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Saying West Kelowna is truly the place to be, for everyone, Mayor Gord Milsom has helped officially open Julia’s Junction.
The inclusive playground was the brainchild of Julia Grassmick and her family, who spearheaded fundraising for the play space located at Westbank Centre Park at 2569 May Road.
The project fulfills the dream of the Grassmick family to create a first-of-its-kind space for people of all ages and abilities. The play structures are all at ground level and are designed to provide ways to swing, slide and spin. Julia’s Junction features a universal sensory-rich design.
Grassmick raised $850,000 for the project through the charity PURKIDS Charitable Foundation. Both the city and PURKIDS also received federal grants for the playground.
“On behalf of our West Kelowna Council, it’s our pleasure to celebrate the outstanding efforts of the Grassmick family, PURKIDS and many other sponsors and donors who have worked together to create our first fully accessible and inclusive play space. I am especially proud of Melissa and Julia Grassmick, who have inspired so many to become involved through donations and support, and who have made this vision a wonderful reality in Westbank Centre Park,” said Milsom.
“Through the Enabling Accessibility Fund, we're creating more accessible spaces across the country, like the Julia's Junction playground, which will help transform West Kelowna into a more accessible city for people with disabilities," said Kamal Khera, federal Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities.
"This playground is the fruit of hard work by the Grassmick family and many others in this community. Such projects are essential to removing the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from fully integrating and engaging with their communities."
Grassmick started the campaign for the play space, inspired by her daughter Julia, who uses a wheelchair after a blood clot that compressed her spine when she was 17 months old left her paralyzed from about the waist down.
She began fundraising for the project in January 2022.
