Backyard Adventure holds grand opening

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The parking lot was full, and a large crowd was on hand for the grand opening of the Lucas and Friends Backyard Adventures playground on Saturday morning.
The event featured food and drinks along with short speeches by Perryville Mayor Ken Baer and the Fritsche family, along with a ribbon cutting with the Perryville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Bear was complimentary of the playground.
“Lucas had a dream to build a playground,” Baer said. ”It was not an ordinary playground, but one where all children could play. Lucas is an inspiration for us all. His optimism, his can-do spirit, his humility and his humanitarianism is an example for all of us to follow. We too can face our limitation, overcome obstacles, and follow Lucas and Friends, they will show us how.”
The playground project was Lucas’ idea. When Fritsche was in third grade, he noticed that his friend with disabilities could only play on the swings.
Wanting to give his friend and others with disabilities the same opportunity to play that he has, Fritsche got to work on the idea for an all-inclusive playground.

He presented his ideas at his school and spoke with the city on making this dream come true. The project has been a partnership between the Fritsches, Perry County, and the city of Perryville, as well as countless local businesses and volunteers.
Lucas’ mother, Jennifer Fritsche, and a group of volunteers put together a plan to construct phase one of the playground on the west side of French Lane, south of the Perryville Splash Pad, with the help of Unlimited Play Playgrounds
Now, about five years later, that portion is complete.
“What a day,” Natalie Mackay, founder of Unlimited Play said. “Finally the grand opening for this playground is here. We have built many playgrounds, but Lucas is the first child to think of this and lead the project. I’m the mom of a child with a disability myself and every day I send him to school, I hoped that someone would look out for him and care enough to invite him and be part of everyday life.”
Phase 1 includes a huge ramping structure, tree house and musical equipment. The project took $500,000 to complete through donations and various fundraising efforts. The playground was officially opened on Oct. 6.
Phase one is not the end of the project as the next portion is already in progress. The next phase will include swings and other features.
“We want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts who have been a part of this project,” Jennifer Fritsche said. “We have more to go, but we know that we can do it because we are a part of this community.”