What’s the latest on Awesome Spot playground in Modesto? See how you can help get it open

Even though work has started on a new inclusive playground at Beyer Community Park, the project remains in need of significant funding.

Between $1.5 million and $2 million dollars in donations still is needed to get The Awesome Spot completed and open to the public, according to Rachel Loredo, the Modesto mother who spearheaded the project.

The nearly two-acre playground with a total cost of around $6 million was at 75 percent of its funding in August, when it was awarded a $400,000 state grant. It remains at 75 percent now, Loredo said. “We’re still at that point.”

To donate, go to www.theawesomespotplayground.com/donate-now.html.

A fundraising event, Lil’ Kids & Big Trucks, is set for Saturday, Oct. 21, where children can climb on, sit in, explore and learn more about community vehicles. There will be child-friendly Halloween activities including face painting, crafts and more.

The event is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Remax/Target parking lot at 220 Standiford Ave., Modesto. Tickets are $15 presale for adults, $20 at the door and free for ages up to 12.

An inclusive playground is one that allows disabled and non-disabled children to play side by side, or for, say, a disabled parent to join his or her child in play, according to past reporting by The Bee. Typical of an inclusive playground are wheelchair-accessible surfaces (no sand or drop-offs) and equipment pieces like a merry-go-round that can be rolled onto.

Ground was broken on The Awesome Spot in summer of 2022, but “Covid was a big wrench” in fundraising Loredo said. While they had a lot of momentum before that, a rise in construction costs has been an issue.

While there’s daily activity at the project site, they still need the public’s help to get the playground running. It will debut all at once and not in phases, Loredo said.

They hope to open in the summer or fall of 2024.

The Modesto Children’s Museum recently opened with the help of community donations.

“We’re a smallerish town, so whenever projects like this come up we all tap the shoulders of the same people,” Loredo said. “We’re two different projects, but no matter what, we’re both projects enriching the lives in the Central valley ... Both are amazing places.”

Loredo said security and possible vandalism are topics that come up when they are out networking for funding.

“It’s a specialized type of playground. There will be additional security lighting, making the playground more visible from the street,” she said.

While no security fencing is planned, there will be waist-high fencing to keep children safe so they don’t “bolt outside of the park into the (parking) lot or street,” she said.

And there’s a neighborhood of people who face the park, many of whom are excited to see it completed, and can keep an eye out for the area, Loredo added.

The Awesome Spot was inspired by a similar playground in Palo Alto, the Magical Bridge.

Olenka Villarreal, CEO and founder of that city’s project, said they “haven’t had a lot of issues.”

There now are eight Magical Bridge Playgrounds in the Bay Area.

“On occasion, not often, there have been some instances of minor vandalism,” Villarreal said.

She said with 20,000 guests every month at the Magical Bridge playgrounds, issues are “pretty low.”

Villarreal said there are far more positives to the inclusive playgrounds than any worry of vandalism.

Where money remains needed

The Awesome Spot has large sponsorships available, Loredo said:

Playground Sponsorship Name, $500,000

Rain Forest Explorer Sponsor, $250,000

Savanna Safari Sponsor, $200,000

Swamp Cruise Sponsor, $150,000

There also are playground equipment sponsorships available that range from $6,000 to $120,000.

The Porges Family Foundation has donated $105,000 in total to sponsor four items at the playground, Evan Porges said in an email interview.

“The Porges Family Foundation believes that everyone has the right to play,” he said. “Further, we feel that the strength of a community is judged by how well it takes care of its people, ALL of its people. When The Awesome Spot Playground (TASP) was brought to our attention we were surprised that we had never thought of the barriers that exist for many children to simply play and have fun.”

His foundation sponsored the Music Touch Sensors, the Hippo Climber, the Rainbow Rhino Sculpture and the Wee Saw.

“We’ve been a regular sponsor of music and the arts over the years, so sponsoring The Music Touch Sensors felt natural to us,” Porges said. “The other items we felt were items that would provide a fun experience for children and parents and/or would add to the overall ambiance, fun and creative vibe at TASP.”

What will be at the playground

Among the features planned for The Awesome Spot are:

• A water-play feature where children can open and shut gates to manipulate the flow.

• A social play station with different levels so children using wheelchairs and walkers can join in the fun with non-disabled peers.
  
  

• Drums and xylophones that provide auditory and tactile stimulation.

• Rockers designed like dirt bikes, and a stationary jeep vehicle with an open back so kids can roll on in wheelchairs.

• A swaying “boat” that children can enter by foot or wheelchair. Near it is a sitting/climbing feature that looks like a crocodile.

• A “sensory perch,” where children can climb or sit at various levels depending on their abilities. It encourages creative play by letting children pretend they’re little birds in a big cage, with a musical component.

Porges said they hope that The Awesome Spot “will continue to help redefine the Modesto community as a city of choice and one that takes care of all of its citizens.”

Loredo said they are grateful to all the donors who already have helped the project and want others in the community to know that more help is needed.

“And we’re just excited for the playground to be completed,” she said, “and (have) our community come out and play together.”