website at www.beautifybonneylake.org.