Parents say their children are paying close attention to the opening of the new Liquid Planet Water Park as the deadline for a free locals-only day approaches.

“Assuming the weather is as nice as we’ve been having, I think we’ll be going,” said School Board Chairman Karen Smith, also the mother of twin eighthgrade students at the Henry Moore Elementary School.

“We’re psyched about the water park, and it sounds like it’s going to be very family oriented. We hope it does well.”

On Saturday, June 7, the family- owned water park that has been the subject of many public meetings for nearly three years and several months of construction will celebrate its grand opening with a free “Candia-only” day, said park president Kevin Dumont. On May 30, Dumont said that nearly the entire park was complete, with only some landscaping and other minor details remaining.

A number of local parents questioned over the past few weeks said they plan on taking advantage of the freebie as a test run to see if they’ll return to the park later this summer. Of the families questioned, all said their children are aware of the new attraction being built on Route 27, but most said that their pre-teens and younger children were more enthusiastic about the park than teenagers.

“They’re all very interested in it, but they like different parts of it,” said Rhonda Thyng, the mother of four children ages 5 through 12. “My oldest son already knows about the two waterslides, and my two youngest ones keep talking about the splash area.”

According to the plan OK’d by the Planning Board last year, the park will feature two 30-foot slides as a main attraction, along with a 25,000-gallon swimming pool. Dumont said the park will also boast New England’s largest “spray ground” -- a water-themed playground with amusements that shoot mist and water -- and this attraction is geared toward younger children.

Most parents said they had no overwhelming concerns about safety or other issues at the park, and some parents pointed out that Dumont’s relatively small park will make it easier to keep track of their children in the crowd.

After Saturday’s opening, Dumont the park will begin its regular seasonal operating schedule on June 14.