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Fort Fun project accepts donation
Fort Fun Master Gardeners donation
The Master Gardeners donated $500 to the Fort Fun restoration project this past week. (Left to right) Donna Teynor, Lori Brey, Parks and Recreation Director Mike Wallace, Caprice Ellefson, Mary Novey and Lisa Breuer. - photo by Steve Van Kooten

Fort Fun’s future is looking brighter every day thanks to donations from local residents and organizations. 

The Master Gardeners handed Parks and Recreation Director Mike Wallace a $500 this past Friday, June 19, making them the latest organization to make a contribution to the playground’s restoration.

According to Wallace, the project has received more than $400,000, and the project’s cost is now “a little more than $500,000.”

“We’re getting closer,” he said. “We’re about 90 percent there for the full cost... It’s gone up a little bit just because of the way pricing [of materials] has gone.”

There have been a number of donations to the Fort Fun restoration effort, including from residents of Prairie du Chien, Eastman, Seneca and other community organizations.

Some other recent donations include:

  • In September, Fort Fun got a substantial boost from a fundraiser done in cooperation with The Barn restaurant and a $250,000 donation from the George Family Foundation.
  • This past November, Fort Fun received a $20,000 donation from Peoples State Bank in Prairie du Chien.
  • The Fort Fun project accepted a $125 donation from the Bluff View Elementary Student Council on Wednesday, Dec. 17.

Earlier this year, the Fort Fun Committee sent a mailer out to residents of Prairie and other surrounding communities requesting donations to the project.

Anyone interested in contributing to the Fort Fun project can find a QR code on the Parks and Recreation Department Facebook page, in the mailer and posted on flyers around the city.

“It’s super easy. It takes you right to the site and explains everything,” said Wallace.

The Fort Fun Committee is hoping to have the project completed sometime this year. Wallace said the removal of the current playground is expected to happen later this summer.

The goal for the playground is to make an all-inclusive area with updated equipment to make it more accessible and dynamic for a wider range of children in the community.

This past fall, Kelsey Kleven, a member of the Fort Fun Committee, said, “Providing an inclusive space means that all families should be able to enjoy Fort Fun, and as it is, they can’t. There will still be climbing and things like that, but it will provide a space where there is opportunity for people to all play together.”