Civitan Smiles Park

On Saturday, June 3, hundreds of children and adults alike celebrated the grand opening of Smiles Park at Kiroli. This day was the culmination of years in the making, as the West Monroe Civitans Club has had Smiles Park in the works for about four years. The all inclusive park lets children with or without disabilities play together, and there are four circus animal statues at the center of the park that are dedicated to local children. The Civitan Club created the design of the park along with Shane’s Inspiration, an organization that has designed 64 other inclusive playgrounds worldwide. The entire project cost just over a million dollars and the group raised the money through their involvement with the Ark-La-Miss Fair, donations and grants. There were free hotdogs, Raising Cane’s lemonade, Newk’s iced tea, Tummy Yummy cookies and Kona Ice shaved ice on hand for the celebration.