Saturday will be a banner day for families living in and around the Highline community, when the new Matt Griffin YMCA formally celebrates its grand opening.

The celebration will feature a little something for everyone, with classes, an open swimming pool, live radio remotes, and much more - all free.

The new Matt Griffin YMCA is located at 3595 S. 188th Street in SeaTac. The opening is set for noon to 5 p.m. and will feature KOMO Radio's Tom Hutyler broadcasting live from Matt Griffin.

In addition, Bustos Media will be broadcasting in Spanish from the event.

The opening will include tours, health and wellness information, class demos, youth and family activities, cooking demonstrations, and climbing on the new 21-foot climbing tower.

The $16 million, 48,000-square-foot facility features two fully-accessible pools, a family center, a cardio and strength training center, a "reflection room" for yoga and Pilates classes, a youth development center, a full-sized gym, play areas for children and a community kitchen.

The YMCA of Greater Seattle chose the location of the new YMCA because it's in the fastest growing part of the Seattle metropolitan area with a very diverse population that has traditionally been underserved by the kinds of facilities, programs and activities that the YMCA provides.

Besides health and wellness, the YMCA focuses on programs that enable families to do things together and connect with other families, and youth to become successful academically, socially and as community leaders.

There are also activities for individuals, including older adults, who want to be healthy and feel connected to their local community.

In an effort to better serve its diverse members, the Matt Griffin YMCA has hired staff who speak Spanish and Somali, and plans to add speakers of other language as well in the future.

As the recipient of a recent Knight Foundation grant, it will be part of other efforts to help immigrants integrate into their new communities.

As a mark of Matt Griffin YMCA's commitment to diversity, opening festivities include the dedication of a beautiful, permanent hand-carved wooden Peace Pole, which reads "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in 12 different languages.

The pole will be dedicated at 1 pm.

"This peace pole is a tangible and visible way for us to say that our doors are open to everyone," says Branch Executive Claudia Tanis, "and we want everyone to feel comfortable and welcome at the Matt Griffin YMCA."

The Matt Griffin YMCA represents only the third time a local YMCA facility has been named for a community leader and honors Matt Griffin, a long-time volunteer with the YMCA of Greater Seattle.

For almost 30 years, Griffin has served in numerous leadership roles. He is Co-chair of the current It's All About Community! Capital Campaign, which funded the construction of the Matt Griffin YMCA and two other full-service branches.

Griffin was passionate about building a new facility in south King County and worked diligently to make the one in SeaTac happen. He also oversaw a previous capital campaign that redeveloped the historic Downtown Seattle YMCA and added youth development centers in YMCA branches throughout King County.

The Matt Griffin YMCA is the last of the three new branches being built as part of the It's All About Community! Capital Campaign.

Last year, the Dale Turner Family YMCA opened in Shoreline and last month, the Coal Creek Family YMCA in Newcastle celebrated its grand opening.

The campaign also includes improvements to one other branch, enhancements at the YMCA's two overnight camps, YMCA Camp Orkila and YMCA Camp Colman and an increase in the YMCA's endowment fund to provide more scholarships for kids who want to attend the overnight camps.