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“Dreamcatcher Cove,” installed this year in late summer or early fall.

Prescott families who have lost children are raising money to build the park, in memory of their kids. The three children the park is dedicated to are Ellery Ennenga, Tyler Orpen, and Ava Christianson.

Project co-leader Alison Ennenga explained one inspiration for the park’s magical theme.

“Right before my daughter Ellery died, we had decided that we would build a fairy garden,” she said.

Project co-leader Bethany Christenson continued, “The same thing happened with us. Ava was really crazy about Pinterest and found these fairy gardens, so we had just put one in our backyard and then she passed away really shortly after that and we just loved the idea of kids playing in a life size fairy garden.”

The tribute to these children comes through in the park's meaning and background. This park is a way for people to remember loved ones after they have passed or to honor loved ones still with them today. The park’s website features fairies inspired by real people.

The fairies featured on the website are a special way to donate to the project. When someone buys a fairy, the money goes toward building the park and in return for the donation, they receive a fairy inspired by a real person.

They are given a hand drawn representation of that person along with a short bio on who they are. These fairies are available for anyone to see on the website and will be incorporated into the real park.

The park will look exactly like a life size fairy garden and will feature many interactive elements. They plan to have QR codes around the park that people can scan in order to learn about the different fairies that live there. These will be the fairies featured on their website.

“There will be a QR code on the signs within the park and you’ll be able to scan it and click on it and then scroll through and read about the fairies that live in that part of the park,” Ennenga said.

The process of planning and fundraising has been going for years, and the hard work is starting to pay off.

“We have been working at this and doing fundraising for a while by promoting it on Facebook and hosting events,” Christenson said.

Something Prescott residents can look forward to is the first piece of the park being installed later this year. The first pod is quite large and once built will be open for the public to use immediately. Other portions and pods of the park will continue to be added until final completion. A “coming soon” sign will be posted at the future site of the park in coming months.

The goal is for the park to be a one-of-a-kind destination for not only Prescott residents, but surrounding communities as well. They plan to design it to be high quality so that it lasts for years to come. Because of this, the park is a large and expensive project to take on.

This has not stopped the persistence of the families involved to get this project going and to continue gaining momentum each year.

The group has been finding fun and unique ways to raise funding for the project. Aside from buying a tribute fairy, you can donate directly on the website. The group's annual Trivia Night will take place this year in April. The event will raise funds that will go directly toward building the project to its fullest potential.

Project co-leader Abbi Nawrocki said, “This is a really big project and we have really big dreams and hopes and aspirations for our small town so, yes we are a small town and the financial resources can be hard to come by, which is why we are doing so much fundraising, but we want to make those dreams come true for us and for our children and for those who want to honor their loved ones.”

Once enough money is raised, they can begin the next step in the process and order the pieces for “Dreamcatcher Cove.” The company building the pieces and equipment is a local Minnesota company that specializes in making custom park pieces. As soon as they are ready, they will be installed and ready to use.

“This whole project is so much bigger than just a park,” Ennenga said. “It is a way to honor not only our kids who passed but a way to honor anyone.”

The group is currently looking for volunteers to help with everything from organization to installation. If interested, contact [email protected] gmail.com. To learn more about donating, the fairies’ stories or the park, visit fairywonderlandpark.org.

Renderings and photos of what the park will look like once completed. Photo courtesy of Abbi Nawrocki