Grand Opening for Jaycee Park Scheduled for Oct. 5

Unlimited Play will celebrate the opening of the first all-inclusive playground in St. Charles on Oct. 5 at Jaycee Park. 

The St. Charles Parks and Recreation Department partnered with Unlimited Play to raise funds for the playground, which is the nonprofit organization's fourth in the St. Louis region. 

Natalie Blakemore, who started Unlimited Play, said the project in St. Charles has had momentum since the beginning. 

"It's so fun for Unlimited Play that we're at this point opening our fourth playground," she said. "In St. Charles we kicked it off with a major supporter behind us with the DDRB (Developmental Disabilities Resource Board) contributing $250,000."

The whole project cost about $850,000. The group is still hoping to raise $160,000. 

The new Jaycee Park includes features that make the playground accessible to all children, including a water play section, sun shades and metal slides rather than plastic slides, which can have an electrostatic discharge and damage cochlear implants. 

The park also has a fence, which provides some boundaries for children who tend to run, Blakemore said.

"It's just amazing to see all the landscape and the location," she said. 

The kickoff will include students from St. Joan of Arc School in St. Louis. Students raised money for the project and will sing at the opening ceremony, which is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. 

Read our earlier stories about the parks: 

• Work Set to Begin on Jaycee Playground
• Major Donor Sought for Jaycee Playground
• Free Dirt is too Expensive to Move for St. Charles Park
• New Playground at Jaycee Park Will be Accessible to All
• Council Members Voice Support for Pavilion in Frontier Park
• Frontier Park to Get Pavilion in 2012