All-Inclusive Playground Celebration Includes Groundbreaking on Saturday

After months of planning, Unlimited Play, Inc. and the City of O’Fallon’s vision for an is about to become a reality.

Saturday, the groundbreaking celebration for the all-inclusive playground will begin at 10 a.m., with the actual groundbreaking ceremony taking place at 12:30 p.m. All celebration events will be held at Westhoff Park.

Booths and children’s games will open at 10 a.m. At 10:15, Serengeti Steve, known as The Reptile Man, will take center stage with The Reptile Experience, a traveling reptile and arachnid show that has been entertaining St. Louisans since 2001.

At 11:30 a.m., Monkey Tales Theatre will present The Parrot and Pirate Queen Show. Tom Drabelle, O’Fallon’s director of public relations, said that in keeping with the, the play has an all-inclusive message.

The Great Bug Hunt will begin at 12:10 p.m. Children will be divided by age group and area to go on a quest, hunting for “bugs.” Modeled after a typical Easter egg hunt, the egg style “bugs” will be filled with small prizes or tickets that can be redeemed for larger prizes, Drabelle said.

Face painting and other children’s activities will also be featured at the event. The will supply child identification kits available for parents to take and fill out at home.

Food concessions will be available for purchase, but all other celebration activities are free.

Cindy Springer, managing director of parks and recreation, said PlayCore and Cunningham Associates, Inc. is scheduled to on the playground next week. The playground site is situated on the north end of Westhoff Park, where the handball and sand volleyball courts sat previously.

The playground is slated to cover nearly 22,000 square feet, plans show. The design includes five types of slides plus multiple climbing and activity panels. In addition to serving children with disabilities, the playground will provide an avenue for disabled adults to interact with children they are caring for.

comes partially from budgeted recreation money, donations and grants. The city is moving toward its outside funding goal and residents can still help in several ways.

There are two “dine-in nights” scheduled this month, with two restaurants donating a portion of their proceeds directly to the playground fund. Drabelle said participants can go to O’Fallon’s website and print a flier to present when ordering during one of the following times:

• McDonald’s Restaurants: 4-8 p.m. Tuesday at all five O’Fallon locations
• Texas Roadhouse: 11 a.m.–9:30 p.m. June 26

Residents and businesses can also sponsor specific playground pieces. Interested parties can contact Unlimited Play, Inc. to view the catalog of pieces still available.