Posey County's first inclusive playground opens in Mt. Vernon
It's called Avery's Place, and it sits right next door to West Elementary School in Mt. Vernon.
After years of planning, in fact going all the way back to 2017, Avery's Place is now open for children, families and individuals of all abilities to have fun and make memories at the playground. Those I spoke to say they will certainly be back this spring and summer.
Smiles and the trill of fun and games are at every corner at Avery's Place on Sunday.
There's slides, merry-go-rounds and swings, but there's also soft surfacing — instead of mulch — and ramps and wheelchair-accessible entrances.
'It's the best playground I've ever been to,' one patron says. 'It had a lot of swings.'
'We're playing on the playground and having fun and playing with our friends,' Theo Rynkiewich says.
It's done in memory of Avery Beste, a Tri-State girl with disabilities who passed in 2008 at 18.
Though she could not walk or talk, she had an infectious energy which leaves an impression to this day and for years to come with this community resource.
'Avery was always happy, always smiling, loved to be around people,' Avery's sister, Layna Dickey, says. 'Just loved to be part of anything that I was doing — just wanted to participate and be there.'
'When Avery was little, I would take them to the playground, she just had to sit and watch,' Avery's mother, Maureen Beste, says. 'There was nowhere she was able to play on anything.'
But no longer will families have to 'sit and watch,' including the Rynkiewich family of Evansville.
Frank Rynkiewich has been battling ALS since 2021 and requires a wheelchair. While it may just appear as a playground to some, Avery's Place is and will continue to be what the family describes as a 'huge gift.'
'Being a family who's been impacted by disability, this is really important for us to be able to spend time together, making memories as a family without any barriers or obstacles,' says Maddie Rynkiewich.
We can thank Mt. Vernon native — Sydney Deno — for placing the seed which blossomed into the grand opening on Sunday.
Her mother — Rachel — had been close with Avery and the Beste family, and she and Sydney read about the organization Unlimited Play which builds inclusion-fostering playgrounds.
'Walk in this morning and seeing it empty, I just could not wait to see it filled with kids, and it's been even beyond my wildest dreams,' Sydney Deno says.
Let's ask some of them what they think, including the Rynkiewiches and Avery's nieces who recognize Avery's Place as meaningful.
The Bestes say Avery would have loved it.
'Thank you for making this playground, so we can play on it and spend time with our family,' Henry Rynkiewich says.
'I loved it, especially the spinny spider thing because my friend — we would go every two seconds,' says one of Avery's nieces, Aven Dickey.
Posey County's first inclusive playground opens in Mt. Vernon
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